Glastonbury sings for Lewis Capaldi as singer struggles with Tourette’s

Lewis Capaldi reduced fans to tears at Glastonbury on Saturday as he returned to the stage taking a three-week break away from the spotlight for his mental health.

The singer, 26, who has Tourette’s syndrome, had cancelled all work commitments earlier this month to ‘rest and recover’ ahead of the hotly-anticipated music festival.

Returning to the stage, Lewis admitted he had been ‘s**t scared’ to perform at the festival as he opened up about his mental health struggles, and confirmed he would be taking another break away from the spotlight.

In the middle of his set, Lewis confessed that he was struggling with his Tourette’s as he said his voice had ‘packed it in’, after he had been coughing throughout the show.

However, his supportive fans belted out the lyrics to his hits for him, with his show coming to an emotional close as the crowds sang Someone You Love for him.

The heartwarming moment saw Lewis walk across the stage and sing short bursts of the track, while the kind crowds sang at the top of their voices to support the star.

Many fans also took to Twitter after the show to send kind words to Lewis, telling how the emotional crowds had been reduced to tears during the final song of his set.

They also insisted the Scottish singer had nothing to apologise for as they heaped praise on his ‘fantastic’ show and lauded him for finishing his set despite his struggles.

One fan wrote: ‘Blown away @LewisCapaldi at Glastonbury. I’ve been coming for years and that’s one of the best sets I’ve ever seen. Absolutely nothing to apologise for, everyone around me was WEEPING by the end. Amazing.’

Another said: ‘Bravo @LewisCapaldi. A brilliant set and well done for carrying on. Absolutely no need to apologise for a fantastic show.’ 

While a third tweeted: ‘Last lewis Capaldi song was such an emotional watch, good for him for giving it his all!!’

A fourth commented: ‘Fantastic show at Glastonbury mate take a break mate you come first health is more important than anything else.’

And another gushed: ‘@LewisCapaldi thank you for pushing through mate, #Glasto loves you. BTW, whilst you said you were struggling, you had us rocking and dining our heads off with you to your amazing songs. Rest up Fella.’

Despite his fans’ incredible support, Lewis was seen looking downtrodden as he left the stage, thanking his fans for all their support after they helped him sing Someone You Love.

During his performance, Lewis had apologised to fans for his voice ‘packing it in’ but insisted on continuing his set as he admitted he was ‘annoyed’ with himself.

He said: ‘My voice is going big time, so I’m very sorry, it’s the worst place for it to f**king happen. However, we’re going to play two more songs even if I can’t sing properly.

‘I’m really sorry before we go any further as it’s a f**king pain in the arse. You’ve all come out and I really apologise that my voice is packing in.’

He then belted out Hold Me While You Wait while playing the guitar, with fans singing along to the lyrics in some moments when he stopped singing.

After the track, the supportive crowds went wild as they cheered him on, while he temporarily stopped and could be heard coughing as he struggled with Tourette’s.

He then said: ‘Glastonbury I’m really sorry, I’m a bit annoyed with myself here,’ prompting the crowds to cheer him on and chant his name in a sweet moment.

Lewis then went on to close the show with his smash hit Someone You Love, with the crowds supportively belting out his track for him as he struggled to him. 

On stage, Lewis also confirmed he would be taking another break away from the spotlight as he told fans that they wouldn’t see ‘much’ of him for the rest of the year.

He said: ‘I feel like I’ll be taking another wee break over the next few weeks, you probably won’t see much of me for the rest of the year.’

Speaking about his three-week break, Lewis said: ‘I took three weeks off because I’ve been non-stop at the start of the year and I wanted a break for my head and my mental health, I wanted to come back and do Glastonbury, because it’s so incredible.’

‘I was s**t-scared, but you really made me feel at ease, I’m really sorry,’ he went on.

Earlier in the day, Rick Astley had wowed fans as he took to the Pyramid stage for an energetic performance.

The pop legend, 57, dressed to impress in a salmon pink suit at he worked the stage and put on a show for thousands of fans gathered at Worthy Farm.

Rick teamed his suit with a plain black T-shirt and trendy white trainers, styling his brown locks in his signature quiff style.  

And it wasn’t just his outfit that didn’t let people down as his performance was positively received by music fans, with several claiming that the singer should’ve headlined the festival. 

Taking to Twitter, viewers and festival-goers alike hailed the 80s star’s set as ‘amazing’ and the highlight’ of the festival, while branding him a ‘legend’.

‘There is something incredibly loveable about Rick Astley. This is a truly wonderful performance. This could actually be the highlight of Glastonbury 2023.’ said one.

While another shared: ‘Rick Astley …. Where you been hiding all these years! Smashed it with a hot @glastonbury set today !! Come back we love you.’

‘Rick Astley – wow what a performance!!!!!’ came the response from a third fan.

A fourth music lover said: ‘There’s an alternate universe where Rick Astley is the main headliner on the Pyramid Stage, and I’d be completely and utterly happy there 

‘Don’t say, don’t say it…“Rick Astley should’ve been headlining that Pyramid last night, not those has-beens.”’ tweeted a fifth.

‘What an amazing set from Rick Astley! The man is a legend!’ remarked a sixth viewer.

With another declaring: ‘Telling ya! Rick Astley could rock the headliner slot on a Friday! No debate.. That’s it!’

The Together Forever singer not only wowed the audience with his own songs, but took the opportunity to perform some covers too.

Rick no doubt surprised the audience when he took to the drums to perform a punchy version of AC/DC’s Highway To Hell’

While pop fans may have been delighted as he also sang a rendition of Harry Styles’ As It Was. 

Rick Astley was certainly in good company on Saturday as other performers in the line-up include Lizzo, Raye and Lewis Capaldi – with the latter returning to the stage after cancelling a string of previous gigs to allow him to ‘rest and recover’ ahead of Glastonbury.

Meanwhile, rock legends Guns N’ Roses are the main headliners of the day. 

Formed in 1985, the band, featuring Slash and Axl Rose, have had massive hits which have endured the test of time such as Sweet Child o’ Mine and Welcome to the Jungle. 

Elsewhere, Worthy Farm has over 100 different stages and over 30 ‘areas’, with activities spread across 900 acres of the Somerset farm.

Meanwhile, Tilda Swinton was a somewhat surprising act at the festival as she performed with modern classical instrumentalist Max Richter.

The actress, 62, opted for a baby blue suit with a mustard tie as she performed on the Park Stage.

Tilda donned dark sunglasses and was seen reading from the folder as she participated in the festival. 

Tom Grennan meanwhile looked to be loving life as he performed at the festival on Saturday.

The Not Over Yet hitmaker looked on fine form as he belted out tracks in a black vest and cream trousers.

While Raye looked fabulous in a black cut-out gown as she sang to the crowd.

However, at one point the singer appeared to get emotional as she was seen wiping away a tear on stage. 

Elsewhere, Cate Blanchett became the Queen of Glastonbury Festival after she gave a surprise dance performance on Friday night.

The Australian superstar, 54, sent fans into a frenzy as she showed off her quirky moves on the Park stage at the annual music event.

The Oscar winner performed along with the band Sparks, reprising her role in the music video for their song The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte.

She wore the same striking custard yellow trouser suit and white loafers she wore in the video and repeated her unusual shapes. 

While this was a welcome surprise, disaster struck another set on Friday night as the Arctic Monkeys were reportedly forced to stop their headline show amid concerns for a fan.

The band took to the iconic Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm for a 90 minute set, which was criticised by fans for being ‘boring’ as they’d seemingly ‘slowed down’ many of their hits.

However, the performance was said to be halted by the band to allow help to be given to a fan after members of the crowd begged for medical help.

It’s reported that festival-goers used their mobile phones to flag down stewards so they could come to the aid of the troubled fan.

While lead singer Alex Turner and the rest of the group briefly stopped their performance to allow the poorly person to be helped efficiently. 

A witness at the event told The Mirror: ‘There was a moment last night in Arctic Monkeys’ set where they dramatically paused gig as fan fell unwell.

‘Festival goers about 40metres deep from the stage cried for medics, and frantically waved mobile phone lights, to attract the attention of stewards who rushed into the crowd to help.

‘The band briefly paused their set to allow the stewards to deal with the situation before resuming.’

It comes after Glastonbury festivalgoers were left disappointed by the Arctic Monkeys headline set as they heaped criticism on the band for slowing down their smash hits. 

The Arctic Monkeys played the hotly-anticipated 90-minute headlining slot, but fans were left underwhelmed by the show, with one person even seen yawning in the audience. 

Lead singer Alex Turner belted out a whole host of the Arctic Monkeys smash hits, including Mardy Bum and R U Mine, but the crowds were left confused and wondering what the ‘hell was going on’ with the band.

For many of the band’s big hitters, Alex – who has recently recovered from acute laryngitis, sang the tracks at a much slower tempo than the upbeat originals, with fans complaining that it made it difficult to sing along.