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Glastonbury 2025 was filled with tears as superstar Lewis Capaldi finally returned to the stage to finish the set he started two years before.
In 2023, while on the Pyramid Stage, the Survive icon became unable to sing, with the crowd taking over and supporting him through the show.
At what should have been a triumphant gig, Lewis, 28, was having a devastating episode after being diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome.
The heartbreaking moment was watched by an estimated 100,000 at Worthy Farm with even more tuning into the BBC coverage.
Music fans rallied behind the Scottish singer, who has since said he ‘took on way too much’ without looking after himself.
Lewis revealed that weeks before Glastonbury, he suffered an even worse attack in Chicago, convulsing backstage and cementing the fact he needed to step back from the spotlight.
What happened to Lewis Capaldi?
In September 2022, Lewis revealed he had been diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome, having ‘always had’ symptoms like shoulder twitching.
According to the NHS, Tourette’s is a neurological condition that causes tics, which are involuntary sounds and movements.
Symptoms usually begin in childhood but can be exacerbated in times of stress and anxiety — such as a demanding tour schedule and the UK’s biggest festival.
After walking off stage at Glastonbury 2023, Lewis left the spotlight with an emotional farewell penned on social media.
In a statement shared on Instagram, the Someone You Loved singer wrote: ‘Hello everyone. First of all, thank you to Glastonbury for having me, for singing along when I needed it and for all the amazing messages afterwards. It really does mean the world.’
The musician continued: ‘The fact that this probably won’t come as a surprise doesn’t make it any easier to write, but I’m very sorry to let you know I’m going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future.’
Concluding his heartfelt statement, Lewis said: ‘I’m so incredibly sorry to everyone who had planned to come to a show before the end of the year but I need to feel well to perform at the standard you all deserve.
‘Playing for you every night is all I’ve ever dreamed of so this has been the most difficult decision of my life. I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can. All my love, always, Lewis x.’
All his tours and upcoming shows were scrapped, and he retreated to his hometown to surround himself with his family.
What has Lewis Capaldi said about his health?
In April 2023 — two months before Glastonbury — he released a documentary on Netflix titled How I’m Feeling Now about his diagnosis.
The film, which was followed by his second album, showed the Pointless singer as he returned to the studio.
‘When I’m in traffic it flares up,’ he explained in the documentary. ‘When I’m exhausted or after a big thing, it gets very bad.’
Much of what Lewis has said about his Tourette’s has been to reassure fans he’s okay and share the realities of living with the condition.
In his original social media video announcing the diagnosis, Lewis said: ‘I’ve always had it, apparently. The worst thing about it is when I’m excited I get it, when I’m stressed, I get it, when I’m happy I get it.
‘It happens all the time. Some days it’s more painful than others and some days it’s less painful.’
He added that ‘It looks a lot worse than it is’ and while tics can be ‘quite uncomfortable’, the physical symptoms ‘come and go’.
Lewis found a remedy by getting Botox in his shoulder to relax the muscle and stop it from moving but this was only temporary.
In a bid to learn more about Tourette’s, the Forget Me singer joined researchers at the University of Nottingham to test out a watch-like device designed to keep symptoms under control.
According to the BBC, the device was part of a clinical trial with ‘remarkable’ results, suppressing Lewis’ head and neck twitches.
The device is not yet out of the research and testing phase and Lewis has been open about his continued struggles.
Is Lewis Capaldi better now?
There is no way of curing Tourette’s but Lewis has spent the past two years bringing his health under control so he is once again able to perform.
On The Zach Sang Show he shared when he was first experiencing the tics, he thought he was ‘immediately dying’.
‘When they told me, I was like, ‘That makes so much sense,’” he said. ‘It ebbs and flows… Unfortunately, there’s no clear and “here’s this thing we can do nothing about.” But now it’s about handling my general anxiety.’
Lewis was spotted taking walks and exercising in his local park ahead of his return to the spotlight, as exercise is known to aid mental health.
On the show, he added that Tourette’s still impacts his day-to-day life, including an unfortunate side effect on his love life.
‘How do I say this?’ he laughed. ‘It makes it hard to climax. It’s like a rollercoaster that goes up and up and up and it never comes down… That was an issue, just decreased libido.’
When on stage in Belfast, he told the crowd, ‘I’m good, baby’, adding: ‘I’m up here, I’m good. I’m absolutely fine, everything’s good, I just twitch a little bit.’
Who supported Lewis Capaldi in recovery?
Lewis recently called out fellow celebrities who he says pretended to have supported him while he was away.
Speaking on Hits Radio, he said: ‘After the first Glastonbury, I got a call from Elton John, who said it was a great idea to take a break and stuff like that,’ he said.
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‘Niall Horan, obviously. I’m in group chats with Niall, so I speak to him quite a lot.’
‘There were some people who said they checked in on me, who did not check in on me,’ he added, calling the behaviour ‘bizarre.’
Among other celebs, Roman Kemp was a vocal supporter of Lewis in his time off, praising him while presenting the Game Changer award at the Rolling Stone UK Awards.
‘This award is the first of its kind and it’s going to someone who I would class as a close friend of mine, a good mate, someone who all of you in this room know probably too well, I’ll give you a little hint,’ the radio DJ began.
He continued: ‘I texted him and I said: “Gotta get this award for you do you want any message to pass on?” and he just said: “Get tae f**k. You do it yourself, freestyle something.” So you know it’s Lewis Capaldi right?’
‘You can see how much he tried to get through that all whilst battling with something that he was going through in his personal life,’ shared Roman.
‘That’s Tourettes. That’s something Lewis lives with every single day and is dealing with part of him, part of who he is.’
What has Lewis Capaldi said about his new tour?
A month after he returned from his hiatus at Glastonbury, Lewis confirmed he was ready to head back on tour for a limited run of dates.
The tour quickly sold out, with Lewis posting an emotional thank you to his fans online, saying he ‘didn’t expect’ this kind of response.
He said: ‘Honestly didn’t expect this at all… genuinely had no idea what to expect after taking a break for so long so be seeing this tour sell out faster than any tour I’ve ever played is the most incredible surreal feeling ❤️.
‘Thank you to every single one of you who got a ticket and I’m very sorry to any of you who wanted to come and missed out this time.’
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