Lewis Capaldi reveals the secret behind his triumphant return to music after mental health battle and traumatic Glastonbury performance convinced him his career was over

Lewis Capaldi has credited therapy for his triumphant return to music, two years after a crippling battle with Tourette’s syndrome left him unable to finish his Glastonbury set and convinced the singer that his career was over. 

Capaldi was headlining at the Worthy Farm music festival in 2023 when his well publicised struggle with Tourette’s manifested itself in front of thousands of fans. 

Emotional footage captures revellers singing the lyrics to his hit single Someone You Loved in unison after he struggled to complete the performance. 

Reflecting on the performance, Capaldi, 28 – who has teamed up with BetterHelp, the world’s largest online therapy platform, for a new promotional campaign – admits he thought it would be the last of his career.  

‘I think I probably knew two songs into the set at Glastonbury that I couldn’t do it,’ he said. ‘Glastonbury’s obviously a big deal – it’s kind of like the biggest deal –  and it was the Pyramid Stage, so it was a big old gig. 

‘Second song in I was like probably like, I can’t keep doing this to myself and other people as well. People are coming to gigs, it’s not how you want to watch a show. And as far as I was concerned, I was like “I’m done indefinitely.”‘

Lewis Capaldi has credited therapy for his triumphant return to music, two years after a crippling battle with Tourette’s syndrome left him unable to finish his Glastonbury set

Capaldi was headlining at the Worthy Farm music festival in 2023 when his well publicised struggle with Tourette’s manifested itself in front of thousands of fans (pictured)

The singer-songwriter subsequently announced a hiatus from music while he prioritised his mental health, but he also believes he needed a complete break from the industry as a whole.  

‘I didn’t take a break to just focus on getting better,’ he said. ‘I took a break because I needed a break, and to sort of release the pressure valve a little bit.’ 

Tourette’s, a neurological condition characterised by a combination of involuntary noises and movements called tics, can cause speech and voice abnormalities.

Fans were widely praised for helping Capaldi through his 2023 Glastonbury slot after the condition derailed his performance – with many describing it as a beautiful moment of solidarity. 

But the singer admits he views the incident through a darker lens. 

‘I watch it back and I actually feel sad, watching it,’ he admits. ‘I don’t watch it back as everyone else does, and they go “what an incredible moment.”

‘It is a beautiful moment, and people were really helping me, and they helped me get through it. They made it a much less embarrassing moment. If people weren’t singing along it would’ve been pretty bleak.’ 

He added: ‘The reason I got so anxious in the first place was because I wasn’t living in the moment at all. I was catastrophising, thinking about all the things that could go wrong. 

Reflecting on the performance, Capaldi admits he thought it would be the last of his career

‘I don’t think I was present enough to appreciate what was happening when it was happening, and that’s why when I watch it back now – because it is an uplifting thing to watch – I don’t look at it as an uplifting, happy video.’