Lewis Capaldi has thanked the Glastonbury crowds who helped him through his performance at the festival - and announced a break from touring “for the foreseeable future". The singer said he is “still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s.”
On Saturday Capaldi sang ballads including Someone You Loved to Glastonbury festival-goers while performing on the Pyramid Stage. During the performance, he stopped singing due to losing his voice earlier in his set and repeated tics.
The crowd responded by belting out the lyrics of his hits to show their support, helping him through the rest of his time on stage.
The singer said in a statement released on Twitter: "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 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 that I'm going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future.
"I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I'd hoped 3 weeks away would sort me out. But the truth is I'm still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette's and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come.
"I know I'm incredibly fortunate to be able to take some time out when others can't and I'd like to thank my amazing family, friends, team, medical professionals and all of you who've been so supportive every step of the way through the good times and even more so during the the past year when I've needed it more than ever."
He ended the statement by apologising to fans who were due to see him at shows before the end of the year. He added: "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."
Tourette’s is a neurological condition which causes involuntary muscle movements and sounds known as tics.
