Lewis Capaldi was supported by fans in a heart-warming way as he suffered with Tourette’s symptoms on stage.
The Scottish singer was playing at a highly-anticipated gig in the German city of Frankfurt this week when he suddenly suffered a frustrating bout of tics. Tics are a combination of involuntary noises and movements caused by neurological condition Tourette's syndrome.
Fans captured the moment on camera, in a now viral clip, as the 26-year-old performer could be seen turning away from the microphone as he struggled with his head and shoulder twitching. However, rather than let this ruin the performance, Lewis’ fans immediately jumped to the singer’s aid and began to sing along en masse until the symptoms passed.
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The heart-warming moment saw thousands of fans gathered at the gig finish off the end to his smash hit song Someone You Loved, allowing Lewis enough time to recompose himself and once again return the stage to continue his with his performance. Lewis first opened up about living with the condition on The Jonathan Ross Show last year, when he explained it had actually been quite a relief to finally get a diagnosis.
At the time he said: "I do have Tourette's. I didn't mean for it to be a big thing. I twitch a lot. My left shoulder goes up and I do this with my head. Now I am the poster boy for Tourette's. I'll take it, I'll gladly accept that.
"It was seven or eight months ago [that I was diagnosed]. I thought I had a degenerative disease. So to be told it was in fact that I have Tourette's, as you can imagine, was quite a relief. It's fine. Everything works."
He added: "I thought I was quite alone in being twitchy. It's been a relief and, if anything, nice to know I have a community. I'm quite an anxious person, I really start to overthink things if something's wrong - this was a weight off my mind."
What is Tourrette's syndrome?
According to the NHS website, Tourette's syndrome is a neurological condition that causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics. It usually starts during childhood, but the tics and other symptoms usually improve after several years and sometimes go away completely. There's no cure for Tourette's syndrome, but treatment can help manage symptoms.
There's no single test for Tourette's syndrome. Tests and scans, such as an MRI scan, may be used to rule out other conditions. You can be diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome if you've had several tics for at least a year.
Getting a firm diagnosis can help you and others understand your condition better, and give you access to the right kind of treatment and support. To get a diagnosis, a GP may refer you to different specialists, such as a neurologist (a brain and nervous system specialist).
Symptoms of Tourette's syndrome
People with Tourette's syndrome have a combination of physical and vocal tics.
Examples of physical tics include:
- blinking
- eye rolling
- grimacing
- shoulder shrugging
- jerking of the head or limbs
- jumping
- twirling
- touching objects and other people
Examples of vocal tics include:
- grunting
- throat clearing
- whistling
- coughing
- tongue clicking
- animal sounds
- saying random words and phrases
- repeating a sound, word or phrase
- swearing
Swearing is rare and only affects about 1 in 10 people with Tourette's syndrome. Tics are not usually harmful to a person's overall health, but physical tics, such as jerking of the head, can be painful.
Stress, anxiety and tiredness can cause tics to become worse. Tics may be less noticeable during activities involving a high level of concentration, such as reading an interesting book or playing sports.
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