Lewis Capaldi’s Glastonbury set left one mother of a boy with Tourettes in tears because of the ‘powerful impact it will have on raising awareness for the condition’.
The Before You Go singer, 26, took to the Pyramid Stage at the festival and stunned the crowd with his melancholic ballads including famous hit Someone You Loved.
During the performance, Lewis – who himself has Tourette’s, a neurological condition which causes involuntary muscle movements and sounds known as tics – stopped singing as he lost his voice earlier in his set and had repeated tics.
However as Lewis struggled to continue with his performance, the crowd responded in unison by singing out the lyrics of his songs in an emotional moment.
The scenes moved plenty of people in the crowd and at home, as a slew of celebrities rushed to show their support to Lewis, including Lorraine Kelly, Piers Morgan, and Dan Walker.
Empathic: Lewis Capaldi’s Glastonbury set left one mother of a boy with Tourettes in tears because of the ‘powerful impact it will have on raising awareness for the condition’
Performer: The Before You Go singer, 26, took to the Pyramid Stage at the festival and stunned the crowd with his melancholic ballads including famous hit Someone You Loved
Laura Hummerson – who has a 19-year-old son with Tourette’s, named Harry – admitted the performance had a massive emotional impact on her.
She said: ‘Watching Lewis yesterday, in that moment, I think he did more for Tourette’s than any charity or education on the topic in all the times I’ve known about Tourette’s. I was in tears.’
Laura, 50, – who works in the criminal investigation department of the police force – watched the set live on TV from her home in Farnbourough, Hampshire, alongside her son.
She revealed when Lewis started ticing, Harry gradually started smiling as he noticed the singer had similar tics to him.
‘[Lewis] was openly ticing and my son tries to suppress his most of the time when he’s out, which means that when he comes home, he has these huge tic attacks where he can barely do anything’, she said.
‘Some of the tics that Lewis was doing were tics that my son does on a regular daily basis, jerking the head.’
Harry was diagnosed with Tourette’s at the age of five and half, and his mum revealed that his tics worsen to a point that she had to quit the job she had for 12 years, so that she could look after him.
‘Because of his head tics at one point, he couldn’t stand up’, she described.
Moving: Laura Hummerson – who has a 19-year-old son with Tourette, named Harry – admitted Lewis’ performance had a massive emotional impact on her
Overwhelming support: ‘The acceptance, tolerance, understanding, empathy and compassion which the crowd showed yesterday was phenomenal,’ Laura said
‘It was so violent and also he couldn’t feed himself… and sometimes he would hit his head on the door frame and knock himself out.
‘That’s what Tourette’s is like to live with.’
The mum-of-one revealed she was very much struck by how promptly the crowd reacted to support Lewis.
‘The acceptance, tolerance, understanding, empathy and compassion which the crowd showed yesterday was phenomenal’, she said.
‘Harry’s friends have been really sweet about his tics, but during primary school we had parents taking their kids out of school because they didn’t like the ticing, she added.
‘I wanted Harry to see the love from that crowd – nobody cared about Lewis’ ticing, they were carrying him through and little things like that show it is nothing to be ashamed of. That’s the big thing.’
Laura also praised Lewis for previously highlighting that Tourette’s does not necessarily imply that you’ll have swearing as a tic – although it can happen.
‘Most of the time, it isn’t about swearing’, she clarified.
‘I think the condition is still so misunderstood and people think you only tic when stressed.
‘With Lewis, he was ticing doing something he loved – sometimes it distracts you from what you’re doing, other times it doesn’t.’
‘So his performance was amazingly powerful,’ she added.
Despite his struggles, Lewis insisted on finishing his set and the show came to an emotional close as the crowds sweetly 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.
A video from the performance was shared to social media and several famous faces showed their support to the Scottish star.
Presenter Dan Walker wrote: ‘Special moment at #Glastonbury as the crowd help Lewis Capaldi ❤️.’
Piers Morgan added: ‘Wow. This was amazing. Kudos to @LewisCapaldi for not quitting – and kudos to the #glastonbury2023 crowd for singing him through his obvious issues.’
‘This was amazing’: A video from the performance was shared to social media and several famous faces showed their support to the Scottish star
Journalist Victoria Derbyshire wrote: ‘This is beautiful… just beautiful.’
TV host Lorraine Kelly added: ‘Lovely @LewisCapaldi is such a kind, sweet talented fella – and you can see how much everyone loves him❤️.’
Glee star Damian McGinty wrote: ‘Powerful video. Heartbreaking to see Lewis Capaldi struggling like that.
‘One of the greatest things about being a performer is it takes us somewhere else, the crowd too. Lewis deserves to enjoy it and not just survive it. He should take some time out to focus on himself.’
The Scottish star explained how fans might not see much of him for the rest of the year as he is planning to step away from his work for his mental health.
Near the end of his set, he told the crowds: ‘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.’
During his Glastonbury show, Lewis also candidly opened up about why he had taken a three-week break away from the stage before the music festival.
He 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.’
Mindful: The Scottish star explained how fans might not see much of him for the rest of the year as he is planning to step away from his work for his mental health
