Ian Youngs
Culture reporter
Mark Savage
Music Correspondent
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Capaldi greeted the audience with a peace sign, before starting his set
Lewis Capaldi has made a surprise – albeit heavily rumoured – return at the Glastonbury festival, two years after taking a break to focus on his mental health.
The star’s arrival was confirmed when his name flashed up on the video screens at the back of the Pyramid Stage, to a huge roar of support from thousands of fans who’d been tipped off about his performance.
Capaldi strolled onto the stage, taking in the view and raising a peace sign to the sky. Then he hoisted a guitar over his shoulders to play the opening chords to Before You Go.
“Glastonbury it’s so good to be back,” he said after his second song, Grace. “I’m not going to say much up here today because if I did I might start crying.”
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The star has only made limited public appearances since his last Glastonbury set ended in emotional circumstances
He ended his short set by playing Someone You Loved, which had brought his 2023 set to an abrupt close.
“I couldn’t sing this song two years ago. I might struggle to finish it today for different reasons,” he said, tearing up again.
“My name is Lewis Capaldi and I’m [expletive] back, baby.”
The star’s entire set was a back and forth with the audience, as Capaldi alternated lines with fans who’d shown up to give him their love.
It was one of the most moving and heart-warming spectacles I’ve ever witnessed at Glastonbury, or anywhere else, for that matter.
Capaldi, who has Tourette’s, last performed at the festival in 2023 under difficult and emotional circumstances.
In front of thousands, he lost his voice and experienced pronounced tics. The audience ultimately stepped in to help him finish his final song, Someone You Loved, in a gesture of affection, solidarity and support.
“Glastonbury, I’m really sorry,” the singer said as that set drew to a close. “I’m a bit annoyed with myself.”
A few days later, he announced he was retreating from the spotlight to get his “physical and mental health in order” and “adjust to the impact” of his Tourette’s diagnosis. He has only made limited public appearances since.
Addressing those experiences on Friday, he said: “It’s just a short set today but I just wanted to come and finish what I couldn’t finish first time around.
“Second time’s a charm on this one, everybody.”
The audience showed its support by chanting his name to the tune of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army.
‘Welcome back, brother’
Speculation about his Glastonbury performance intensified on Friday morning, after he released a rousing comeback single that addressed his struggles.
Titled Survive, it opens with the line: “How long ’til it feels / Like the wound’s finally starting to heal?”
The lyrics continue: “Most nights I fear / That I’m not enough / I’ve had my share of Monday mornings when I can’t get up.”
In the song, the 28-year-old also defiantly sings that he refuses “to spend my best years rotting in the sun” and is determined “to get up and live / Until the day that I die”.
Greg and Kate were among the fans who were moved by Capaldi’s performance
Introducing his new song at Glastonbury, Capaldi welled up as he admitted: “The last two years haven’t been the best for me.
“It’s been difficult at times. I wanted to write a song that was about overcoming that stuff.”.
“This has been my goal,” he added, “to get back here, doing this.”
“You could see, when he was walking off, how proud he was that he’d managed it,” said Kate, a fan from Oxford. “To be part of that was really special.”
“It was really moving,” agreed Georgia, from London.
“I had goosebumps in places I didn’t know I could get goosebumps.”
Marley and Maya were also moved by the concert
Welsh teenagers Marley and Maya were in tears after Capaldi left the stage, although they had different reasons from other festivalgoers.
My dog died two days ago and he [Capaldi] saved us when we were in our darkest time,” said Marley.
“He’s so inspiring,” added Maya.
“He’s someone to look up to because he’s just so strong.”
Glastonbury favourite
Survive is Capaldi’s first new material since his second album was released in 2023.
Both of his albums went to number one in the UK, and his 2018 single Someone You Loved topped charts around the world – becoming the fourth most streamed song of all time, with almost four billion listens on Spotify.
But he also spoke openly about the pressures of touring on his mental and physical health, and about the impact of panic attacks and Tourette’s, which he was diagnosed with in 2022.
He made a tentative return to the stage in May, playing a last-minute set at Edinburgh’s Assembly Halls, in aid of the charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm).
Fans were asked not to film the show, with their phones placed in sealed pouches as Capaldi sang six songs including the hits Hold Me While You Wait and Someone You Loved.
Friday’s Glastonbury set marks his first full-scale show in two years.
The singer teased his return in the days leading up to the festival by erecting a series of billboards near the Glastonbury site and in his home city of Glasgow.
The first sign appeared near Castle Cary train station, about 14 miles from the festival. It was emblazoned with the words: “I’ve had my fair share of Monday mornings where I can’t get up”.
Separately, an electronic billboard in Scotland displayed a message in the same font which said: “I refuse to spend my best years rotting in the sun”.
Both messages had a phone number to text for more information. Those who sent a message got the reply: “Hey, it’s TBA, thanks for signing up”, apparently confirming the signs were sponsored by an act listed as “TBA” on the festival line-up.
Speculation that Capaldi was responsible peaked after he liked a number of Instagram posts relating to the billboards.
Then, on Friday morning, posters for a Lewis Capaldi lookalike contest appeared around the Glastonbury site.
The singer was not the first surprise performer of Friday’s festivities, however.
That honour went to pop star Lorde, who popped up to open the Woodsies stage, playing her new album Virgin in its entirety.