Lewis Capaldi choked back tears as he declaring ‘I’m back baby’ during his emotional return to Glastonbury’s iconic Pyramid Stage for a secret set on Friday.
The Scottish singer, 28, was greeted with cheers from the huge Worthy Farm crowd, two years after his battle with Tourettes left him unable to finish his perfomance at the festival and led to a career hiatus.
Delighted to back in front of an audience he tearfully said: ‘Two years ago I wasn’t sure if I’d ever do this again, but I’m back baby!’’.
Lewis sung a number of his famous hits, before once chocking back tears as he performed brand new single Survive, which highlights the difficult period in his career following his last Glastonbury gig.
Fans in the crowd could be seen crying and calling out his name before joining him in a rendition of megahit Someone You Loved.
In his emotional speech, Lewis said: ‘Glastonbury it’s good to be back. Won’t say too much up here today as if I do I might start crying, but I can’t thank you enough for coming here and being with here’.
Lewis Capaldi, 28, choked back tears as he declaring ‘I’m back baby’ during his emotional return to Glastonbury’s iconic Pyramid Stage for a secret set on Friday
The Scottish singer was greeted with cheers from the huge Worthy Farm crowd, two years after his battle with Tourettes left him unable to finish his perfomance at the festival
Delighted to back in front of an audience he tearfully said: ‘Two years ago I wasn’t sure if I’d ever do this again, but I’m back baby!’’
Following his emotional set at Worthy Farm in June 2023 (pictured) the singer took time off to focus on his mental health and to ‘adjust to the impact’ of his Tourette’s diagnosis
‘Second times a charm hey! It’s a short set today but just wanted to come and finish what I couldn’t last time, also this was like the worst kept f*****g secret ever’.
Following his emotional set at Worthy Farm in June 2023, the singer took time off to focus on his mental health and to ‘adjust to the impact’ of his Tourette’s diagnosis.
Also performing on Glastonbury’s first day was CMAT, Lola Young, Alanis Morissette, as well Lorde with her own secret set.
Meanwhile Rizzle Kicks also made a return to the stage after their own 11 year hiatus and were joined by a surprise guest.
Harley ‘Sylvester’ Alexander-Sule and Jordan Stephens performed the biggest hits, with the later introducing his mum on stage during their track Mama Do the Hump.
Pointing to his parent, who was wearing a green wig, he reclaimed: ‘Give it up for my mum!’ as the crowd went wild.
It comes hours after Lewis shocked fans by announcing his comeback on Instagram, sharing a snippet of his new song and the Henry Dockrill directed accompanying music video.
Captioning his exciting post, he simply wrote: ‘It’s been a while…’ before directing his followers to the link to his song in his bio.
Lewis sung a number of his famous hits, before once chocking back tears as he performed brand new single Survive, which highlights the recent difficult period in his career
In his emotional speech, Lewis said: ‘ Glastonbury it’s good to be back. Won’t say too much up here today as if I do I might start crying,’
Before adding: ‘but I can’t thank you enough for coming here and being with here’
He said: ‘Second times a charm hey! It’s a short set today but just wanted to come and finish what I couldn’t last time, also this was like the worst kept f*****g secret ever’
The singer showed off his iconic vocals which were as incredible as ever
Fans could be seen holding banners and calling his name
The crowd then joining Lewis in a rendition of megahit Someone You Loved
Glastonbury fans turned out in their droves to catch the star back on stage following rumours of his return
Lewis previously announced he would be taking a break away from the spotlight for his mental health (pictured on stage at Glastonbury in 2023)
The short video features sweet moments throughout Lewis’ life and career, including snippets from his childhood.
The new song has been described as a ‘brutally honest track that addresses mental health challenges of self-doubt and despair’, highlighting the difficult period in his career following his last Glastonbury performance.
It features heartbreaking lyrics including: ‘Most nights I fear that I’m not enough, I’ve had my share of Monday mornings when I can’t get up.’
However, more defiant lines include: ‘I swear to God I’ll survive, if it kills me to, I’m gonna’ get up and try, if it’s the last thing I’ll do.’
Lewis once again teamed up with collaborator Romans for the track, with the songwriter having famously co-wrote Lewis’ megahit Someone You Loved.
The star’s announcement on Instagram sent his fans wild, with many sharing their excitement at his comeback in the comments.
They penned: ‘Can we all stand up and give this young man the around of applause he deserves, for stepping back and taking the time to seek the help he needed. What a role model. Welcome back Lewis. The world is a brighter place with you in it.’
‘God said «Let there be light» and he gave us our Lewis Capaldi back. Id be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t crying. You have been so missed. I love you!!’
‘You’ve been so missed. We are all exactly where you left us ❤️’
Lorde flashed her incredible physique as she performed on stage, lifting her top to expose her bra
The New Zealander out on a very engertic display during her own surprise set
She sang songs from her new album Virgin
Fans filled the Woodsies stage tent to watch Lorde perform
Meanwhile Rizzle Kicks also made a return to the stage after their own 11 year hiatus and were joined by a surprise guest
Harley ‘Sylvester’ Alexander-Sule and Jordan Stephens performed the biggest hits, with the later introducing his mum on stage during their track Mama Do the Hump
Pointing to his parent, who was wearing a green wig, he reclaimed: ‘Give it up for my mum!’ as the crowd went wild
‘Not me literally tearing up when I see a post from you again. I’ve missed you, but thank you for putting yourself first. Welcome back.’
Lewis previously announced he would be taking a break away from the spotlight for his mental health, with a source telling The Sun: ‘Lewis took a decent chunk of time away and now he’s ready for his fans to hear what he has been working on.
The insider added that Lewis was ‘raring to go’ after taking a career hiatus to work on his mental and physical health.
They said: ‘Naturally there will always be nerves but he feels confident and assured. He is firing on all cylinders and there’s no doubt this single will go straight to No1, which will give Lewis a massive boost.’
During his last performance at Glastonbury two years ago, Lewis was coming out of a three-week mental health hiatus he had taken to ‘rest and recover’.
Returning to the stage, the singer admitted he had been ‘s**t scared’ to perform as he opened up about his mental health struggles and battle against Tourette’s.
The neurological condition is characterised by a combination of involuntary noises and movements called tics, and can cause speech and voice abnormalities.
In the middle of his set, Lewis confessed that he was struggling with his Tourette’s and said his voice had ‘packed it in’, after coughing throughout the show.
However, his supportive fans rallied around him, with the show coming to an heartwarming close as the supportive crowd sang out his hit Someone You Love at the top of their voices.
Lewis emotionally left the stage, saying: ‘Glastonbury, I’m really sorry. I’m a bit annoyed with myself’.
Afterwards, he announced he would be ‘taking a break for the foreseeable future’ as it was ‘obvious’ he needs to spend ‘much more time getting my mental and physical health in order’.
The hitmaker, who had been due to embark upon a world tour, explained he needed time to ‘adjust to the impact’ of living with Tourette’s, admitting it was ‘the most difficult [decision] of my life’.
Lewis had charted his struggles with the condition in a documentary How I’m Feeling now, which aired in April 2023, two months before his breakdown at Glastonbury.
But he has teased that he would be back with new music, sharing a New Year’s Eve update in 2023 for fans where he said: ‘I’m really happy to say I’ve noticed a marked improvement in both since I decided to take some time off back in June.
‘For now I’m going to continue taking some time to carry on looking after myself, maybe writing some music and taking a moment to reflect on some of the most incredible years of my life.
‘I want to make absolutely sure I’m 100% before getting back out there again properly for more shows and doing what I love more than anything!
CMAT put on a very animated display as she performed on the Pyramid Stage
The crowd were whipped up into a frenzy by the energetic set
Also performing on Friday was Lola Young who flaunted her figure in a skimpy onstage look
The songstress wore a black bikini top which she teamed with long plaid shorts
She also sported her now memorably kooky hair do
Lola put on a very animated display as she took to the stage
‘These songs mean the world to me and I’d be gutted if I’d not been able to share them. Hope this tides you all over until we can get in a room and sing them together some day very soon!”
Lewis also thanked fans for their support, saying their reaction has been ‘nothing I’ve ever experienced and has made me more excited than ever to return to doing what I love at some point in the not too distant future’.
And last month, he took to the stage for a secret performance at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh last month — the first time he has performed Worthy Farm.
Headliner Tom Walker said Lewis made a ‘last minute’ decision to perform at the low-key gig, and fans were encouraged to ‘stick around’ for a surprise act.
He performed six songs, including his 2019 hit Someone You Loved, at the event, which was to help raise funds for the suicide prevention charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm).
Lewis released his first album, Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent in 2019, followed by Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent in 2023, which debuted at No 1 with 95,000 sold, making it the fastest-selling album of the year.
