Lewis Capaldi: Glastonbury crowd sing for star after he loses voice on stage
Glastonbury festivalgoers helped a struggling Lewis Capaldi through the end of his set by singing for him – after he lost his voice on stage.
The Scottish singer, who had previously cancelled three weeks of shows to rest and recover, apologised as he prepared to belt out his hit song Someone You Loved on the festival’s Pyramid Stage on Saturday night.
The 26-year-old star admitted he was having voice issues in the run-up to the ballad, telling the crowd: “I’m going to be honest everybody, but I’m starting to lose my voice up here, but we’re going to keep going and we’re going to go until the end.
“I just need you all to sing with me as loud as you can if that’s OK?”
He continued to apologise to the crowd, and the Eavis family behind the Worthy Farm festival, for his voice starting to go, only for fans to reply with chants of “Oh, Lewis Capaldi”.
The star, who recently opened up about his battles with anxiety and Tourette’s syndrome, then attempted to launch into Someone You Loved – a powerful vocal-heavy piano ballad – to end his set.
But as he struggled to hit the notes, the Glastonbury crowd roused once again and helped him over the line by singing back to him as he watched on, clearly emotional.
At the end of the show, Capaldi revealed he planned to take some more time off and told fans: “I feel like I’ll be taking another wee break over the next couple of weeks.
“So you probably won’t see much of me for the rest of the year, maybe even. But when I do come back and when I do see you, I hope you’re still up for watching us.”
It comes after the singer-songwriter announced that he was taking time to rest and recover in the lead-up to Glastonbury.
He said in a post on social media that the last few months had been “full on, both mentally and physically”.
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In the post, he apologised, telling his 1.4 million followers: “I haven’t been home since Christmas and at the moment I’m struggling to get to grips with it all.”
The singer recently admitted on an Apple Music show that his mental health issues were a “direct symptom” of his work.
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He said “a few panic attacks” and his recent Tourette’s diagnosis was worth the trade-off for a pop star’s life, but admitted he could give up music if his mental health worsened.
Capaldi’s emotional Pyramid Stage set was followed by a glittering performance from US star Lizzo and a headline showstopper from American rock band Guns N’ Roses.
Meanwhile, Lana Del Rey was cut short during her headline performance on the Other Stage.
The US singer was 30-minutes late to the stage, telling fans: “My hair takes so long to do… super sorry I’m so late.”
Lana Del Rey, pictured in March
But her mic was cut at exactly midnight – due to the festival’s strict curfew – with the singer unable to perform some of her biggest hits, including Summertime Sadness.
Fans sang another of the 38-year-old’s hits, Video Games, back to her and she joined in a cappella, before leaving the stage to talk to festivalgoers.
Glastonbury will wrap up on Sunday night with a much-anticipated headline performance from Elton John – billed as the legendary singer’s last-ever UK show.
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Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
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Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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