Lewis Capaldi returns to stage in Glastonbury 'surprise' set

Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi has returned to the stage in a “surprise” slot at Glastonbury music festival.

The 28-year-old last performed at Glastonbury in 2023 before taking a break, citing anxiety, and announced on New Year’s Eve the same year that he planned to take a hiatus to focus on his health.

The crowd started chanting “oh Lewis Capaldi” before he began playing the hit song Before You Go to kick-off his set, which had been listed as “TBA” on the Glastonbury website.

On Thursday, speculation grew that Capaldi was among the secret performers scheduled for the festival with mysterious billboards being linked to a rumoured new single.

At midnight, he released a new song titled Survive and alongside a video montag. Ge wrote on Instagram: “It’s been a while…”

The mysterious billboards in Glasgow near the St Enoch Centre and outside the Glastonbury festival site were revealed to match the lyrics of the new release.

A phone number on the signs when called linked to a message that read “Hey, it’s TBA, thanks for signing up.”

That was a reference to the Secret Slot at Glastonbury on Friday.

This year’s Glastonbury line-up features a number of acts listed as TBA, with the Friday slot on the Pyramid Stage at 4.55pm speculated as the one Capaldi would perform in. This was confirmed when the singer stepped out to resounding applause and cheers.

Capaldi, from Bathgate, West Lothian, has Tourette’s Syndrome and released his first album in 2019, with a second album following in 2023.

On New Year’s Eve in 2023, Capaldi said in a lengthy Instagram post that he would “continue taking some time to carry on looking after myself” following the announcement he would take a break from touring after struggling with his voice during his Glastonbury Festival set earlier in the year.

Capaldi explored how the pressures of fame have affected him mentally and physically in the Netflix documentary Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now which was released in April 2023.

His critically-acclaimed 2019 debut album Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent emerged as the biggest-selling UK album of both 2019 and 2020.

His hit songs include 2019’s Someone You Loved, 2020’s Before You Go and 2022’s Forget Me.