In his moment of triumph, his disabilities visible, the crowd loved him. If only society was always so accepting of difference
Glastonbury “moments” do not typically involve silence. On Saturday night, Lewis Capaldi changed that. There were no surprise guests, no wild costumes, nor any clever covers. At times towards the end of his Pyramid stage set, Capaldi himself wasn’t even singing. But the silence was filled – by the sound of a hundred thousand people coming together to sing the words for him.
If you didn’t see the set, Capaldi – who has spoken previously about having Tourette syndrome and anxiety – had problems with his voice throughout and was visibly affected by tics (involuntary movements or sounds). He gave a stellar performance full of heart and humour, but as the hour went on, it was clear he was struggling. “I’m going to be honest everybody but I’m starting to lose my voice up here, but we’re going to keep going … until the end,” he said. “I just need you all to sing with me as loud as you can if that’s OK?” The crowd did not let him down. By the time his mega-hit Someone You Loved began and his voice had all but gone, the audience had taken over, singing the lyrics back to him. Capaldi simply stood on stage taking it in: a sea of smiling faces stretching as far as the eye could see, thousands of voices singing in unison.
Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist
