Lewis Capaldi says attending therapy helped him return to the stage

The singer-songwriter performed for the first time in two years at Glastonbury last month

Lewis Capaldi has said that attending therapy played a “massive part” in ending his two-year break from live performances.

The Scottish singer, 28, best known for “Someone You Love”, returned to the stage for a surprise set at Glastonbury Festival last month.

During his latest appearance, the musician told his fans it was “so good to be back”, adding if he said anymore, he’ll “probably start crying”.

His set came two years after he was unable to finish his performance at the same festival as a result of his struggles with Tourette’s syndrome.

The star then announced a break from live gigs, marking the beginning of his two-year hiatus.

In a video released to mark the singer's partnership with BetterHelp, the online therapy platform, Capaldi described his performance at Glastonbury 2023 as "literally the worst moment" of his life.

"It was a big, big, big old gig," he said. "Second song in I was probably just like 'this has to like... I can't keep doing this to myself and other people as well'.

"People were coming to gigs, and I was like 'that's not how you want to watch a show'.

"As far as I was concerned, I was like, 'I'm done, indefinitely'."

Capaldi also said that he "wasn't living in the moment at all" and was struggling with his mental health.

He said: "Therapy has been such a massive part of my last two years, a massive part of the reason that I'm able to be a musician again."

The artist announced that, in partnership with BetterHelp, and "to reflect my experience of therapy and the importance I feel it has in my life and other people's lives," the charity would be giving away 734,000 hours of therapy for free.

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He added: "The importance of that number is that it's 1,000 hours for every single day... since I last played on stage, and I feel like if I can be a part of sharing that with other people, why not?"

When previously attending therapy, Capaldi said he had been "lying" to the therapist and "telling them what I thought they wanted to hear".

But the singer said therapy is now worth it, albeit difficult.

"I really struggle with it, it's not fun. I don't have a fun time there.

"I feel amazing after. Sometimes it can be really difficult, but I think I do it because I realise how important it is for me to continue to feel good because I've felt the best I've felt in a long time through therapy. I would say that has been the cornerstone of why I feel how good I feel now.

He added: "A big thing I've noticed or found, is that different therapists work for different people. So I think it's all about giving the time to therapy as well, also not expecting that quick fix. I'm someone who likes instant gratification... so I think coming to terms with that was a big thing."

After his return to the stage, Capaldi announced that he would be embarking on a tour of the UK, which starts on 7 September.

On Instagram, Capaldi wrote: “About time I got back to work… Hope to see you out there.”

He added that the gigs “will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year”.

Pre-sale for the tickets will begin tomorrow (8 July) at 9am.

The tour dates are as follows:

Sheffield, Utilita Arena - 7 September

Aberdeen, P&J Live - 11 September

Glasgow, OVO Hydro - 13 September

London, The 02 - 17 & 18 September

Manchester, Co-Op Live - 20 September

Birmingham, Utilita Arena - 23 September

Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena - 26 September

Cardiff, Utilita Arena - 27 September

Dublin, 3Arena - 29 September