Capital FM presenter Roman Kemp has admitted that he found friend Lewis Capaldi’s Glastonbury set ‘hard to watch’.
Capaldi, 26, performed a triumphant set at Glastonbury festival last weekend, which was highlighted by the crowd helping him finish his showing as the singer battled with Tourette’s.
The crowd supported Capaldi by singing his lyrics back to him as loudly as possible during his set on the Pyramid Stage.
Following the performance – which Lewis called a ‘s**t show’ at the time – his close friend Kemp also expressed that he was ‘proud’ of him.
The crowd supported Capaldi by singing his lyrics back to him as loudly as possible during his set on the Pyramid Stage
Roman has been transparent about his own struggles with mental health in the past, and explained how one of the reasons he and Lewis are friends is because they are both ‘honest and open’ with one another
30-year-old Kemp said: ‘It was really hard to watch. It was really hard to watch. It was really, really sad.
‘I’m proud of him. But I’m more proud that he’s decided to step away. Because it is lovely seeing him up there, and it’s lovely seeing the crowd doing it, but this is someone’s life.
‘When I saw him doing that he stopped being Lewis Capaldi and I thought, hang on a minute. That’s my mate. And he’s not in a good way here’, he revealed in an interview with Metro.
‘Not because of the visual thing of, ‘He’s got Tourettes,’ Roman clarified, ‘but more you can see he’s struggling.
‘And I know in his head he’ll be thinking, ‘F**k, this is my moment. It should have been different.’
Prior to Glastonbury, Capaldi pulled out of Capital Summertime Ball – which was hosted by Capital presenter Kemp – to give himself additional time off before his set at Worthy Farm.
Roman insisted that was ‘proud’ of Lewis for doing so, but admitted: ‘Do I think Glastonbury came too soon? Yes. I think he knows that. He says that.
‘But look, he had to give it a go. He would have kicked himself if he didn’t.’
‘I spoke to him just after he came off stage, and we had a chat on the phone,’ he explained.
Capaldi announced on Tuesday that he will take an extended break from touring due to his Tourette’s syndrome, raising fears over the future of his music career.
The Scotsman said it is ‘obvious’ that he needs to spend ‘much more time getting my mental and physical health in order.’
The decision, which he branded ‘the most difficult of my life’, reveals the true toll the condition is taking on the hitmaker, who has been remarkably open about his mental health struggles in the past.
Sorry: Posting on Instagram on Tuesday, Lewis confirmed that he was cancelling the planned 24 live dates he had scheduled for the rest of 2023
Sharing what the pair said when they spoke after Capaldi’s Glastonbury performance, Kemp revealed: ‘I spoke to him just to say well done. And he said to me, he goes: ‘What do you think? I think I’m going to take some time. It’s just scary because you build all this stuff up and you don’t want to lose it.’
In response to Capaldi, Kemp replied: ‘Man, look at the amount of people that are there. They’re not going to forget you.
‘It’s just funny that your song is called Forget Me, but like, remember that you can go to sleep tonight having done something that’s a bucket list for any artist.’
He continued: ‘So now the main thing is, he’s got to get himself better. And that’s what I told him, that’s what I said to him.’
Like Capaldi, Roman has been transparent about his own struggles with mental health in the past, and explained how one of the reasons he and Lewis are friends is because they are both ‘honest and open’ with one another.
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