The parents supporting Lewis Capaldi in his Tourette's battle
The parents supporting Lewis Capaldi in his Tourette’s battle: How fishmonger father and nurse mother are a constant at his side – as emotional clip show’s singer’s dad in tears while recalling moment his son had first Tourette’s episode on stage
Lewis Capaldi’s supportive parents were right by his side after he struggled to get through parts of his Glastonbury set on Saturday due to his Tourette’s symptoms.
Fishmonger Mark and nurse Carol had been watching on as their superstar son, 26, stopped singing during his first ever headline set at the festival, in what would have been emotional viewing for the couple.
Just a few days later, the Scotsman announced he would be taking an extended break from touring, cancelling up to 26 of his upcoming shows until at least September.
It comes after Lewis’ ‘intimate’ Netflix documentary showed how his father was left ‘heartbroken’ and in tears after seeing his son experience tics on stage for the first time some three years ago.
The emotional clip from the show How I’m Feeling Now has taken on new significance this week, as Lewis was forced to stop touring ‘for the foreseeable future’ due to a worsening of his symptoms.
Family: The singer, 26, who has two brothers and a sister, has a close relationship with both his parents and he even moved back home with them during the pandemic
READ MORE: Who is Lewis Capaldi’s actress girlfriend Ellie MacDowall?
The ‘most difficult decision of his life’ came after he was unable to sing parts of his Glastonbury set, leading his legions of fans to help him finish his songs.
In his fly-on-the-wall film, Lewis is forced to stop playing his first ever gig at Wembley’s SSE Arena in 2020 while suffering a bout of tics – two years before being officially diagnosed with Tourette’s.
His father Mark recalls the moment he struggled to come to terms with what was happening to his son, after watching him ask his band to stop playing mid-performance.
An emotional Mark said: ‘He f*****g stops singing. So I bolted, ran down the stairs. And the crowd has gone quiet.
‘I’m shouting, ”Go on!” And I’m breaking my heart. And he’s there, and it’s bad.’
Lewis then explains how the twitch became ‘out of control’, describing the situation as ‘awful’.
He added: ‘It was absolutely horrific. I started to get in my head about these pressures about things.
‘There’s skin in the game there, rather than just me singing my silly little songs. Other people are depending on me.’
Lewis’s father and mother, Carol, feature heavily in his documentary, which showed how he moved back home during the pandemic.
Down-to-earth: Lewis’ mum Carole Capaldi is a nurse while his father Mark is a fishmonger, who reside in Bathgate
Family life: In the documentary Lewis returns home to Scotland to spend time with his parents Mark and Carol (pictured left)
The singer has a close relationship with both his parents, as well as his two brothers and sisters.
He even introduced them to his girlfriend Ellie MacDowall during a recent trip to Hollywood.
Ellie was not at Glastonbury but quickly rushed to his side, as a friend told MailOnline yesterday: ‘Lewis needs to be around those who love him at the moment and Ellie is supporting and comforting him through this really difficult time.
‘He absolutely adores her. She wasn’t at Glastonbury but his parents were, along with his very supportive team that he has around him. As soon as he got home, Ellie made sure she was here for him.’
Lewis’ mum Carol Capaldi is a nurse while his father Mark is a fishmonger, and they reside in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland.
Lewis’s father Mark recalls the moment he struggled to come to terms with what was happening to his son, after watching him ask his band to stop playing mid-performance at the Wembley arena in 2020
Lewis took to the Pyramid Stage for his first performance in almost a month on Saturday after taking a break from all commitments in the three weeks prior to the festival
The pair were shown supporting Lewis at his concerts and through his struggle with Tourette’s in the documentary, but they came under fire for being ‘too harsh’ to the singer.
In one scene, Lewis plays a new song he is working on to his parents. After he is finished, his father said: ‘It’s sh***. Is that it?’
Speaking to BBC Radio 2 in May, Lewis joked that his parents like to believe they’re Simon Cowell.
He told presenter Scott Mills: ‘My mom and dad have all of a sudden become these muso’s.
‘My mum is a nurse and my dad is a fishmonger and now all of a sudden they’re like Simon Cowell.
‘It’s mental I don’t tell my dad what halibut to sell, I don’t tell my mother, I don’t know what she does as a job but I wouldn’t come over and tell her how to do it.
‘But at the end of the day its quite good at the end of the day those are the people that are listening to the radio and who are going to hear your music.’
In the documentary, Lewis’ mother revealed just how close their relationship truly is as she told him: ‘You’ve still got a lot of growing up to do. You need to phone your mother to come and pick you up from your one-night stand, because you’re having a panic attack.’
Opening up: Lewis Capaldi fans got a closer look at his life away from the camera in his new Netflix documentary, How I’m Feeling Now, with his mother and father appearing throughout
Supportive: Lewis’ Dad Mark showed concerns for his son when he was struggling with his Tourette’s symptoms – which some saw as harsh
In another clip, Lewis is struggling with a shoulder twitch and Mark is very insistent that he gets help, saying: ‘I thought you were going to do something about it. How do you get rid of it?’
It is clear the comments were made out of worry for their son Lewis – which TikTok viewers soon picked up on, praising Carol and Mark for being so ‘down to earth’.
One said: ‘Thought your mum & dad were amazing, so supportive of Lewis & everything he does!’
Another commented: ‘I think your mum and dad were amazing. amazing support for an amazing guy. They don’t understand scottish banter clearly.
Meanwhile a third said: ‘I actually love the fact Lewis comes from a normal down to earth typical Scottish family. that’s the first thing I said when I saw your parents! X’
Lewis is the youngest of four and admitted he was inspired by his older brother to get involved in music when they were kids.
His sister Danielle recently hit back at trolls who have taken aim at their parents, following the release of the singer’s emotional Netflix documentary.
In his film, How I’m Feeling Now, the musician travels back to his family home in Scotland following the success of his first album, Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, and begins to write his second.
It also explores the singer’s journey with Tourette’s syndrome, after doctors picked up on his uncontrollable shoulder twitch.
But trolls took aim at Lewis’ parents Mark and Carol following the release of the film on April 5, saying that they came across as ‘harsh’.
The Somebody You Love hitmaker’s big sister took to TikTok to shut down the negative comments directed at their parents, saying that the trolls haven’t understood their ‘Scottish patter’.
Danielle, 30, showed she shared her brother’s famous dry humour, posting a picture where they both showed their middle fingers to the camera in a gesture aimed at trolls.
Sense of humour: Trolls took aim at Lewis’ parents Mark and Carol following the release of the film, saying that they came across as ‘harsh’. After this, Lewis’ big sister Danielle took to TikTok to shut down the negative comments
She captioned it: ‘When reading negative comments on parents.’
Danielle, who is a teacher, said: ‘Lewis’ documentary has had a lot of positive responses but unfortunately there will always be people who have to look for problems where there arent any.
‘If you dont get scottish patter or parents who were worried about their son, dont comment.’
Replying to a comment saying their Dad comes across as ‘harsh’, she added: ‘We didn’t know he had Tourette’s at this point.
‘He went through me having MH issues that looked nothing like Lewis’ tics. He wanted him to get help.’
Danielle was referring to Mark’s blunt comments throughout the documentary.
However, Mark also shared many sweet memories of Lewis, including how Lewis would perform for the whole family.
He recalled: ‘Lewis would always go in his room, just sit for hours practising and then he’d come down and we’d all be excited, go in the kitchen and he’d say, ”I’ve learnt this.”’
Lewis suffered from uncontrollable tics while performing his song Fade at his first ever show in Wembley in 2020.
He was later diagnosed with Tourette’s after doctors picked up on his uncontrollable shoulder twitch.
Tourette’s is a neurological condition that causes you to make involuntary movements and sounds called tics.
The diagnosis provided some peace of mind for the singer as it made ‘complete sense’.
As for his anxiety, Lewis has been told with medication, exercise and a change in diet he could see a drastic improvement.
He thinks he may even have to quit his music career if things continue to get worse for him.
Musician Lewis told The Sun : ‘You can probably see it now — I’m twitching a lot ahead of this record. It’s weird because I wasn’t doing it as much on the first album, but I wasn’t as stressed.
‘There’s a lot more going on in my life now. The biggest thing undoubtedly is second record pressure. It’s triggered by stress, anxiety, and excitement. Basically, any strong emotion, you’re f**ked.’
The singer shot to fame in 2019 after his hit single Somebody You Loved topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks – and which recently became the UK’s most streamed song of all time.
WHAT IS TOURETTE’S SYNDROME?
Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition characterised by a combination of involuntary noises and movements called tics.
It usually starts during childhood and continues into adulthood. Tics can be either be vocal or physical.
In many cases Tourette’s syndrome runs in families and it’s often associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Tourette’s syndrome is named after the French doctor, Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who first described the syndrome and its symptoms in the 19th century.
There’s no cure for Tourette’s syndrome, but treatment can help to control the symptoms.
Source: NHS Choices
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