Glastonbury 2023: Lewis Capaldi sent letter by Teesside boy

James Craven, 11, from Teesside was only formally diagnosed with Tourette’s on Friday (June 23), a day before Capaldi took to the stage at the iconic music festival.

During the Pyramid Stage performance, he stopped singing due to losing his voice earlier in his set and repeated tics, and the crowd responded by belting out the lyrics of his hits to show their support.

Read more: Lewis Capaldi to take another break from music after Glastonbury performance

Watching the set just a day after his diagnosis 11-year-old James wrote to the singer saying: “I like that you have Tourette’s and you keep going with it.”

James’ mum Kate Craven, a 42-year-old teacher, said: “[James] sat there this morning while I was doing the ironing and wrote this letter without any prompting or anything like that.

James Craven, 11 (Image: PA)

“I was really proud of him because it absolutely came from his heart.”

Other lines from the letter – which was written on A4 lined paper – include: “Whenever I see you struggling but continue going, it brings a smile to my face” and “you are a role model to everyone with Tourette’s and it shows them that they can be successful”.

Ms Craven said James is a fan of Capaldi and is even a musician himself as he’s learning the piano.

When the crowd at Glastonbury sang Capaldi’s lyrics on Saturday, so did James.

“He was singing along, the whole living room was singing along with him”, she said.

Read James' emotional letter to Lewis Capaldi (Image: PA)

“Also, everybody watching held their breath a little bit, I think, because James knows what having tics is like and when attention is drawn to them, it just makes them worse.”

Ms Craven added that when her son was diagnosed with Tourette’s, he was “absolutely over the moon”.

“We had a little celebration,” she added.

Lewis Capaldi performed on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on Saturday (June 24). (Image: PA)

Ms Craven said she hopes Capaldi’s performance raises awareness for Tourette’s.

Read next:

• Warning issued after three people rescued from inflatable dingy blown out to sea
• See inside the bargain two-bed County Durham home that could be yours for a grand
• NAMED: 10 North East businesses who failed to pay their workers minimum wage

Get more from The Northern Echo with a Premium Plus digital subscription through our special offer at just £3 for three months. Click here

“I would like people to see that having a condition like Tourette’s has a massive impact on your mental health and sometimes it’s absolutely fine, but sometimes it isn’t.

“James did his SATs and supressed his tics and afterwards, his body was just broken and he slept for 13/14 hours.

“I’d also like people to be more aware of the fact that tics are not necessarily the extreme ones and that you can be successful with the condition and it is also only one facet of who you are.”