Lewis Capaldi could quit music if his Tourette’s syndrome worsens

Lewis Capaldi has said that there is a “very real possibility” that he could one day quit music if his Tourette’s syndrome gets worse.

The Scottish singer revealed back in September he had been diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome, saying that he wanted to make it public “because I didn’t want people to think I was taking cocaine or something”.

He explained that making music and performing makes his symptoms worse. “It’s only making music that does this to me, otherwise I can be fine for months at a time, so it’s a weird situation,” he told The Times in a new interview. “Right now, the trade-off is worth it, but if it gets to a point where I’m doing irreparable damage to myself, I’ll quit.”

“I hate hyperbole,” he continued, “but it is a very real possibility that I will have to pack music in.”

He said that he was “trying to get on top of” the issue. “If I can’t, I’m fucked,” he added. “It’s easier when I play guitar, but I hate playing guitar. I know, I’m a walking contradiction.”

Capaldi is set to go into more detail about how his Tourette’s syndrome affects his performing in his upcoming Netflix documentary, How I’m Feeling Now, which will debut on the streaming platform on Wednesday (April 5).

“This twitch became out of control and it was awful. It was absolutely horrific,” he explained [via The Independent]. “I started to get in my head about these pressures. ‘Fuck, there’s skin in the game now’. Rather than me just singing my silly little songs. Other people are depending on me.”

Capaldi had previously said that his shoulder twitches when he is excited, happy, nervous or stressed. “It is something I am living with,” he said, “it’s not as bad as it looks.”

At a recent show in Frankfurt, Germany, the singer’s fans took over a rendition of ‘Someone You Loved’ after he began experiencing tics.

He recently took part in a trial for a wrist device designed to help with tics. Sky News reported last month that researchers said it helped him “feel calmer and the device clearly suppressed the head and shoulder tics which can be quite painful for him”.