By Gemma Samways
Copyright standard
In a year all-but dominated by difficult news stories, Lewis Capaldi’s recovery has provided a rare cause for celebration. Having taken a two-year break from touring to focus on his mental health, the Scottish singer returned refreshed at Glastonbury, stealing the show on the Friday with his triumphant secret set on the Pyramid Stage. Buoyed by a national outpouring of goodwill, he’s now back packing out arenas, albeit adhering to a meticulously-paced touring schedule to prevent another burnout.
At the first of three sold out shows at The O2, the 28-year-old seemed to be coping just fine with his workload. Still the undisputed master of the tear-stained torch song and the self-deprecating wisecrack, he launched into his 70-minute set with the quip, “I hope you don’t bore easily because there’s a lot of fucking ballads to get through.” Truthfully, the show zipped by, even if his soul-stirring balladeering felt a little one-gear at times.
Selecting June’s aptly-titled comeback single Survive as his set-opener, Capaldi was in fine voice, asserting, “I’ve still got something to give,” during the soaring chorus. Backed by a tight five-piece band – and with the audience fulfilling honorary choir duties at every opportunity – he powered through platinum-selling smashes like Grace and Wish You The Best with all the gusto of a man making up for lost time.
He hinted as much later, introducing new track Almost with the admission, “I want to release as many songs between now and the end of the year as I possibly can.” A lovesick epic embellished with lush piano chords, it was the first of three songs receiving their London debut last night, alongside the falsetto stylings of future single Something in the Heavens and a painfully raw piano ballad entitled The Day That I Die, written in the depths of his illness.
To watch Capaldi belt out Before You Go was to witness the healing power of music first hand, illuminated by the glow of thousands of light-up wristbands. They flashed blue for Forget Me, its strutting melody offering a welcome change of pace and the night’s only real opportunity to dance.
“I feel so lucky to be back doing this and enjoying it,” he confessed shortly before the set-closer Someone You Loved, adding sincerely, “It means the world to me.” Honestly, to see him thriving was a thrill. Long may he continue.
