The 1975 have stepped into the breach to replace Lewis Capaldi in his headline slots at the Leeds and Reading Festivals. The Wilmslow lads, who are good friends with Capaldi, announced the news to their fans late last night, while on stage at the TRNSMT Festival in the Scottish singer’s hometown of Glasgow.
“Hey, film this, because I’m not going to do an Instagram post, I’m not on the social media,” lead singer Matt Healy told the crowd. “On Saturday at Reading and Sunday in Leeds, in celebration of 10 years of our debut album [Self-Titled], The 1975 will be playing that album in full in support of our good friend Lewis Capaldi.
“So if you’ve got tickets, good for you, if you haven’t try and get them. And we’ll see you there.”
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Capaldi cancelled all of the shows in his world tour after his performance at Glastonbury last month, during which he lost his voice and had to rely on the crowd to help him through his set at times, singing along. He had planned gigs in Europe, Australia, east Asia, the UK - including one in Manchester at Wythenshawe Park - and the Middle East.
He’s since said that he’s suffering from exhaustion and needs to ‘adjust’ better to living with Tourette Syndrome.
“I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I’d hoped three weeks away would sort me out,” he told fans, referring to the Glastonbury set. “But the truth is I’m still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend so much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time.”
“I need to feel well to perform at the standard you all deserve,” he went on. “Playing for you every night is all I’ve ever dreamed of so this has been the most difficult decision of my life. I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can.”
Healy has been showing his support for Capaldi on stage at the 1975 shows in recent days. On stage in Finsbury Park last weekend, he told the crowd: “I want to send my sincerest thoughts to Lewis Capaldi who is a good friend of mine. Who on the day when he had to cancel his tour, checked in on me. Just think about that.
"And it's also a reflection on how hard being a solo artist is as I would not be doing this show if I didn't have these amazing men and women behind me." Capaldi appeared on stage with The 1975 as recently as January this year, joining them on stage in Newcastle.
The Leeds and Reading Festivals happen from August 25 to 27.
