Lewis Capaldi presented with statue by pupils at former school

A statue of Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi has been unveiled at his former secondary school in West Lothian.

Capaldi, 26, was presented with the bronze sculpture at St Kentigern’s Academy in Blackburn to mark the release of his second album.

Pupils and teachers spent six months creating the tribute.

Wattie Cheung

Upon its unveiling, Capaldi said: “You’ve really captured my essence. It’s pretty weird-looking but I like it.”

Capaldi released his second album on Friday titled Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent following the debut of a one-off Netflix film documenting his rise to fame and personal struggles.

He told Rebecca Judd on her Apple Music show that his mental health issues were a “direct symptom” of his job, adding that if they worsened he would be forced to give up music.

“I think on this album in particular I talk a bit more about my mental health, which has taken a beating over the last little while,” he said.

“I’m managing it better now but I think in 2020 I was kind of glad when we got put in lockdown because I had done my first arena tour in the UK, and we had just done an Australia and Asia tour before that, and I was in a bad way where I was just having panic attacks every single day on stage and I was just shy.

“I still haven’t quite got there, but it’s interesting that this thing that you love to do and you’ve always wanted to do becomes something that causes you such distress, but such is the modern world.”

Wattie Cheung

Capaldi said his latest album or his next album could be his last.

He said: “If I did another album and my head was scrambled and I felt horrible, right now I’m at a point where I can balance my mental health and how I feel in general. Not even just mental health, but the trade-off is worth it.

“I’ll take a few panic attacks and my Tourettes and stuff for what’s happening, but if it gets to the point where things get worse mentally and I stop kind of looking after myself in that regard, I think that would be a point where I’d be like, ‘I’m just not going to do this anymore’.”