Matthew Healy

Early life

Healy was born in London, the son of actors Denise Welch and Tim Healy. He was raised in Newcastle in Northumberland before his parents moved to Macclesfield when Healy was 10 years old. He left school at 16 and worked in call centres and cafes.

The 1975

In 2001, Healy met his to-be bandmates—guitarist and keyboardist Adam Hann, drummer and backing vocalist George Daniel, and bassist and backing vocalist Ross MacDonald—at Wilmslow High School in Wilmslow, a town close to Manchester. He states that a "hippy council worker" was putting on gigs for teenagers in Manchester and Hann approached him and MacDonald about forming a band. They started off with punk-rock and pop covers, until they wrote a song. Healy was originally the drummer for the band. However, the lead singer left to join another band, so he took over the position of lead vocalist. George Daniel was then recruited as the drummer, which completed the current lineup. The group kept going from then, performing under names like Drive Like I Do, TALKHOUSE!, the Big Sleep and the Slowdown until they settled with the name the 1975. A common question asked in interviews is where the band came up with their name. Healy was given a book at the age of 19 which was previously used as a diary. One of the dates written within the book was 1 June the 1975. He said the use of 'the' was very interesting and the name stuck with him. At first he did not see it as the name of his band but when they were trying to think of a new one he remembered that "and it was just perfect."

The band are currently in the process of recording their second album, titled "I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It" that is set to be released on the 26th February 2016.

Personal life

Healy is an atheist and humanist, and a Patron of the British Humanist Association. He has one sibling, a younger brother, Louis Healy (born in 2001) who also starred as Healy's younger self in the 1975 music video 'Heart Out'. Healy lives in Shepherd's Bush, West London with his band mate, George Daniel.