The 1975

Formation (2002–12)

Matthew Healy (b. 8 April 1989), the son of actors Denise Welch and Tim Healy, grew up in Newcastle and Cheshire. He met Ross MacDonald, Adam Hann and George Daniel at Wilmslow High School in Wilmslow in 2002; as teenagers, they played together. The band formed when the local council worker organised numerous gigs for teens. Healy found Hann who "came up to [him] and said he wanted to play one of these shows." The band began playing covers until they "eventually wrote a song", according to Healy. "We started from then and we've been making music together since we were about 15." After Hann invited the members to form a band, they passed their early days covering punk songs in a local club. Healy was originally the drummer but took over vocals after the previous singer left to start another band. George Daniel was recruited as the new drummer to complete the final line-up.

The band formerly performed under Me and You Versus Them, Forever Enjoying Sex, Talkhouse, The Slowdown, Bigsleep, and Drive Like I Do, before settling on The 1975. Healy recounts that the name was inspired by scribblings found on the backpage of a poetry book by Jack Kerouac that stated "1 June, The 1975".

Early career and self-titled debut (2012–14)

The release of the band's first EP, titled Facedown, in August 2012 saw the band's first UK airplay on national radio with lead track "The City", which was also featured as part of a BBC Introducing show with Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1. The 1975 once again garnered national radio attention in late 2012, with BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe championing their single "Sex" from the eponymous EP, which was released on 19 November. They embarked on a United Kingdom and Ireland tour extended into early 2013, before beginning a US tour in Spring 2014. Upon the release of Music for Cars on 4 March 2013, The 1975 found mainstream chart success with "Chocolate", reaching number 19 in the UK Singles Chart. On 20 May 2013 the band released IV, which included a new version of "The City". The track charted in UK and received airplay in several other countries.

The 1975 toured extensively to support releases and to build hype before releasing their debut. The band supported Muse on the second leg of The 2nd Law World Tour at the Emirates Stadium in London on 26 May 2013. They also toured with the Neighbourhood in the United States in June 2013, and supported the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park on 13 July. In August, the band performed on the Festival Republic Stage at 2013 Reading and Leeds Festivals.

In a feature article, Elliot Mitchell of When the Gramophone Rings wrote that releasing a string of EPs before the debut album was "a move that he deemed necessary to provide context to the band’s broad sound, rather than just building up with singles alone." Matthew Healy said, "We wouldn’t have been able to release the album without putting out the EP’s first, as we wanted to make sure we could express ourselves properly before dropping this long, ambitious debut record on people."

Their self-titled debut was released on 2 September 2013, co-produced Arctic Monkeys and Foals producer Mike Crossey, The band were selling out shows even before the debut of their full length as Healy recalls in an interview with The AU Review. The lead single is a re-worked "Sex", which was released on 26 August 2013. The song premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 8 July 2013, and a music video premiered on YouTube on 26 July. The 1975 debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart.

The 1975 toured in the UK in September 2013, among others performing in Kingston upon Hull as headliners at Freedom Festival, a celebration of the city's shortlisting for 2017 UK City of Culture designation, and at iTunes Festival on 8 September as an opening act for indie electronic quartet Bastille. The band undertook a North American tour in October, a European for November, and in January 2014 the band performed in New Zealand and Australia. In September 2013, the band performed three sold out shows at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire. In April 2014, the band performed for the first time in a major American music and arts festival: Coachella. The band played at Royal Albert Hall the same month. In May, the band's recorded output was distributed digitally while they were touring North America. Healy noted that the band had recording scheduled in Q2 2015.

I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it (2015–present)

On 1 June 2015, the band's social accounts were terminated, which caused intense speculation. A comic strip was posted on Healy's Twitter a day prior but is now on their manager's account, which suggested the band's break-up. The next day, the accounts were reinstated, but the cover images and profile photos were white and light pink, instead of the usual black and white, revealing it to be a publicity stunt.

On 8 October, the band announced I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it. They premiered the lead single, "Love Me", simultaneously scheduling a support tour in Europe, North America, and Asia. They premiered the second single, "UGH!", on 10 December on Beats 1. The album's third single, "The Sound" debuted on BBC Radio 1 on 14 January 2016. The 1975 released the fourth single "Somebody Else" on 15 February on Beats 1 before the album's release. "A Change of Heart", albeit a song, premiered on Radio 1 on 22 February.

The album was released on 26 February and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. The band released a free download of "How to Draw" on Twitter and through Target Exclusive. It has been shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize.

On February 24th, 2017, frontman Healy alluded to a future release, tweeting "Music For Cars- 2018".

Musical style

The 1975 is mainly labeled as a pop rock band. Scott Kerr of AllMusic wrote that the band combined "the dark and youthful themes of sex, love, and fear with ethereal alt-rock music." Healy specifically cites Talking Heads, My Bloody Valentine, and Michael Jackson as musical influences; he states that his greatest influence is the oeuvre of filmmaker John Hughes. For their second album, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, Healy cited D'Angelo, Roberta Flack, Boards of Canada and Sigur Rós as inspirations, saying that they're "a post-modern pop band that references a million things. I don't even know what my band is half the time." Their "melancholic" black and white visual aesthetic is juxtaposed with major keys and what the band calls "classic pop sensibilities." Critics at Pitchfork have favourably compared them to The Big Pink. Sex EP was described by Paste as "equal parts ethereal and synth pop", with "haunting" and "smooth" vocals. Their "mellow", stripped down style was praised for its lack of "attention-grabbing production theatrics."

The 1975 has been described as electropop, funk rock, indie pop, indie rock, pop, pop rock and rock. I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It has been described as indie rock and pop.

Current members

Studio albums