By Darcey Herod

 The 1975 is an English indie rock band. They were formed in Manchester and the band consists of four members.  Matthew Healy (vocals), Adam Hann (guitar), George Daniel (drums) and Ross MacDonald (bass).  Matthew Healy was born on the 8 th of April, 1989 and he met the rest of the band members at Wilmslow High School in Manchester. They started off as a tribute band, only singing covers of songs when eventually they wrote their own songs.  They started the band at the age of fifteen when the local council worker organised gigs for young people.

 The band released their first EP (extended player) in August 2012 named ‘Facedown’. The lead track was called ‘The City’ which also featured on another BBC Radio One show.  This was the band’s first UK airplay on national radio (BBC Radio One).  They gained a lot of fans and attention and started to release more EP’s.  On the 4 th of March 2013, they released their next EP called ‘Music for Cars’ which held the single ‘Chocolate’.  Their latest EP is called ‘IV’ which was released on the 20 th of May  They have released an album called ‘The 1975’.

 Their single ‘Chocolate’, from their ‘Music for Cars’ EP was their first ever single to reach the charts. It was placed 19 th in the UK singles chart.  Their latest EP, IV, included the new version of ‘The City’ which also reached the UK singles chart and in several other countries.

The 1975 embarked on their own UK and Ireland tour in early 2013 before beginning a US tour. Before that, they were support acts for many different bands on tour.  They supported Muse at the Emirates Stadium in London, May  They also toured with The Neighbourhood in the US in June  They supported The Rolling Stones in Hyde Park in July  In August 2013, they performed at Reading Festival and Leads Festival.

 The 1975 have been on TV many times.  They mainly have performed on chat shows or have been televised at different festivals.  Sometimes they has been interviewed as a band or just Matt Healy by himself. They are normally on talk shows with other famous celebrities to talk about their band and how they’ve come together. After, they have talked they will perform one of their songs as an ending show.  They have been on shows such as ‘Alan Carr: Chatty Man’, MTV and ‘The Graham Norton Show’.

 The 1975 have been influenced by many. Their indie- punk genre is not the first and many bands are similar.  They have been compared by a band called The Big Pink.  Healy says that Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel and Prince were his musical influences.  Lyrically, the band touches upon themes like love, drugs, hope, death and fear. An example of a song with these themes is ‘Chocolate’. Peter Gabriel Michael Jackson Prince

 Healy recounts that the name for the band was inspired by scribbling’s found at the back of a poetry book, dated ‘ 1 June, The 1975’.  Although they are classed as indie rock as a genre, they have been also known as electropop, pop-rock and R&B.  Their second album will be released in  They have also revealed that they will be touring in November  Their first album, The 1975, was released on the 2 nd of September.