British pop rock band The 1975 is gearing up to make their Middle East concert debut on August 14, at the newly opened Coca Cola Arena in Dubai.
Here’s a look back at the band’s origins and their many rebirths as they get ready to release their latest single, People, on August 22.
- The band met at Wilmslow High School in 2002
Before they were ‘The 1975’, the four band members met as young teenagers in a UK high school. Matthew Healy — son of actors Denise Welch and Tim Healy — befriended guitarist Adam Hann and they began by performing covers at local gigs. Healy was initially the drummer of the group, but he stepped in after their singer Elliot quit. Soon after, bassist Ross MacDonald and drummer George Daniel, who they found in the school’s corridor near the music room, completed the line-up.
- They got their name from scribblings in a book
The group had many names before they chose The 1975, such as Me, You Versus Them, the Slowdown and Drive Like I Do. According to Healy, he found suicidal writings on the back page of a Jack Kerouac book. The page was dated ‘1 June, The 1975’ and “the use of the word ‘The’ preceding the date really stuck with me,” he told Fame Magazine.
- They released their self-titled debut album in 2013
While the band had already released an EP titled ‘Facedown’, their first full-length album was a self-titled record released in 2013. It went to No 1 in the UK. Mike Crossey, who has worked with Arctic Monkeys, Twenty One Pilots and LANY, co-produced the album, which runs for 16 tracks. The band gained popularity in their home turf and subsequently broke into international markets. In 2014, they performed at their first major US festival, Coachella.
- Social media blackout and album no. 2
On June 1, 2015, the band terminated their social media accounts, which gave rise to speculation of a hiatus or break-up. This turned out to be a part of a promotional stint for their sophomore album. The following day, their accounts went live again with the colours of their new album, pink and white, instead of the previous album’s colours, black and white. It wasn’t until October that the band officially announced the album, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware. The album released in 2016.
- The band’s new era and third album
The band began to tease a third album in 2017 but decided to expand it into a larger campaign. What began as a 5-track EP titled ‘Music for Cars’ morphed into a so-called new ‘era’ for the band, that would now include their third and fourth studio albums. In 2018, they released a 15-track album titled ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’, which topped the UK charts at No 1. The band’s fourth album — and their second in the ‘Music for Cars’ era — is set to release in 2020.
- 2020: Notes on a Conditional Form
Last month, the band again wiped their social media accounts to start anew. The next day, they reactivated their accounts and released ‘The 1975’, the opening track from their upcoming album ‘Notes on a Conditional Form’. It’s a spoken word speech by the young climate change activist, Greta Thunberg. The album’s lead single, People, will arrive on August 22 and the full album will release on February 21, 2020. At 22 tracks, it will be their longest album yet.
