- British alternative rock band formed in 2002 from Manchester England. Members of the group are Matty Healy (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Adam Hann (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Ross MacDonald (bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and George Daniel (drums, keyboards, backing vocals). All of the members contribute to songwriting.
- The 4 band members were classmates in high school. When they were 15 years old, they started to play cover songs at local shows. Soon, they wrote a song together, and started to play at punk rock clubs. They went by many names – Forever Drawing Six, Talkhouse, The Slowdown and Bigsleep were a few, before they settled on The 1975. The name was inspired by a poetry book by Jack Kerouac that had “1 June, The 1975” written on the back page.
- After many years of playing gigs at local venues, they were signed to an independent record label in the UK. Their first release was an EP in August 2012, titled Facedown. The 4 songs had guitars with heavy reverb effects, and twangy emo vocals. Over the next 9 months, they released 3 more EPs. Music critics gave positive reviews, loving the unique alternative sound, and wondering if the music was too experimental to be successful. Their third EP, Music For Cars, had the song Chocolate, which was their first to chart in the UK, and their final EP, titled IV, was their first to chart in the U.S., sneaking into the Billboard 200 album chart, and charting at #42 on the Top Rock Albums chart.
- Their debut album, the self-titled The 1975, was released in September 2013. They supported the album with a concert tour in the UK, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The album is pop rock, though it has a wide variety of genres – electro, emo, punk, funk and rock are all present. Five singles charted in the UK, and 3 charted in the U.S., with Chocolate reaching #19 in the UK, #13 on the U.S. Rock chart, and #80 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sales of the album continued as the band’s popularity grew – 5 years after its released, it was certified platinum in sales.
- Their followup album, titled I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It, was released in 2016. It reached #1 on both the UK and US Billboard album charts. Six songs charted on the U.S. Rock chart, with Love Me, UGH!, Somebody Else and The Sound all breaking into the top 10 of this chart. Rolling Stone ranked it #1 on its list of the best pop albums of 2016. Like their first album, it has a wide range of styles, with touches of jazz, R&B, soul and rock weaved into its pop sound.
- Their latest release, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, had 5 singles released before the album was released in November 2018. All charted in the UK and on the U.S. Rock Chart. The album topped the UK album chart, and debuted at #4 in the U.S. Another album is due in May 2019, tentatively titled Notes On A Conditional Form.
- Looking for a new alt rock/pop band to enjoy? The 1975 has songs that are full of hooks, catchy and fun. Watch their video of The Sound. You might like them!