The 1975
English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire in 2002.
The 1975 are an English pop rock band that came together in Wilmslow, Cheshire in 2002. The lineup includes Matty Healy on lead vocals, rhythm guitar, and primary songwriting; Adam Hann on lead guitar; Ross MacDonald on bass; and George Daniel on drums and primary production. The band’s name comes from scribbles on the back page of a secondhand copy of Jack Kerouac’s *On the Road* that Healy owned, which read “1 June, The 1975.” Since their first album, critics have called them a leading force in modern pop rock and one of the most ambitious pop-rock acts of their generation.
The members met in secondary school and first played together as teenagers in 2002, but they didn’t release music professionally until 2012, when they signed to the independent label Dirty Hit. Between 2012 and 2013, they opened for bigger acts and put out a series of EPs—*Facedown*, *Sex*, *Music for Cars*, and *IV*—before their self-titled debut album hit number one in the UK in 2013. That album included the singles “Sex,” “Chocolate,” and “Robbers.” Every album they’ve released since has topped the UK charts and appeared on the Billboard 200, earning critical praise and spots on year-end and decade-end lists.
Their second album, *I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It* (2016), also reached number one in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Its box set was nominated for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package at the 59th Grammy Awards. The third album, *A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships* (2018), won British Album of the Year at the 2019 Brit Awards, and its single “Give Yourself a Try” was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 62nd Grammy Awards. That was followed by *Notes on a Conditional Form* (2020) and *Being Funny in a Foreign Language* (2022), the latter earning a nomination for British Album of the Year at the 2023 Brit Awards.
The band has been described by various outlets as “British Phenoms,” “Art Pop Heroes,” and “Modern Pop Icons.” They’ve won four Brit Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, and been nominated for the Mercury Prize twice and the Grammy Awards twice. In 2020, they were named “Band of the Decade” at the NME Awards.
The group started in 2002 at Wilmslow High School, where guitarist Adam Hann recruited Matty Healy to play drums for a band he was forming with bassist Ross MacDonald.
Quick Facts
- Landscape
- yes
- Alias
- Drive Like I Do
- Origin
- Wilmslow, Cheshire, England
- Genre
- Pop rock / alternative pop / art pop / synth-pop / new wave / indie rock
- Years Active
- 2002–present
- Label
- Dirty Hit / Polydor / Vagrant / Interscope
- Current Members
- Adam Hann / Matty Healy / Ross MacDonald / George Daniel
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The band members met at Wilmslow High School, where guitarist Adam Hann recruited Matty Healy as drummer for a band with bassist Ross MacDonald. After their prospective singer dropped out, Healy took over vocals while also drumming, later ceding drums to George Daniel, whom Healy said meeting 'changed his life'. The quartet began playing covers of punk and emo songs before writing original material. To keep the band together, Hann, MacDonald, and Daniel attended university in Manchester while Healy briefly went to music school; they worked as delivery boys at a Chinese restaurant and recorded their own music. By 2010, manager Jamie Oborne signed them to his newly founded label Dirty Hit for £20 after other labels passed due to their genre-hopping. Before settling on The 1975, they performed under names including Me and You Versus Them, Those 1975s, Forever Drawing Six, Talkhouse, the Slowdown, Bigsleep, and Drive Like I Do.
Between 2012 and 2013, the band released four EPs—Facedown, Sex, Music for Cars, and IV—building momentum before their self-titled debut album, recorded with Mike Crossey, topped the UK Albums Chart in September 2013. The album included the singles 'Sex', 'Chocolate', and 'Robbers'. They toured extensively, supporting Muse, the Neighbourhood, and the Rolling Stones, and performed at the 2013 Reading and Leeds Festivals. Their second album, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016), reached No. 1 in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and its box set earned a Grammy nomination. Their third album, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships (2018), won British Album of the Year at the 2019 Brit Awards, with its single 'Give Yourself a Try' nominated for Best Rock Song at the Grammys. Subsequent albums Notes on a Conditional Form (2020) and Being Funny in a Foreign Language (2022) followed, the latter nominated for British Album of the Year at the 2023 Brit Awards.
Reader's Guide
The 1975 have been a defining act in modern pop rock since their debut, with all of their albums reaching No. 1 in the United Kingdom and charting on the Billboard 200. Their music has garnered critical praise and appeared on numerous year-end and decade-end lists. They have received four Brit Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, two Mercury Prize nominations, and two Grammy nominations. In 2020, they were awarded 'Band of the Decade' at the NME Awards. Public reaction has been mixed, with Vice magazine in 2016 calling them 'the Most Hated and Loved Band in the World', while veteran critic Robert Christgau stated he thinks 'they suck' and should not be called a 'rock band'. Pitchfork described them as a 'band of friends' who 'ascended from scrappy emo rockers to global superstars'. Their legacy includes being recognized by Entertainment Weekly as 'British Phenoms', NME as 'Art Pop Heroes', and the BBC as 'Modern Pop Icons'.
Did You Know?
- The band's name was inspired by scribblings dated '1 June, The 1975' found in Matty Healy's preowned copy of On the Road by Jack Kerouac.
- Manager Jamie Oborne signed the band to his own label Dirty Hit for £20 after other labels passed due to their genre-hopping approach.
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