As promised, a leather-clad, cigarette-brandishing Matty Healy and co. turned back the clocks this weekend, indulging hardcore The 1975 fans with a setlist that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a 2013 Tumblr user’s dashboard. A culture-defining LP for young teens at the time, The 1975 was, in Healy’s own words, trying to capture “the apocalyptic sense of being a teenager” and remains emblematic of an era where a very niche subculture, characterised by black and white imagery of Dr. Martens and fishnets, provided a new online audience with a sense of identity.

Listen to The 1975’s live rendition of 2013’s “Heart Out”:

As evidenced by the huge crowd at Reading on Saturday, the record clearly continues to resonate with young people even today, with deeper cuts such as “Pressure” or “She Way Out” – songs which are rarely, if ever, played live – prompting enthused singalongs from an enamoured audience. The fact that a portion of the festival’s attendees made up a new wave of listeners, didn’t go unnoticed, either, with Healy acknowledging:

“This album, I don’t know, it feels quite relevant now, and you all look very young and you’re all enjoying it – it feels like the internet’s working in the way it should do.”

The frontman is correct in assuming that his band are as relevant as ever: their latest album landed them a TikTok hit in “About You” – a song which harks back to the sonic landscape and romanticised aesthetic first explored on their debut album. The group’s early hits, however, are still equally as potent, with crowd-pleasers “Sex” and “Robbers” showcasing The 1975’s enduring influence on fans. 

Check out their live performance of “Robbers” below:

Meanwhile, Healy was quick to appreciate his band had been gifted an opportunity at the expense of a certain Scottish pop singer:

“Well, first of all can we have the loudest round of applause in our set for Mr. Lewis Capaldi who couldn’t make it tonight.”

Capaldi, who has been struggling with Tourette’s syndrome, was initially set to headline Reading, but was forced to cancel a number of shows including the bank holiday weekend festival due to his wavering health.

In honour of its 10 year anniversary, The 1975 will be releasing a special edition format of their self-titled debut album, due to hit stores on September 1. The 1975 (10th Anniversary) is available for pre-order here.

For their full set at Reading 2023, head to BBC iPlayer.

The 1975 took over Lewis Capaldi’s headlining slot after Capaldi announced that he’d be taking a break from performing to prioritise his health. Capaldi has faced struggles with Tourette’s syndrome, leading him to cancel multiple performances as he learns to live with his condition.

During The 1975’s Reading set, frontman Matty Healy addressed the crowd, saying “Well, first of all can we have the loudest round of applause in our set for Mr Lewis Capaldi who couldn’t make it tonight.”

Matty Healy had previously touched on his friendship with Capaldi during the band’s headlining performance at Finsbury Park, saying, “I want to send my sincerest thoughts to Lewis Capaldi who is a dear friend of mine, who on the day when he had to cancel his tour, checked in on me. And it’s also a reflection on how hard being a solo artist is as I would not be doing this show if I didn’t have these amazing men and women behind me.”

The 1975 used the opportunity to play an anniversary show to mark 10 years since their self-titled debut album was released. The band played the album in full, playing throwback crowd-pleasers including “Sex,” “Chocolate” and “Robbers.”

The performance was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, as fans basked in the nostalgia of hearing the debut album performed a decade on. One fan described the atmosphere as being “like one big family” as well as being “insane and incredible.”

the atmosphere of this show was INSANE. Like, i cannot explain it in words, but it felt like one big family, we could laugh together and cry together. it was fucking incredible. i will never regret going to this show. god bless the 1975 THE WORLD’S GREATEST BAND pic.twitter.com/qHxAH2aU9m

— Iris (@irissversion75) August 26, 2023

The said insane and incredible atmosphere:

god i love the 1975 pic.twitter.com/ZXdFmj8NfN

— Iris (@irissversion75) August 26, 2023

The band also went on the play newer tracks including “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You),” “Happiness” and “I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)” to satisfy fans of their later albums.  

Matty Healy’s happiness during Happiness at Reading Festival 2023#the1975 #the1975live pic.twitter.com/GJmhWdWd8l — The 1975 TH (@the1975_thteam) August 27, 2023

The complete performance is available to stream on BBC iPlayer, with the BBC feeding into the nostalgia themselves, writing “let’s go 2013 tumblr girlies.”

let’s go 2013 tumblr girlies @the1975 played their debut album IN FULL for their @officialrandl headline performance❗️

watch back on @bbciplayer or listen on @bbcsounds. pic.twitter.com/ULPloBx20c

— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) August 26, 2023

The 1975 are also releasing special edition formats of their debut album, The 1975, in honour of its 10 year anniversary. Set to be released on 1st September 2023, The 1975 (10th Anniversary) is available for pre-order now.  

THE 1975 The 1975 (10 Year Anniversary) will be released September 1st 2023. Available to pre-order now. https://t.co/wFHW9VTAj0 pic.twitter.com/iVfTsfSl7c — The 1975 (@the1975) August 25, 2023

Click here for our guide on how to watch Reading & Leeds 2023 coverage.

Read about Sam Fender’s Leeds performance here.

Read about The Killers debuting a new song at Reading here.