The original ‘I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it’ album artwork.

‘I like it when you sleep...’ has upheld itself as a 80’s-style pop  masterpiece, combining upbeat and head-bopping rhythms with profound lyricism. After the success of their self-titled album, nobody expected them to be able to produce something  as high-ranking – but this wasn’t the case for The 1975. They went on to top the charts with their critically acclaimed works ‘A Brief Enquiry Into Online Relationships’ and ‘Notes On A Conditional Form‘, both of which are regarded as their most globally successful compilations. Despite their later albums producing several iconic hits, ‘I like it when you sleep…‘ is still recognised as one of their finest works.

The album truly solidified the group’s foundation in the modern indie soundscape and moulded many other since-successful artists in their journeys to fame. Through 17 tracks, the album’s optimistic and upbeat sound duels with themes of self-reflection and self-indulgence. Matt Healy’s lyrics are honest and provocative, he alludes to addiction, fame, modern love and modern heartbreak all whilst listeners bop along to a catchy hook in the song.

Though a nod to them, the album seems to subtly mock what we know to be some of the greatest love songs and power ballads of the 80s.  There’s a challenging for honesty and truth in The 1975’s lyrics. They answer to this with popular tracks ‘The Sound’, ‘UGH!’ and ‘Love Me’ which portray conversations had about identity in fame meaning and the pressure of enduring it despite how appealing it may seem. The album spawned 7 singles total including the former, and rapidly became a commercial success. Topping the UK charts, ‘I like it when you sleep…‘ received a 2017 Grammy Award nomination and ranked #1 in Top 10 Albums of 2016 in DIY and NME, as well as sitting comfortably in a Top #10 spot in over fifteen other worldwide renowned music publications.

A look at the reissue, including a baby pink vinyl pressing and cards.

To celebrate its 10 year anniversary, Dirty Hit have released a limited edition vinyl repress of the album. Housed in a six-panel triple gatefold packaging, the special edition set features alternative album artwork, 17 exclusive 12″x12″ art cards inspired by each track, and of course two vinyls in the iconic baby pink shade. The vinyl released today and is available to order right now. Fans can listen to ‘I like it when you sleep…‘ for the very first time all over again – an endless reminisce to the height of the 2016 indie music scene.

See the track list you know and love now converted to vinyl below:

A1. The 1975
A2. Love Me
A3. Ugh!
A4. A Change of Heart
A5. She’s American
B1. If I Believe You
B2. Please Be Naked
B3. Lostmyhead
B4. The Ballad of Me and My Brain
C1. Somebody Else
C2. Loving Someone
C3. I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it
C4. The Sound
D1. This Must Be My Dream
D2. Paris
D3. Nana
D4. She Lays Down

Grab this super exclusive pressing before it’s too late! Check out the pressing and shipping information here.

Marty Healy simply soundtracked the lives of countless teen Tumblr users back in 2016. His voice echoing through wired headphones comforted thousands of individuals throughout they day-today routine, and countless fans look back at this iconic era with a heart full of love.

Over the span of the records 17 exemplary tracks, the Manchester born and raised band claimed to have drawn inspiration from My Bloody Valentine, D’Angelo, Christina Aguilara, and Terry Lewis. A genre fusion madness, the albums sound avoids slotting into one box however it maintains elements of pop, new wave, indie rock, synth-pop and soul throughout its lifespan. A real mix, but a perfect introductory piece for anyone looking to get into The 1975.

This album along with the bands debut self-titled record, truly solidified their spot in the indie music scene as legitimate musicians who were here to stay. By the time that the bands second album made an appearance, The 1975 had accumulated a dedicated, ever-growing fanbase. Pre-release, each band member, Healy, George Daniel, Ross MacDonald, and Adam Hann deleted their social media users. Fans scrambled and were sent into frenzy believing their favourite band had split, but the best was simply yet come in the form of rectangles, Dr Martens and pink neon lights.

The band worked closely with English art-director, Samuel Burgess-Johnson to create the iconic album artwork. A glowing pink rectangle, a sister print of their self titled cover, a glowing white rectangle over a black background. The band would go on to create individual pink neon signs photographed in a variety of locations as a promotion tactic for each song. Undoubtedly countless fans now think of heart-tugging lyrics when they see the colour pink out and about.

7 singles were released prior to the album in order to build momentum, the first of these being the iconic, ‘Love Me.’ A critique of fame itself littered with egotistical lyrics, this record is Healy fleshing out his pretentious mastermind that countless individuals grew to love.

Upon its release the album was beloved by critics and fans alike, even urging more people to give The 1975 a try. Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and The Guardian, all deemed ‘I Like it When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It’, one of the greatest albums of 2016. Not only was it highly praised by reviews, but the record topped both the UK and the United States charts.

The albums aesthetic drew light onto the initial desaturated, dark birth of The 1975. ‘I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It,’ displays The 1975 embracing their boyband tendencies with a wide grin on their faces. A bubblegum pink lens thrown over everyone’s favourite edgy, poster boys. The 1975’s legendary second studio album is an absolute necessity for any music fan.

The next project from Manchester based band, The 1975 may be a lot closer than we thought.

The bands notoriously charismatic front man, Matty Healy, shared exclusive details with a young fan during a Q&A at Gateshead College. Invited into the college campus to partake in a songwriting workshop, teaching students about his songwriting process and offering exceptional first-class advice, the lead singer shared far more than the students expected.

Healy confirmed to an excited student that ‘DOGS’ is the name of their upcoming studio album before adding “We made two. It might be one it might be two, but we’ve made two albums” This appears to be the only information thus far, but it has provided fans with something to chew on for the time being.

The secretive project will be the bands sixth studio album. Their last album release was in 2022 when they graced listeners with ‘Being Funny In a Foreign Language’. A project that reignited the bands relevancy, resulting in them racking up countless new fans and headlining Glastonbury Festival in 2025. The terminology, ‘DOGS’ is not entirely alien as during the bands stellar Glastonbury performance the word flashed up in red at their curtain call. It was also plastered across the band’s drummer, George Daniel’s drum kit all throughout the show.

The 1975 are pretty infamous for delaying album releases past their expected date. The band delayed the release of their 2020 album, “Notes on a conditional form” several times before finalising the release date. The adventurous project was initially scheduled to release in May 2019 before being pushed back to February 2020. The band then reassured fans with a release date of April 24, 2020, before at long last releasing May 22, 2020. Although due to the COVID-19 pandemic this has put a sour taste in some fans’ mouths when it comes to The 1975 announcing new album release dates.

It would be absolutely no surprise to fans if the band elicits radio silence following this new advancement. Healy is a known perfectionist and if something does not quite align with his projects, he is likely to set it on fire and start again. Panic spread across fans recently as on November 4, the frontman removed the song ‘Human Too,’ the ninth track featured on ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’ from all streaming platforms simply because he changed his mind and no longer approved of its spot on the album. If you own a physical copy of ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’ count yourself lucky as it’s currently the only way to legally listen to ‘Human Too.’

Despite excitement growing and rumours floating around, there is an unspoken certainty that whenever the band chooses to release their work it will be when the time is right. Not ones to rush their craft, The 1975 are guaranteed to release an exceptional record when they feel they are ready, even if that means Healy must make a few last-minute snips.

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The singer was wearing a  Vivienne Westwood mini dress with a traditional veil, Jimmy Choo heels, and her infamous sunnies. Photos and videos were quick to surface on social media on Saturday with captions such as “Mrs and Mr XCX”. The couple plan to have a bigger ceremony in Sicily, Italy where they first met. The Sun reported last month: “Charli and George fell in love with Sicily and knew they wanted to get married there. There will be no expense spared.”

After her collaboration on No Rome’s song ‘Spinning’ in 2021, Charli and Daniel started dating in 2022 and announced their engagement in November 2023 whilst working on ‘Brat’ whit his collaboration. In a 2024 interview with Rolling Stones UK, Charli opened up about their relationship saying: “We want to impress each other, and we think we’re both really good, but I’m actually such a b**ch in the studio with George. Because we’re obviously so close, you lose everything in terms of the normal studio boundaries.”

The pop singer shared a couple of TikToks from the party, one seeing her pretending to be annoyed and walking away, captioned: “When George isn’t crying when he sees me walking down the aisle.” But “Luckily he did xx” was the accompanying sentence. A later video, included shots of Daniel wearing his now-wife’s veil, surrounded by friends and captioned “bridal party energy”, by XCX.

The couple’s wedings rings have both been individualy valued as £10k and £15k, with matching wedding bands for both musicians. Laura Taylor from Lorel Diomands told MailOnline: “Charli’s wedding band is where she’s really made it her own. Rather than going for a traditional band to sit next to the solitaire, or even an eternity band like we’re seeing with other celebrities, she’s chosen something much bolder.”

The British power couple both performed at Glastonbury at the begining of the summer, Charli being a headliner as well as The 1975. The Guardian reviewer Shaad D’Souza gave Charli’s performance five stars and wrote: “Despite being a prodigiously talented mainstream songwriter, she has dedicated her career to exploring the most caustic, hallucinatory sounds of the underground, and working out how best to synthesise them with the pleasures of pure pop music.”

The 1975’s performance, was also received with acclaims from The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis, referring to the set as “bold, experimental, occasionally confounding, but ultimately hugely impressive”.

Charli refers to her partner, now husband, on stage and in song. “I wanna dance with George,” she sings on song ‘Club Classics’, a song co-produced by Daniel who also co-wrote the song ‘Apple’.

Jamie Oborne, who has managed the band for years, appeared on The Money Trench podcast earlier this week, discussing the band’s plans for Glasto this year. He confirmed that this will be the only show for the alt-pop rockers in 2025.

“It’s such a big gig, and it’s the only show that we’re playing this year,” Oborne explained. “[Matty Healy] thought doing it in isolation would be a really powerful thing. I obviously agreed with him, as I often do.”

The ‘Chocolate’ hitmakers are headlining the Pyramid Stage on Friday, 27 June. The other names at the top of the bill for this year’s Glastonbury are Olivia Rodrigo and Neil Young.

Fans have been speculating about the next release from The 1975 since the group announced they would be returning to the stage and updated their social media profiles. There have been reports that the new album could see Matt Healy lyrically delve into his short-lived relationship with Taylor Swift.

Oborne let listeners know that something was on the way: “They’re making a record at the moment. I don’t know when it will come out, but they’re making one.”

He hinted at something special coming to fruition with the project, adding that “it’s already a pretty extraordinary record” and he has a “constant discourse about it” with the band. He says that he thinks the band have “earned the right to take their time” as “The world’s gonna be listening, so it needs to be right.”

It’ll be the groups first album since their performance at the 2023 Good Vibes festival in Malaysia, which saw the band banned from the country after breaking its strict anti-LGBTQ laws. Frontman Matty Healy and bassist Ross McDonald shared a kiss onstage during their set, which led to the festival being closed down as the band faced scrutiny and legal action.

A high court judge in Malaysia ruled in February that the band are cleared of any individual liability that would have specifically targeted the four members of the band. Festival organizers Future Sound Asia are still able to continue their lawsuit against the band’s corporate entity, The 1975 Productions LLP.

Oborne said on the matter: “It was a very stressful time. I’m actually now suing the Malaysian promoter in Malaysia, but the press only really reported the salacious side of it, not what subsequently has been found by a High Court judge, that actually, the Malaysian promoter broke contract, and that’s why we have contracts.”

Regardless of the on-stage controversy, The 1975 have made themselves one of the UK’s most successful acts, with the band earning a huge £5 million profit from their last tours. They embarked on the extensive ‘At Their Very Best’ tour in 2022 to 2023, supporting their fifth studio album, ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’. They carried on with a second tour titled ‘Still… At Their Very Best’ in September 2023, all the way through to March 2024.

This year’s Glastonbury lineup features a wide range of acts, including Charli XCX, Deftones, Doechii, Kneecap, Lola Young, Loyle Carner and more. You can find our latest coverage on the festival here.

‘T-Shirt Nothing Else’ exhibits Money’s introspectiveness, blending sonic components of both R&B and indie-pop to bring listeners on a coming-of-age journey. Through the five tracks, the musician navigates her artistry in conjunction with the reality and complexities of living, through themes of love, longing and self-discovery.

When revealing one of her favourite lyrics from the project, she pinpointed a line from ‘T-Shirt’, which inspired the EP’s title. The lyric: “T-shirt, nothing else / She holds me from behind”; Money shared: “I really loved the vulnerability of it and the intimacy of that one line. I love having interludes and short little musical sections that just catch your attention. I didn’t really put a huge amount of thought into it. I just love the line, and I was like, ‘That’s what I want it to be’”.

Although, the singer shared that touring with The 1975 brought on some imposter syndrome, that went on to inspire her track ‘Anything’; she went on to reveal that it also influenced her work and kept her motivated.

The ‘Milk & Honey’ singer joined Matty Healy and co. during their 18-month ‘At Their Very Best’ and ‘Still… At Their Very Best’ tours which celebrated the band’s fifth album ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’. During her time on the tour, Money contributed both guitar and vocals to the shows, most notably singing Phoebe Bridger’s verse in ‘Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America’ and performing ‘About You’’s viral second verse.

@mronger123 Pollyyyyyyyyyy #aboutyou #the1975 #stillattheirverybest #zurich #mattyhealy1975 original sound – mronger123

Money stated: “So much of that tour had inspired me and motivated me and bled into my music – both consciously and unconsciously. It’s hard to be around a band that good – and I can say that because I have nothing to do with the song they write; I’m a fan as well as play for them – and not be inspired. It gave me a lot of lessons in songwriting, playing these songs and getting really deep into them every night.”

The singer will once again join The 1975 during their headline slot on the Pyramid Stage at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, revealing the opportunity as a “dream come true” and a “bucket list gig”.

In all the excitement surrounding her latest EP ‘T-Shirt Nothing Else’, Money shared she’s already working on her debut album, citing Haim, Dijon, MUNA, The Japanese House and Beabadoobee as “huge references”.

Polly Money’s ‘T-Shirt Nothing Else’ is out now. Tickets for her upcoming show at Oslo Hackney on May 3, can be bought here.

Banks, known for her enticing lyrical flow and club-worthy anthems, has always been outspoken when it comes to voicing her opinion on the music industry and acts within it. This time, Glastonbury’s lineup was in the firing line when the singer took to X (formerly Twitter) to slam a few names on the bill, even going to the extent to provide her own worthy choices for the event.

In what world are the 1975 billed higher than Franz Ferdinand & The libertines in England? In what world is charli xcx billed higher than the Deftones?? billed higher than Pink Pantheress? In the UK???? Where is FLO? WHY WOULD THEY BOOK THE KAISER CHIEFS AND NOT BOOK *KEANE* or… https://t.co/XKli7okIVC

— Azealia Banks (@azealiaslacewig) March 15, 2025

The iconic Somerset five-day festival will welcome the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, RAYE, Loyle Carner, Biffy Clyro and more onto their stages this year. Although many artists on the lineup remained unscathed, one act definitely didn’t: Friday night headliners and Alt-Indie group, The 1975.

Beginning her online rant, the ‘Liquorice’ artist shared: “In what world are the 1975 billed higher than Franz Ferdinand & The Libertines in England?”

Banks’ attention to the 1975’s headline slot comes at no surprise given a heated exchange between Banks and 1975 frontman, Matty Healy back in December of last year. The singer made comments on Charli xcx (1975 drummer, George Daniel’s fiancé) and Gabbriette (Matty’s fiancé) which saw the 1975 frontman run to their defence; “allegedly making violent threats and derogatory comments about Banks and her physical appearance” in retaliation. The online spat caused Healy to deactivate his X account and subsequently caused Banks to result to legal action against the ‘Somebody Else’ singer.

In a separate post, Banks reiterated her dislike for Healy, stating: “Matty Healy is really just SO F***ING UGLY and that band as a unit has zero aesthetic.”

High key, every mother fucker who speaks ill of me unwarranted ultimately suffers the same fate lol. Matt Healy is really just SO FUCKING UGLY and that band as a unit has zero aesthetic. What is it with the uk that yall love yall an ugly crackhead? Pete Doherty now this? What is… https://t.co/vioTDl5QcJ

— Azealia Banks (@azealiaslacewig) March 15, 2025

The ‘Luxury’ singer continued with her thoughts: “In what would is charli xcx billed higher than the Deftones?? Billed higher than Pink Pantheress? In the UK????”

In her rant Banks provided suggestions with some acts that would’ve been in her personal lineup. The 33-year-old put a case forward for the following acts: Skunk Anansie, Central Cee (following the success of his debut LP), Shygirl, Basement Jaxx, Dido and MIKA. She even expressed some bewilderment towards Rod Stewart’s legend slot, expressing her desire for a (very unlikely) Smiths reunion with Morrissey and Johnny Marr.

Concluding: “Glastonbury is kinda cooked,” it seems Glastonbury have some making up to do with Banks especially within their second instalment of acts set to be announced soon.

The extensive setlist featured an opening performance of their title track, followed by songs like ‘Looking For Somebody To Love’, ‘Happiness’, ‘Part Of The Band’, and ‘Oh Caroline’. Other popular tracks included ‘Robbers’, ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’, ‘Chocolate’, ‘The Sound’ and ‘Somebody Else’. 

The live recording, as of March 7, is now available for streaming and a limited edition physical version will be released later this spring. The physical edition will be a transparent vinyl pressing, expected to arrive on May 30 via Dirty Hit. The album’s artwork is a nod to The 1975’s Manchester roots – a series of photos of the city’s suburb Bosden Farm, capturing the dreamy essence that purposefully juxtaposes the band’s upbeat, synth-heavy sound. 

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This latest announcement marks The 1975’s third live record, following 2023’s ‘At Their Very Best’ live album from their Madison Square Garden, New York show November 7 2022. The album transferred to big screen audiences, also released as an Amazon Prime Exclusive film. This compilation featured many tracks in common with the latest release, albeit starring more singles from ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’ – the band’s first live run of this particular album.  This isn’t the only major news from The 1975 this week: The BRIT Award-winning band were announced as this year’s Glastonbury festival Friday night headliners. The quartet – Matty Healy (vocals/guitar), George Daniel (drums), Adam Hann (lead guitar) and Ross MacDonald (bass guitar) – will take to the Pyramid stage June 26, alongside other co-main acts, Olivia Rodrigo and Neil Young. Although tickets were snapped up quickly in November, fans can anticipate a traditional resale in April, with more information to follow. This will be the third time the band play the world-renowned festival, having previously made appearances in 2014 and 2016, and signalling the end of their “indefinite hiatus” since the ‘Still…At Their Very Best’ tour’s finale in March 2024.

 

 

 

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The Manchester-native band are also rumoured to have new material in the works – January 2, they took to Instagram to reveal a photo of frontman Matty Healy at work in an instrument-packed studio. Despite no caption, this spurred supposed news from an unnamed “insider” at The Sun, detailing The 1975’s next record title as possibly ‘God Has Entered My Body’, and allegedly featuring lyrical inspiration from Healy and Taylor Swift’s public romance in 2023. In his signature satirical style, the frontman chimed in on a The 1975 subreddit page in response to the rumours: “Huge if true”. This also comes after Healy previously teasing fans November 18 with a since deleted X/Twitter post, revealing a speculated tracklist for an upcoming LP. The post featured titles of a cynical nature, such as ‘Owe God A Death’, ‘We were promised set backs’ and ‘TaxmanTaxmanInjectioHobby’. Once again, Healy kept followers baffled with a subsequent post: “This is my ‘names for our children’ folder”. 

The speculated new material, as of yet, has no determined release date, but will follow the latest ‘Still…At Their Very Best’ live recording as a studio release. Fans can expect more news about the band’s next venture into new music at this year’s Glastonbury festival. 

The festival will see an act who had previously headlined the festival in 2009, a Chart-Topping pop princess and one of the most popular bands of the past decade. This year’s Glastonbury lineup will feature two first-time headliners: British pop-rock band The 1975 and American pop-punk singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, and welcome the return of Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts.

The 1975, fronted by Matty Healy, will take the Pyramid Stage on Friday night. The band is known for their genre-blending sound, introspective lyrics, and charismatic frontman Matty Healy, the band has built a massive global following.

Olivia Rodrigo is set to close out Sunday’s performances. Her last appearance at the festival was in 2022 on the Other Stage, where she brought out Lily Allen for a guest performance and delivered a fiery critique of the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Saturday’s headliner will be Neil Young and his band, the Chrome Hearts—a booking that was briefly thrown into confusion. On January 1, Young unexpectedly announced he was pulling out of the festival due to concerns over its association with broadcast partner BBC, which he described as being under “corporate control.” However, just two days later, he clarified that he had received “an error in information” and confirmed that Glastonbury was back on his tour schedule. Young previously headlined the festival in 2009.

Both Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo are also set to headline another popular UK festival, BST Hyde Park, in July.

This year’s coveted legends slot will go to none other than Rod Stewart. The rock icon, who turned 80 in January, reassured fans that he’s still got plenty to give, declaring he’s “more than able to pleasure and titillate” at this stage in his career. The iconic artist will be taking the stage on Sunday.

London rapper Loyle Carner will lead Friday’s performances, while The Prodigy will close out Sunday night. Friday will also see chart-topper Gracie Abrams taking the stage, along with Busta Rhymes, Wet Leg and Four Tet. Lola Young will also be performing on Friday, after her hit ‘Messy‘ topped the charts for weeks in a row.

Soul-pop sensation Raye will take the stage ahead of Neil Young on Saturday. Her debut album, ‘My 21st Century Blues’, has earned both critical acclaim and commercial success, solidifying her status as one of the UK’s most exciting talents. Charli xcx, who dominated last summer with her neon-soaked album ‘Brat’, will also take the stage on Saturday. Saturday will also see former Little Mix Jade performing, for her solo Glastonbury debut.

Noah Kahan will also be joining this exciting line up on Sunday, after ‘Stick Season’ was named the biggest song of 2024 by Official Charts. Kahan will also be performing at this edition’s BST Hyde Park. The same day, The Prodigy will be taking the stage, along with The Libertines and Wolf Alice.

This year Glastonbury will partner with Oxfam, WaterAid, Greenpeace and many more charities to ensure the best festival experience. The festival also reassured fans that many more artists and talents are set to be announced, with some rumours as to whether Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan will be gracing the iconic UK stage.

The ruling comes during a court battle between the band and the festival’s organiser, Future Sound Asia (FSA), who are demanding that the rockers are held liable for the losses when the festival was shut down after their onstage kiss.

Judge William Hansen says that the FSA’s demands that The 1975’s members are held responsible for the losses are “bad as a matter of law and that there is no good reason why the matter should go to trial”.

Hansen has allowed the case to proceed between The 1975’s company, The 1975 Productions LLP (rather than as individuals), and FSA, who he also ordered to pay £100,000 in legal costs.

Last week, an argument for the 1975 to be cleared of individual liability was heard by the Malaysian High Court. Earlier this month, the band’s representative Edmund Cullen branded the FSA’s attempt to “pin liability on individuals” as “illegitimate, artificial and incoherent” and “quite bizarre”.

Last summer, it was reported that the band were being sued for over $2million (£1.9 million) by Future Sound Asia. The organizers claimed that 1975 Productions LLP breached their contract and that the four band members were in breach of a duty of care.

It all started at The 1975’s headlining set in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the Good Vibes Festival in 2023. Frontman Matty Healy and bassist Ross MacDonald shared a kiss onstage. Healy also gave a speech against the Malaysian government for its discrimination and criminalisation of LGBTQ citizens. The singer said: “I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,”

“I am sorry if that offends you and you’re religious and it’s part of your fucking government, but your government are a bunch of fucking r*****s and I don’t care anymore. If you push, I am going to push back.”

After the kiss and Healy’s condemnation, the remainder of the festival was axed and The 1975 were banned from performing in Malaysia. They’ve pulled a similar stunt previously in Dubai in 2019, with Healy sharing a kiss with a male fan.

Malaysia is a conservative, religious country with strict laws against LGBTQ citizens. There, homosexuality is a crime that is punishable by 20 years in prison. The government has banned any homosexual, bisexual or transexual people from appearing in state-controlled media.

In 2010, the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia announced it would only allow the featuring of homosexual characters in films if they “repent” or “go straight” in the end. In November 2024, the Kelantan state of East Malaysia banned entertainment activities that promote or support LGBTQ behaviour.

In August of last year, Malaysia’s Home Ministry banned and seized Swatch products that supposedly contained LGBT elements in their rainbow colouring, ruling that anyone possessing the watches could be fined or imprisoned. A Malaysian court then ordered the government to return the watches, deeming their seizure unlawful.

After Healy’s onstage kiss and protest, opinions were divided. While many locals appreciated his intent, others labelled it as “performative activism” that could do more harm to their LGBTQ community than good.

@lbc The Malaysian government cancelled a festival due to “remarks made by UK artist Matt Healy from the band The 1975”. Matt Healy kissed his bandmate Ross MacDonald on stage in Kuala after protesting against the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws. #lbc #sangitamyska #matthealy #1975 #festival #lgbtqia #gayrights ♬ original sound – LBC

It was reported recently that The 1975 were one of the most successful bands in the UK, making millions in profit through touring over the past few years. You can read our article on that here.