The 1975

The 1975 is an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary producer). The band’s name was inspired by a note dated “1 June, The 1975” in Healy’s copy of On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

The band members met in secondary school and began performing together as teenagers. They initially played covers of punk and emo songs before writing their own material. After performing under various names, they settled on The 1975 and professionally released music in 2012 under the independent label Dirty Hit. A series of extended plays, including Facedown, Sex, Music for Cars, and IV, helped build momentum before the release of their self-titled debut album in 2013. The album included the hit singles “Sex,” “Chocolate,” and “Robbers” and topped the UK Albums Chart.

The 1975’s subsequent albums—I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016), A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships (2018), Notes on a Conditional Form (2020), and Being Funny in a Foreign Language (2022)—all hit No. 1 in the UK and charted in the US Billboard 200. Their music has received critical acclaim, with their second album also reaching No. 1 in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Their third album won British Album of the Year at the 2019 Brit Awards.

Known for genre-hopping and ambitious pop-rock soundscapes, The 1975 have earned a reputation as one of the most influential pop-rock bands of their generation. They have been described as “British Phenoms” by Entertainment Weekly and “Modern Pop Icons” by the BBC. Their accolades include four Brit Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, two Mercury Prize nominations, and two Grammy nominations. They were named “Band of the Decade” at the 2020 NME Awards.

Despite their success, public reception has been mixed, with some critics praising their innovation while others dismiss their genre-defying style. Their influence, however, is undeniable, with Rolling Stone calling them “at the forefront of modern pop rock” and Billboard declaring them “the most ambitious pop-rock band of their generation.”