The 1975 surprised fans in their native Manchester by performing their self-titled debut album in full at an intimate show at Gorilla last night (Monday February 1). Check out photos, footage, the setlist and more details below.
Performing as part of the BRITs Week shows across the UK in aid of WarChild, the band’s long-rumoured gig saw fans clamouring online to get tickets for the show ā following on from their acclaimed, sold-out At Their Very Best arena tour.
With a far more stripped back set-up than their recent full house sitcom stage production, the band arrived on stage to debut album opener ‘The 1975’ with frontman Matty Healy clasping a bottle of wine as the iconic ‘box’ artwork from their early years lit up. They then performed their 2013 debut album in full.
After the tour debut of ‘The City’ and performing ‘M.O.N.E.Y’ for the first time since 2017, Healy told the crowd: “Thank you Manchester! We are very, very happy to be here. Weāre the 1975.
“Well, weāre from Wilmslow but weāre close enough to say weāre from Manchester. This is very full-circle for us. That song was about this street, let alone this city, so itās very cool to be here. Thanks so much for coming. Thereās no concept, weāre justā¦hereā¦.[Weāre] warming back up. Nice to see you guys ā I recognise a lot of people here so this is really nice.”
After the early EP version of ‘Sex’, Healy took a swig from a hip-flask before saying: “Hardcore fans will know what weāre up to right now. I want to remind you that nostalgia is a sickness. This is not nostalgic. We wouldnāt be doing this if we werenāt only getting really good. Weāre just starting to make our best work, so I donāt mind doing something thatās slightly nostalgic. Because itās just for us isnāt it?ā
After ‘An Encounter’, Healy assured the crowd, āThis albumā¦so it still fucking slams.”
GIRLS, SHE WAY OUT & MENSWEAR IN THE SAME NIGHT
The 1975 @ @thisisgorillapic.twitter.com/Hoa5cmxAsA
— meg
(@megcocking) February 1, 2023
After ‘Settle Down’, Healy turned to the crowd to reflect on their early days.
āMaybe Iām getting a bit older, Iām forgetting the lyrics,” he said, joking. “Most of you here know I never knew the fucking lyrics in the first place! I was wasted the whole time. But thanks very much. I mean, this is really fun. So much less pressure!”
He continued: “Have you seen all of the stuff weāve been doing recently? And so much upkeep! I donāt want to do it anymore. I just want to do this. Alright! So you should know whatās next if you know the album…Got it!ā
Comparing the evening to their ongoing arena tour for new album ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language‘, Healy said: āI donāt have any non-conceptual patter or anything. We really just rolled in from the last show so I feel quiteā¦I feel good! I feel naked.”
the best band in the world pic.twitter.com/P4PNJaiQA0
— ruby (@rubycessford) February 1, 2023
Spotting a fan with a banner declaring how far they’ve travelled, Healy responded: “You flew in from Boston? Wow! Thank you so much. Thatās amazing. Ah, you won tickets? And you came all the way from Boston. Thank you so much, thatās really kind of you. Thatās really cool. Anyone else come from far away? Iām not going to try and get a competition going ā thatās not going to work. Thatās great ā someoneās like Lincoln! Alright, cool. I can only respond in a nihilistic wayā¦”
Ending the first part of the album with debut album closer ‘Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You?’ (played for the first performance since 2015), Healy said: “Feelings? Self-indulgent. You guys having a good evening? OK, if you want? We can do whatever! No, no, no ā this is not me in character. This is me being normal.”
After his refusal to play fan favourite song ‘Milk’ was met with boos, he replied: “I love booing. Itās not going to work. And I donāt like ‘If I Believe You’. Iām sorry, I donāt like those songs. But you know how fickle and pathetic I am as a human being so Iāll change my mind pretty quick.ā
The band then returned for an encore of greatest hits spanning the rest of their career. After ‘Paris’, Healy spoke to bid the crowd farewell.
āThis has been fun, hasnāt it?” he said. “It takes a lot for us to do something outside of our established creative boundaries of the time and one of the only things we would do ā regardless of the BRITsā¦the BRITs is great, shout out to the BRITs ā but weāre here for Warchild in particular and itās a charity thatās very, very close to our hearts and some of the stories that you hear are fucking harrowing.
“I think that this is a really really good thing and we should all beā¦I donāt know, weāre all here for the same reason because we all ā including me ā love The 1975, but itās nice that can be [funnelled] into something with a true purpose outside of the unification of culture.”
Healy added: “This is really important shit and theyāve gone from saving 140,000 kids when we did our last show to 260,000 [from the slave trade]. And they should be very, very proud of themselves and they work very, very hard and weāre very honoured to be here. Thank you so much for having our band.ā
Check back at NME soon for our full review of the show.
We just really love you all so much. Thank you for being on this wild ride with us. We have such an amazing year of gigs to come, stay tuned for more fun!
Get home safe everyone. All our love.
pic.twitter.com/xIMZXjlt7q
— GORILLA (@thisisgorilla) February 1, 2023
The 1975 played:
‘The 1975’
‘The City’
‘M.O.N.E.Y.’
‘Chocolate’
‘Sex’
‘Talk!’
‘An Encounter’
‘Heart Out’
‘Settle Down’
‘Robbers’
‘Girls’
’12’
‘She Way Out’
‘Menswear’
‘Pressure’
‘Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You’
Encore:
‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’
‘Happiness’
‘If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)’
‘I’m In Love With You’
‘Paris’
‘Be My Mistake’
‘About You’
The 1975 have a stacked year of touring ahead, and were yesterday announced to headline Manchester’s Parklife Festival alongside Aitch, The Prodigy, Fred… Again and many more.
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