The 1975 formed in Wilmslow – the Cheshire commuter town south of Manchester – when Matty Healy, Ross MacDonald, Adam Hann and George Daniel met at school. They are the least typical Manchester band in this guide: not working class, not from the inner city, not post-punk or Madchester adjacent. They are maximalist pop musicians from a Cheshire suburb who have nonetheless spent their entire career being categorised as a Manchester band, and who have embraced the city as their base and identity.
The Manchester Connection
The 1975 developed their sound and fanbase in Manchester, playing at Deaf Institute, Band on the Wall and smaller venues before their rapid commercial ascent. Matty Healy has been forthright about his Manchester identity and the city has reciprocated. The band’s debut album (2013) and subsequent records arrived at a moment when guitar music was supposedly dying; their willingness to incorporate pop, jazz, R&B and electronic music without embarrassment made them more interesting than most of what British guitar music was producing.
Manchester Academy Shows
The 1975’s Manchester Academy shows before and during their commercial breakthrough are cited by fans as defining concerts – the moment before the arenas when you could still see them properly. Manchester Academy on Oxford Road is the mid-size venue that sits between the smaller club circuit and the arenas; it’s the venue every significant Manchester-connected band passes through on the way up.
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