1st June, The 1975
A brief introduction to the iconic, and occasionally controversial, Manchester quartet
VANCOUVER — Matthew Healy was on a family vacation to Mallorca, Spain, when he first encountered the phrase that would become all but synonymous with his artistic identity. As the story goes, Healy, who was still in high school, spent part of the trip visiting painter David Templeton, drinking wine and touring the artist’s studio. As a parting gift, the painter bestowed Healy with a book of beat poetry, that a previous owner had treated as a sort of diary. Famously, buried in between the “mad scribblings and notes” was a date. 1st June, the 1975.
With its strange syntax, the sentence made an impression on Healy, whose young band, including guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald and drummer George Daniel, had built a small buzz around Manchester, U.K., despite several name changes. After outgrowing their initial moniker, Drive Like I Do, the group struggled to settle on a replacement, at points calling themselves Talkhouse, The Slow Down and The Big Sleep (that last one might’ve stuck if it wasn’t already taken). It was only a few months after returning from Mallorca that Healy, remembering the diary, suggested calling the band The 1975. Despite being seven syllables long, and mostly numbers, the other boys agreed.
But while the band acknowledges that most names, including their own, mean very little, especially early on, the diary and their subsequent decision has become something of a legend within their close knit fan community. Equal parts origin story and creation myth, the 1st June the 1975 serves an important function in the band’s extremely self-referential eco-system, often marking the start of new artistic eras. On the 1st June the 2015, for example, the band shocked fans by deleting their socials, subsequently announcing their second album I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It. The band had also seemingly planned to release “Give Yourself a Try,” the lead single from their third LP, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, on the 1st June the 2018, but bumped it up a couple hours to coincide with their appearance on BBC Radio 1. Manager Jamie Oborne, too, has suggested the band planned to release LP4, Notes on a Conditional Form, on the 1st June the 2019, before delays forced pushed them to push its release date back to May 2020.
Fifty-three weeks and one pandemic later, though, there’s little sign that the band has anything to announce. Following a series of small, Healy-centric controversies, including backlash from fans who accused him using George Floyd’s death to promote an album, the band has more or less receded to the background. Plans to release new music under the Drive Like I Do moniker last winter were promoted but, as of writing, have not materialized. And yet, if you visit any of the band’s micro-communities today—Reddit, Instagram or Twitter—you will find fans commemorating the occasion, and contemplating what comes next.
In this sense, June 1st represents a crucial aspect of The 1975’s appeal. To steal an idea from Tyler Cowan, the 1975 are a quake band, capable of completely shaking up and transforming their listener’s perspective. Though not immediately obvious from an outside perspective, their catalogue is crash course in world building. Like Drake, the Hold Steady or Taylor Swift, the band’s musical references (Bon Iver, Fleetwood Mac, Fugazi, Lil Peep, LCD Soundsystem, Otis Redding, Prince) and lyrical callbacks, combined with their ever shifting aesthetic, encourages fans to invest in the larger narrative. The result is something that rewards repeat listeners, to the point that it is self-sustaining.
At the same time, the 1975 can be a daunting band to get into. To try and remove some of those barriers, I’ve assembled a collection of their definitive chunes into a career-spanning playlist. 12 songs spanning a variety of genres. A brief introduction, beginning as it should. In black and white.
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