The 1975 are a British pop-rock band from Wilmslow, founded in 2003. They have reached global success during the past decade, selling out arenas such as the O2 and Madison Square Gardens, and recently headlining Reading & Leeds festival in 2019. During this period of success, the band's aesthetic and image has changed drastically with the release of each of their albums. These album themed aesthetic changes have called 'eras' by the The 1975 fandom.
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The 1975 was their first album the band released, in 2013. Featuring largely successful songs such as Girls and Chocolate, this album broke The 1975 onto the music scene. This era was all about black clothing, long curly hair (styled by the lead singer Matty Healy), cigarettes and young love. The 'self titled' era initialised their devoted fan base as punk, tumblr-esc teenage girls, and in interviews the band was seen to be quirky and entertaining, with the lead singer Matty, an androgynous, opinionated, scrawny man immediately becoming the centre of attention.
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The 2016 release of 'I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it' skyrocketed The 1975 to global fame, as their 2016/17 worldwide tour completely sold out. the soft, pastel aesthetic conflicting against the hard, political songs such as 'Loving Someone', 'If I Believe You' and 'The Sound' this album is considered a masterpiece. During the tour and publicity of the album, Healy was facing drug issues, which he mentioned in his song 'UGH!', and during the tour he was wasted on stage, taking drugs and drinking mid performance, as well as being seen as out of touch and exhausted during interviews. The combination of large success and an opioid and cocaine addiction led to Healy being sent to rehab in 2018, causing the band to go on hiatus. The star image for the band changed to a much more sexualised, feminine and androgynous band, with Matty Healy embracing makeup and his feminine side, which led the media to question his sexuality. This led the band's star image to grow, and appeal more to the LGBTQ+ community, iconising the band and their political stance.
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After Healy's stint in rehab, he was a lot more conscious of the world. He mentioned in interviews that the internet didn't help his addiction issues, and damaged him even more. The 2018 release of 'A brief inquiry into online relationships' changed their star image once again, as releases of songs such as 'Love it if We Made it', 'It's not Living (if its' not with you) and others brought awareness to the global political climate. During the band's progression, the band has become more and more angry at the world, with their songs becoming more critical, has led the band to achieve more respect, and gain an image as more of a political and 'woke' band.
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