The 1975 is one of the biggest indie bands of the last decade. Their unique, genre-hopping sound has been endlessly influential for alternative acts since their major breakthrough in 2012. Over the last year, they have garnered even more public attention thanks to their latest album, ongoing tour, and buzzy headlines.
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Below, are five facts about the rock outfit to start your crash course into The 1975 fandom.
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1. Matty Healy comes from a famous family
Frontman Matty Healy was born to similarly famous parents: Denise Welch and Tim Healy. Both his mother and father are actors. Welch was a regular on Loose Women, a UK talk show, and Celebrity Big Brother.
2. The band members met in high school
The band has been together for over a decade. In the early ’00s, the members of the band met in secondary school in Cheshire, England. Around 2002, they decided to put their dreams into action and start performing as a burgeoning rock outfit.
3. They used to be a punk cover band
Prior to hitting the big time, the band performed punk covers at local clubs. As you can hear in the song below, “Lost Boys,” those punk flavors were infiltrating their own songwriting style in the early days of their career.
4. Their manager started a record label just to sign them
In 2010, The 1975 was struggling to make waves in the indie scene. So much so that their manager, Jamie Oborne, decided to set up his own independent label just to sign them: Dirty Hit. For a while, though he has stepped down now, Healy acted as a director at the label. During his tenure, he helped sign fellow indie acts.
5. Their band name came from a scribble in a book
Healy came up with the band name after finding a series of scribbles in a Jack Kerouac book. One particular page was dated “June 1. The 1975.” The strange date format stuck with Healy and he eventually decided to name the band after it.
[RELATED: Behind the Jack Kerouac-Inspired Band Name The 1975]
Photo by Steve Jennings/WireImage
