The 1975: At Their Very Best Tour

Sands Expo & Convention Centre
Tuesday

British alternative rock-pop band The 1975 are no strangers to Singapore.

The two sold-out concerts – held on Tuesday and Wednesday at Marina Bay Sands’ Sands Expo & Convention Centre – were the fourth time they were performing here. They also played here in 2014, 2016 and 2019.

The quartet, fronted by singer Matty Healy, are a famously divisive bunch. After all, they have won both Worst Band (2014) and Band Of The Decade (2020) prizes at the NME Awards.

At the 2023 Brit Awards, they took home British Rock/Alternative Act.

The group, which also comprise drummer/producer George Daniel, guitarist Adam Hann and bassist Ross MacDonald, played mostly songs from their latest and fifth album, Being Funny In A Foreign Language (2022).

Like all their albums dating back to their eponymous 2013 debut, it topped the British charts.

Here are three highlights from the first night of their Singapore stop, a performance that ran a little over 1½ hours and featured 19 songs.

1. Healy is anything but dull

One never quite knew where Healy’s head was at. He was outspoken but also caring towards his mostly late teen and young adult fans.

At one point, he criticised the audience for being bad at singing, stating that the fans in the Philippines were much better singers.

But the next minute, he inquired about their well-being, asking if they were properly hydrated. He was also protective of the many young women in the audience, warning male fans against doing anything that would make them feel uncomfortable.

There was plenty of self-praise, which was no surprise, considering the show was part of a tour titled At Their Very Best. Before launching into Fallingforyou from their debut album, for example, he introduced it as a “modern classic I wrote”.

2. The singer cannot remember his lyrics

Healy forgot his lines during several songs, such as Paris and When We Are Together.

The audience did not seem to mind and gladly took over the vocals.

Healy apologised profusely after each gaffe. He also occasionally took swigs from a wine bottle and a hip flask.

He briefly took off his shirt at one point, showing off his toned, tattooed torso. He also took a fan’s mobile phone and recorded a video of himself singing.

“If I forget stuff, I’m not drunk,” he said, denying that his lyrical blunders were alcohol-induced. “The majority is just an act,” he added of his stage antics.

Still, his singing was in top form. His voice covered quite a wide range and was impressively versatile, as was his guitar playing.

3. Stripped-down stage

Compared with The 1975’s highly praised stage set-ups at their 2022 and early 2023 shows in cities such as London, which featured a house with several rooms, the stage in Singapore was quite bare.

The backdrop was plain, but there were giant screens that featured close-ups of Healy, his bandmates and their session musicians.

That put the focus squarely on their musicianship and performance.

The band were musically tight and ran through a set list that showcased a variety of genres. These ranged from the stadium rock bombast of I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes) to the moody, atmospheric minimalism of the standalone song Medicine.