Glastonbury headliners The 1975 leave fans divided over 'bland' set as they brand pint-supping frontman Matty Healy 'insufferable'

Daily Mail​

4 hours ago

The 1975 left Glastonbury fans divided as they took to the Pyramid stage on Friday to headline the first day of the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset.
In their first and only gig of the year, frontman Matty Healy, 36, was in great spirits as he smoked a cigarette and drank a pint of Guinness before belting out a number of the band's biggest hits.
However, their set split the opinions of those tuning in at the festival and at home, with some branding their performance 'bland', causing some to even switch off.
While many took also aim at the swaggering lead singer, known for his outlandish behaviour, calling him 'insufferable' and 'about as rock & roll as Aled Jones.'
Taking to X, fans made their feelings very clear on Matty and The 1975's headlining performance.
They penned: 'How bad were #The1975 at #Glastonbury2025 a bloke who spent the first half hour staggering around drinking pints & smoking tabs, and the rest of the time faffing about with his hair, while being in the most boring band going, surely #Glastonbury can't get any worse, can it.
'I saw #The1975 in their very early days, was very underwhelmed then. Gave them another go this evening, awful. Songs all sound the same and a terrible front man. There were huge gaps around us near the front. #glastonbury got this one wrong sadly.'
'Matty Healy trying to play the archetypal rock & roller with the leather jacket, pint of Guinness and a cigarette while simultaneously performing some of the blandest music imaginable is quite the contradiction. About as rock & roll as Aled Jones.'
'Admittedly, I like #The1975's first record, but Matty Healy is so obsessed with trying to be edgy (he's not) that it just comes across as Liam Gallagher caricature. His band's headlining #Glastonbury yet he can't, not for one night, pretend to be anything other than insufferable.'
'Never seen #the1975 live before on TV. You have 1 chance to headline #glastonbury & the lead singer cares more about his Guinness & fags, & staggering all over the stage like an 18 Yr old on their first pint... The songs are wishy washy & bland. Is this it?!'
However, in contrast, there were a number of fans who actually loved the set, hailing it as 'epic', with many going on to praise Matty as a frontman.
They wrote on X: 'Just saw #The1975 they were so good.'
'Well that was bloody amazing I'm a snotty mess now!! About you was the perfect way to finish it.'
'Matt Healy a modern front man. That was excellent.'
Taking to X, fans made their feelings very clear on Matty and The 1975's headlining performance
'I had heard of #the1975 but wouldn't have known any of their songs. Enjoyed the performance, the wide variety of genres they cover, and the set overall. Worthy (pun intended) headliners. I'll be looking out for them in the future.'
'If you don't know the 1975 then I get that it might have been lost on you, but for me that was a f***ing epic show. What a frontman, what a band.'
Matty - the son of Loose Women's Denise Welch and Benidorm's Tim Healy - is famous for his provocative stage presence - and his Glastonbury set was no different.
The English singer-songwriter was seen belting out hits while puffing away on a cigarette and sipping from a pint of Guinness.
During his set, Matty claimed to be his generation's 'best songwriter' in a tongue and cheek moment.
The Cheshire-formed band, backed with a saxophone, opened with Happiness from 2022's Being Funny In A Foreign Language, with Matty wearing a black leather jacket, white T-shirt and blue jeans, with a pint of stout in his hand on the Pyramid Stage.
After performing Part Of The Band, sat on a stool and smoked while sipping his drink, Healy said: 'What this moment is making me realise is that I probably am the best songwriter of my generation.
'The best what they say, a poet, ladies and gentlemen, is what I am.
'Generational words, and I just wanted to remind you, over the next couple of minutes, these lyrics are poetry, I believe.'
The band then launched into Chocolate from their 2013 self-titled debut, before Healy remarked, 'I was only joking about being a poet' at its conclusion.
Made up of four school friends, the group, comprised of singer Matty, bassist Ross MacDonald, guitarist Adam Hann and drummer George Daniel, were headlining the festival for the first time.
Midway through the set, Matty told festival goers: 'Use your platform, that's what they say, right?'
He continued: 'People who are watching this may, I don't know, they might be disappointed at the lack of politics in this show and our forthcoming shows, and probably a few shows, because I always know it's a conscious decision, and we honestly don't want our legacy to be one of politics.
'We want it to be that of love and friendship, because we and I'm not trying to be too earnest, but you can go out into the world, and there's loads of politics everywhere. And I think we don't need more politics, we need more love and friendship.
'And I know that's really basic, but if you are a young kid and you are inspired by like about this band or something like that, don't aspire to like play a stage or be a certain size, aspire for like this level of friendship and love in what you do and you'll never fail and I love you, thank you so much.'
Love Me, the lead single from 2016's I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It, prompts the first sing-a-long from the crowd, with Healy pushing guitarist Hann to the front, announcing: 'Ladies and gentleman, in 2025 with zero irony, a guitar solo.'
Their stage set-up included a car, which Matty got into to sing Somebody Else while smoking a cigarette, before getting out during the song and walking on a travelator.
While performing She's American, Matty dipped into The Backstreet Boys I Want It That Way, before returning to his own 2016 song.
Before Paris, the singer declared 'this is my favourite 1975 song', and prior to playing Robbers from the band's debut album, he said: 'For the first time in my life I don't know what to say.'
The band ended their set with About You from Being Funny In A Foreign Language.
Before the song, Matty said: 'Ladies and gentlemen it's very cool to be mysterious but I think it's cooler to be honest and we're not going anywhere, we're not going anywhere, everything's going to be fine.'
Earlier in the day, festivalgoers were treated to surprise performances from alternative pop star Lorde, who played her new album Virgin in full, and Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi, who played two years after a performance at the festival during which he struggled to manage his Tourette syndrome symptoms.
Matty was seen wearing a black leather jacket, white t-shirt and blue jeans, with a pint of stout in his hand on the Pyramid Stage
Among the celebrities spotted at the event so far included Barbie star Margot Robbie, 34, with her producer husband Tom Ackerley, eight months after giving birth to their first child.
Yesterday, moustachioed Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, 48, read out letters from around the world in the Greenpeace area in a feature called 'Letters Live'.
Meanwhile, thousands of unsuspecting fans were treated to surprise performances from Lewis Capaldi and Lorde yesterday.
Lewis choked back tears as he declared 'I'm back baby' during an emotional return to Glastonbury's iconic Pyramid Stage.
The Scottish singer, 28, was greeted with cheers from the huge Worthy Farm crowd, two years after his battle with Tourettes left him unable to finish his performance at the festival and led to a career hiatus.
Delighted to back in front of an audience he tearfully said: 'Two years ago I wasn't sure if I'd ever do this again, but I'm back baby!''.
Lewis sung a number of his famous hits, before once chocking back tears as he performed brand new single Survive, which highlights the difficult period in his career following his last Glastonbury gig.
Fans in the crowd could be seen crying and calling out his name before joining him in a rendition of megahit Someone You Loved.
In his emotional speech, Lewis said: ' Glastonbury it's good to be back. Won't say too much up here today as if I do I might start crying, but I can't thank you enough for coming here and being with here'.
'Second times a charm hey! It's a short set today but just wanted to come and finish what I couldn't last time, also this was like the worst kept f*****g secret ever'.
Following his set Lewis took to Instagram with footage of his performance alongside a post which read: 'Glastonbury it's so incredible to be back, thank you so much for having me x'
Fans and famous friends rushed to the comments to welcome the talented musician back into the public eye.
Sam Fender said: 'Return of The King', while Alan Shearer said: 'Love It': Paddy McGuinness gushed: 'Governor' and Jade Thirlwall shared a slew of loving emojis.
Following his emotional set at Worthy Farm in June 2023, the singer took time off to focus on his mental health and to 'adjust to the impact' of his Tourette's diagnosis.
Also performing on Glastonbury's first day was CMAT, Lola Young, Alanis Morissette, as well Lorde with her own secret set.
Meanwhile Rizzle Kicks also made a return to the stage after their own 11 year hiatus and were joined by a surprise guest.
Harley 'Sylvester' Alexander-Sule and Jordan Stephens performed the biggest hits, with the later introducing his mum on stage during their track Mama Do the Hump.