Gig review: The 1975 (Support from Wild Cub and Wolf Alice)

Alternative rock band, The 1975, were back in Manchester on Wednesday night, playing a third show at Manchester Academy, to a sold out crowd of 2,600 loyal fans.

The Manchester born band, fronted by lead singer and guitarist, Matthew Healy, played a jam packed 90 minute set, filled with upbeat synth-rock tracks from their self titled debut album.

Opening the night with fan favourite ‘The City’, the four piece walked onto stage and launched straight into the song, accompanied by an impressive light display and backdrop.

Unfortunately, two minutes in, they suffered a glitch with the music and had to stop. The band in their own unique fashion, decided to start again.

Matthew, clutching a drink, said: “We’ve been on tour for a year and haven’t had a problem, yet we come back to Manchester and mess it up. So we’re going to try that again.”

Luckily, the fans didn’t seem to mind.

The evening continued with a host of songs that got the audience jumping and dancing, including ‘Talk!’ and ‘Heart Out’, before slowing things down with ballad, ‘Me’, off their Music for Cars EP.

Although formed in 2002 by Healy and school friends, Ross MacDonald, Adam Hann and George Daniel, the group didn’t receive mainstream success until their hit single ‘Chocolate’, entered the official chart at number 19 in March 2013.

It’s not surprising that they decided to end the evening with it, along side EP single ‘Sex’. The encore was met with screams and cheers, with fans pleased to hear their favourite songs.

The 1975 have a busy year ahead of them. After finishing their tour in the UK, they head out to Australia, Japan and then back to Europe before embarking on a massive American leg.

For a small band from Manchester, they already have a massive, passionate fan base across several continents, considering they only released their debut album in September 2013, and were selling out shows on the back of a few EP’s.

There is no doubt we will see a lot of more of these guys in the years to come.