‘We’re the best band in the world’ – The 1975 electrify Glasgow in a pop performance of the parasocial to prove they are ‘Still… At Their Very Best’

By Katlyn Mortimer

If you’re a lecturer of mine, don’t read this, but this February 8th I decided to switch out Younger Hall for the OVO Hydro, and attend The 1975’s ‘Still… At Their Very Best’ tour in Glasgow. 

Aside from the invasion of Doc Marten clad teens, the band’s presence in the city had already been felt prior to the show, as fans pitched tents outside the arena, making national news. Hoping to get a spot in the front row, some travelled from as far as the US and Australia and for them, this is a lifestyle. I, however, opted instead to fork out a little extra for early entry to the venue, and so ended up a cosy 3 rows from the barricade, with like-minded superfans.

Support for this leg of the tour comes from The Japanese House; stage name for indie-pop musician Amber Bain, who performed a short set before The 1975 took the stage. Bain’s 2023 sophomore album ‘In The End It Always Does’ was co-produced by The 1975’s drummer, George Daniel, and featured vocals from infamous frontman, Matty Healy. As both bands are signed to indie label Dirty Hit, many fans seem familiar with her music, and excitement came to a peak as she performed her final song ‘Sunshine Baby’ which the crowd was very familiar with, screaming the lyrics back at Bain.

As the opening act left the stage, a blue silk curtain cascaded downwards to conceal the set behind, with a stencil projecting the silhouette of the band’s logo upon it. After thirty minutes of excited chatter, the music swelled, and the curtain was lifted. Revealed was the interior of a dimly lit house littered with furniture, a melange of books and lamps - a reference to Talking Heads’ 1984 concert film, ‘Stop Making Sense’. 

As Healy began to play the opening piano melody of ‘Being Funny in A Foreign Language’, his band members took the stage one by one, walking through the door of the house as if stepping into a gathering of friends. As the show progressed, it was easy to see that this is exactly what it is. The large venue is no hindrance to the intimacy of the show, as two large screens display the name of each band member as the camera follows them to their respective instruments. This feature is one of the many details of the show which makes it feel so personal, and in many ways, parasocial. The idea here is not subtle – we are watching television.

Following the first applause of the evening, the band immediately broke into ‘Looking for Somebody (To Love)’, a vivacious pop-rock song told from the perspective of a school shooter. Healy, dressed in a denim jacket and sunglasses, drags the microphone stand carelessly behind him as he mimics shooting a gun with his other hand. This dichotomy of dark lyrics over a bouncing bass line is a recurring theme throughout the band’s discography. 

The first half of the show features back-to-back performances of their hits, including Tik-Tok sensation ‘About You’ and cult-classic ‘Robbers’. Some other highlights include the glistening solos from saxophonist John Waugh and the frontman’s remarkable ability to keep pace while alternating between pint and cigarette. 

The midpoint of the show sees Healy alone onstage, as he appears to be watching a small TV as it jumps between snippets of news reports to clips which discuss Matty himself and his ‘cancellation’. In this segment of ‘Still… At Their Very Best’ he is asking the audience to address their own obsessions with idols, and he presents this as a metaphor of social media as a whole. When hearing of superfluous celebrity news on social media, is immediately followed by news of conflict, how must we discern which is of greater importance to us when they are discussed with equal vigour and fascination in online spaces? The 1975 have been asking these questions for years (See 2018’s ‘Love It If We Made It’).  At the climax of the act, Healy climbs through the TV screen which leads underneath the stage, suggesting that even he is ultimately a victim to the lure of the internet.

Throughout the two and a half hours the band spends onstage, they traversed ten years and five album’s worth of hits. At one point, Healy is harnessed and climbs onto the roof of the house onstage, and performs their track ‘Me’ from 2013, as the visuals display a full moon behind him. However, the most captivating aspect of the show is not the bright psychedelic visuals or Healy’s onstage antics, but rather the feeling that this group of eight musicians (four of the original line-up who have been playing together for over 20 years, and four who contribute to the touring band) have mastered the art of group performance. Yet it is not simply due to the skill of the artists, but the radiating joy and sense of endearment they have for one another. During the outro of ‘When We Are Together’, Healy asks the audience to “please give it up for my best friends”.

As the band relocated to their second, smaller stage to perform their final song of the evening - their lone pop-punk track ‘People’ - most of the crowd seemed taken aback. Being one of their lesser-known tracks, this particular song was chosen as the finale due to it being a true-fan favourite and an electrifying close to the evening. As the band exited the stage and the house lights came up, screens displayed a credit role thanking their crew members and security. In the midst of the shuffle towards the exit, I long to rewind the evening to the beginning, and press play.