Shock Waves at Glastonbury: The 1975’s Headline Debut Leaves Fans Reeling for All the Wrong Reasons

Raise your hand if you’ve ever watched a band finally reach the gleaming peak of their dreams—only for the whole performance to go sideways faster than a spilled pint of Guinness at Worthy Farm. The 1975 just checked off the holy grail of music milestones by headlining Glastonbury, but instead of a victory lap, Matty Healy and company seem to have wandered into a crossfire of confusion, critique, and good old-fashioned social media side-eye . Out in the fields, the crowd was buzzing, soaking up the festival magic, yet back home, thousands hunched over their screens—baffled, unimpressed, and typing out tweets as fast as Healy could belt out those “gibberish-like” lyrics . Aren’t headline sets supposed to unite us in awe—or are we all just chasing different versions of a good time these days? Grab that metaphorical Guinness and dive into one of Glasto’s most divisive moments ever—this is a tale you just can’t make up . LEARN MORE

The 1975 can now tick headlining Glastonbury off their bucket list, as the band’s eagerly awaited gig on the Pyramid Stage has come to a close.

The huge crowd that gathered to watch the four-piece group live out their festival dreams seemed to be having a ball on Friday (27 June).

However, the same can’t be said for people watching from home – as a host of music fans have been expressing disappointment about Matty Healy and Co’s performance online.

The frontman’s on-stage antics rubbed a few people up the wrong way, as a lot of social media users didn’t seem to be charmed by his rock ‘n’ roll approach to headlining Glasto.

Healy swanned out on stage clutching what appeared to be a pint of Guinness and a cigarette, before belting out tunes such as ‘She’s American’, ‘Part of the Band’, ‘Robbers’ and ‘Chocolate’ – the latter of which included a laughable display of ‘gibberish-like’ lyrics.

The 36-year-old, who strummed a guitar which sported a cryptic message, also addressed the crowd quite frequently between songs.

At one point, the conversation turned political – as Healy explained why he wouldn’t be wading in on any diplomatic or legislative issues while having the honour of headlining the popular festival in Somerset.

People have been sharing their thoughts about The 1975’s headline set on social media (OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking to the crowd of revellers at Worthy Farm, the singer acknowledged that he had the perfect ‘platform’ to address prominent topics while performing on the Pyramid Stage.

However, he told the crowd that the band – which consists of Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald and George Daniel – had made a ‘conscious decision’ to stay out of political affairs from now on.

Given the fact he sparked huge controversy at Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur in July 2023 while calling out the country’s anti‑LGBTQ laws before locking lips with MacDonald in defiance, his reluctance to chime in on contentious issues didn’t come as a huge surprise to many.

Healy told fans at Glastonbury: “Use your platform, that’s what they say right? People who are watching this, may be disappointed at the lack of politics in this show, or future shows.

“I want you to know it’s a conscious decision. We don’t want our legacy to be one of politics. We want it to be one of love and friendship.

“And I’m not trying to be too earnest, but you 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 person and are inspired by this band, then don’t aspire to play a stage or be a certain stage, aspire for this level of friendship in everything that you do. And you’ll never fail.”

Healy’s eccentric on-stage antics sparked a lot of conversation online (Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Between all of this – and the fact that The 1975 just simply aren’t everyones cup of tea – there’s been a few complaints about the Brit Award-winners set on the Pyramid Stage.

In a post on X, one person said: “When you thought Glasto couldn’t get worse than Coldplay – Matt Healy, hold my pint of warm Guinness.”

Another added: “Never really listened to The 1975 before AND NOW I KNOW WHY! What an appalling load of generic old toss.”

A third suggested that the band might not have been ready for a headline slot, saying: “Fair play, not one anthem, should’ve been on at 5pm, can’t work out what this guy is trying to portray…..? Seen a couple of tracks from #Selfesteem earlier, genuine class, maybe they got the billing (Park/Pyramid) wrong way around?”

A fourth chimed in: “Well 1975 are abit boring. Can I watch Guns and Roses again?”

And a fifth simply wrote: “What a sh*t headliner.”

Whether you enjoyed their headline set or not, you better soak it all in, folks – as this Glasto gig was The 1975’s first and only scheduled show of 2025.