The 1975 (album)
The 1975 is the self-titled debut studio album by English band the 1975. It was released on 2 September 2013 through Dirty Hit and Polydor.[3] It was produced by band members Matty Healy and George Daniel together with Mike Crossey.[4]
The 1975
Between Autumn 2012 and Spring 2013, during which time the album was recorded, the band released four EPs. They toured to support and build momentum for the album, including numerous gigs and special appearances with other artists.
The album received positive reviews from critics, and topped the UK Albums Chart on 8 September.[5] As of August 2023, it had sold 791,000 copies in the UK,[6] and 1,000,000 copies in the US as of June 2018.[7]
Background[edit]
Between mid-2012 and early 2013, the 1975 released four extended plays: Facedown, Sex, Music for Cars and IV; some of the songs included there would make it onto the album.
The band toured extensively to support the album, raise awareness and build up momentum before dropping the full-length release. They toured London with Bastille and Muse in the second half of The 2nd Law World Tour at the Emirates Stadium on 26 May 2013,[8] the United States with the Neighbourhood on June,[9] and London again with the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park on 13 July.[10] They later played at the Festival Republic Stage at the 2013 Reading and Leeds Festival in August.
Musical style[edit]
The album is mostly labeled as rock because of the band, but the wide variety of genres in the album has led to it being described as electropop,[11][12] emo,[13] indie pop,[1][11] pop,[11][14][15][16][17] pop punk[13] and pop rock.[11][18][19] It also includes funk and indie rock elements.[11]
Frontman Matty Healy described the style as "pretty experimental, and goes from glitchy R&B to big 80s powerpop to mid 90s soul, but it's done in our way obviously."[1]
Promotion[edit]
Singles[edit]
The lead single from the album, a re-recorded version of the song "Sex", was scheduled to be released on 26 August 2013.[20] The song premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 8 July 2013 as his 'Hottest Record in the World'.[21] A music video for the song was released onto YouTube on 26 July 2013.[22]
On 27 August 2013, the song "Settle Down" premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show as part of his 'Album of the Week' segment, and on 29 August 2013 "Girls" became Lowe's 'Hottest Record'.[23]
Commercial performance[edit]
The album topped the UK Albums Chart on 8 September,[35] selling 31,538 copies in the first week. On 26 September 2014, it was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 300,000 copies. As of December 2018, it has sold 584,808 copies in the UK.[36]
In the United States, The 1975 debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard 200,[37] with around 15,000 copies sold on its first week of release. It also debuted at No. 8 on Billboard's Rock Albums,[38] and 7 on Alternative Albums.[39] As of March 2016, the album has sold 349,000 copies in the US.[7]