And yes, “Antichrist” is also on our wish list, among other things.
It’s almost that time again and The 1975 are playing European concert halls with their “Still… At Their Very Best” tour – about time after they visited almost every other continent with the “At Their Very Best” predecessor. The setlist could also be very exciting here, which in the rest of the world consisted of parts of their current album BEING FUNNY IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE as well as all-time favorites and some unexpected surprises. We have now created our own dream set, which we would like to present to Matty Healy.
“Surrounded By Heads And Bodies”
Let’s start straight away with a piece that has actually never made it onto the stage. We think this needs to change urgently! “Surrounded By Heads And Bodies” has very few lyrics and comparatively significantly more instrumental interludes, but that shouldn’t be able to dissuade The 1975 from a live performance. Despite the few text modules, we are told a story about the moment when someone is at your lowest point with you and understands you all the better as a result. That deserves a place on the set list.
“UGH!”
We could be jealous here, because the song was only recently on the setlist – 2023 in North America. Unfortunately, Europe has come away empty-handed on recent tours. But why? “UGH!” is actually one of THE songs that belongs on stage, with its funky 70s synth-pop vibe and lyrics that are too easy to scream.
And yes, even if behind the lyrics, which suggest that it could be a love affair, there is a track about cocaine. Because in “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)” Heroin is actually sung about and the song is well received live, right?
“Antichrist”
Even if we get a lot of eye-rolling from both the band and many fans (possibly coupled with supportive laughter) – yes, we know that this wish will probably not be fulfilled, but there remains a little hope. For context: “Antichrist” is now over ten years old, was part of their self-titled debut album, may have subsequently influenced half a generation of Tumblr teenagers – and has never been played live. The reason for this is actually that lead singer Matty Healy has a lot of dark memories associated with the track and doesn’t feel comfortable performing it. Of course we want to respect that too, after all it is his song and his show. However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t still hold on to the idea of being able to experience the hit live at some point to see how happy Tumblr kids’ eyes light up.
“People”
This may not be the classic request, but could we please get “People”? Hardly any song stands out from The 1975’s repertoire as much as this one. The socially critical hard rock number may have slightly surprised some listeners of her album NOTES ON A CONDITIONAL FORM when, after a speech by Greta Thunberg, he suddenly banged in without considering the losses.
At some UK gigs the track is even included as an encore and often ends the show – we hope it could be the same in Germany.
“Wintering”
Yes, winter will (hopefully) soon be over and Christmas is already behind us for a while, but perhaps “Wintering” could offer the right ending to say goodbye to the cool and dark season. The slightly wistful indie-pop piece provides a humorous insight into Healy’s not-so-picturesque Christmas – basically “Driving Home For Christmas” in The 1975 style.
“Robbers”
We also cannot deny that “Robbers” should be on every set list without exception. If you like the song, you definitely shouldn’t miss two things: hear it live (at least) once and watch the music video. This holds the energy of the era The-1975releases in about four and a half minutes better than we could ever explain them. And anyone who has ever experienced the lines “She says, babe, you look so cool” at a concert will probably agree with us – the piece deserves a permanent place in the live shows.
“All I Need To Hear” with Tim Healy
You read that right! We wish Papa Healy on stage with the love song “All I Need To Hear”! This is unlikely, but not impossible. The 72-year-old has performed the song live as a surprise feature guest several times – including at Madison Square Garden in New York, Finsbury Park in London and also in Toronto. The live recordings of the emotional soul performances convinced us and perhaps filled us with a little jealousy, so we hope that The 1975 will take the singer’s father to Germany one day.
“Love Me”
Similar to “UGH!”, “Love Me” is poppier than most of The 1975’s songs and is therefore perfect for live performances. Lyrically, exaggerated, egotistical rock star attitude meets the reluctance to join in – a situation that the band faced when they wrote the song. But when the song does make it onto the stage, it is one of those tracks in which Matty Healy once again portrays exaggerated self-confidence and manages to infect an entire concert hall with it in a surprisingly charming way.
“I’m In Love With You”
We are not immune to a heartwarming love song either. The frontman once again takes us into his very own emotional world – albeit (surprisingly) without any sexual aspects. The title was supposed to be called “I’m Not In Love With You” and (once again) contain a penis joke or two, until Healy realized that wasn’t actually the truth – he was just hiding from his real ones Calling emotions by their name. The result is a poppy feel-good track that we don’t just want to dance and scream along to in our own four walls.
“Guys”
Oh, how we would love to lie in our friends’ arms and lie with this track and take the piece to heart even more. Instead of love, sex and drugs, Healy sings about his gratitude for his band colleagues, who are also his best friends. On the current tour, the track only made it onto the stage in its entirety once – could you please change that, Mr. Healy?
But what about…
… “Chocolate”, “Somebody Else”, “Sex”, “The Sound”, “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” or “Love It If We Made It”?! Please don’t misunderstand us, of course we also want to include the all-time favorites, but they are also represented on most of the setlists – it would be bad if not.