The 1975 paid tribute to Lewis Capaldi during their set as they filled in for him at Reading 2023.
The 1975 took over Lewis Capaldi’s headlining slot after Capaldi announced that he’d be taking a break from performing to prioritise his health. Capaldi has faced struggles with Tourette’s syndrome, leading him to cancel multiple performances as he learns to live with his condition.
During The 1975’s Reading set, frontman Matty Healy addressed the crowd, saying “Well, first of all can we have the loudest round of applause in our set for Mr Lewis Capaldi who couldn’t make it tonight.”
Matty Healy had previously touched on his friendship with Capaldi during the band’s headlining performance at Finsbury Park, saying, “I want to send my sincerest thoughts to Lewis Capaldi who is a dear friend of mine, who on the day when he had to cancel his tour, checked in on me. And it’s also a reflection on how hard being a solo artist is as I would not be doing this show if I didn’t have these amazing men and women behind me.”
The 1975 used the opportunity to play an anniversary show to mark 10 years since their self-titled debut album was released. The band played the album in full, playing throwback crowd-pleasers including “Sex,” “Chocolate” and “Robbers.”
The performance was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, as fans basked in the nostalgia of hearing the debut album performed a decade on. One fan described the atmosphere as being “like one big family” as well as being “insane and incredible.”
the atmosphere of this show was INSANE. Like, i cannot explain it in words, but it felt like one big family, we could laugh together and cry together. it was fucking incredible. i will never regret going to this show. god bless the 1975 THE WORLD’S GREATEST BAND pic.twitter.com/qHxAH2aU9m
— Iris (@irissversion75) August 26, 2023
The said insane and incredible atmosphere:
god i love the 1975 pic.twitter.com/ZXdFmj8NfN
— Iris (@irissversion75) August 26, 2023
The band also went on the play newer tracks including “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You),” “Happiness” and “I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)” to satisfy fans of their later albums.
Matty Healy’s happiness during Happiness at Reading Festival 2023#the1975 #the1975live pic.twitter.com/GJmhWdWd8l — The 1975 TH (@the1975_thteam) August 27, 2023
The complete performance is available to stream on BBC iPlayer, with the BBC feeding into the nostalgia themselves, writing “let’s go 2013 tumblr girlies.”
let’s go 2013 tumblr girlies @the1975 played their debut album IN FULL for their @officialrandl headline performance❗️
watch back on @bbciplayer or listen on @bbcsounds. pic.twitter.com/ULPloBx20c
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) August 26, 2023
The 1975 are also releasing special edition formats of their debut album, The 1975, in honour of its 10 year anniversary. Set to be released on 1st September 2023, The 1975 (10th Anniversary) is available for pre-order now.
THE 1975 The 1975 (10 Year Anniversary) will be released September 1st 2023. Available to pre-order now. https://t.co/wFHW9VTAj0 pic.twitter.com/iVfTsfSl7c — The 1975 (@the1975) August 25, 2023
Click here for our guide on how to watch Reading & Leeds 2023 coverage.
Read about Sam Fender’s Leeds performance here.
Read about The Killers debuting a new song at Reading here.
