Matt Healy, frontman and rhythm guitarist of The 1975 went against anti LGBTQ laws set in Dubai by sharing a gay kiss with a man in the audience of their set, during the middle of their song, ‘Loving Someone’. He came back on the stage and said, “I love you bro. We’re all human, right?”. In response to the event in the United Arab Emirates, a first for the Cheshire band, responsible for hits including ‘Somebody Else’, ‘Sincerity Is Scary’ and ‘The Sound’, Healy took to Twitter to say. “Thank you Dubai you were so amazing. I don’t think we’ll be allowed back due to my ‘behaviour’ but know that I love you and I wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again.”

According to travel advice from The Foreign Office, public displays of affection in the United Arab Emirates are frowned upon. In the past, arrests have been made. Last year, The 1975 donated significantly to a crowdfunding campaign that financed an LGBTQ+ centre in London. “When a friend of mine sent me the link, I was quite surprised that such a good idea had not yet raised enough to get over the threshold,” Healy said.

He also said. “I am a bit wary of talking about it because I don’t want to appear to be virtue-signalling, but me and the others in the band all felt it was obviously a good thing to put our money towards.”

He added. “You might wonder why it is needed, and even ask yourself what exactly is everyone still scared of, but sadly, I think stigma still exists even in London and we still have some way to go.”

The band’s critically acclaimed third album, ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’, released last November, was dubbed by NME as “the millennial answer to ‘OK Computer”. It was awarded five stars.

As summarised in the review, “So Healy had set out to describe his own experience, but in doing so has produced an artefact that sums up millennial life, a magpie pop masterpiece that could only be made right now and right here. And for every stupid joke you’ve heard about avocados and house prices and safe spaces and jazz hands, this is a piece of art that shows another side to a generation, one of achievement, wit and humanity in the most confusing of times. Clever boys.”