Gimme a Break
The singer announced the band’s plans onstage in Sacramento, California on Tuesday
The 1975 are going on indefinite hiatus. Frontman Matthew Healy informed the Sacramento, California audience on Tuesday that they’d better enjoy the evening and register the experience in their memory palaces. “We love coming to this place and playing for you guys whenever we have the chance, and it’s wonderful you’re all here,” Healy said, according to Pitchfork. “After this tour we will be going on an indefinite hiatus of shows so it’s wonderful to have you guys with us tonight.” The tour dates run through a Seattle gig on Dec. 2.
It is unclear if the band is planning on taking a break from touring or pausing all operations. A rep for the band did not return Rolling Stone’s request for further comment in time for publication.
The band, and Healy in particular, has spent much of the past year since the October 2022 release of Being Funny in a Foreign Language making headlines for things that aren’t music-related. Last December, Healy stopped performing mid-gig to get a tattoo across his chest that read, “I’m a man.” Healy also captivated fans for much of last year with rumors that he was dating Taylor Swift; she came onstage at the 1975’s London gig in January to perform “Anti-Hero” for the first time. And then in April, he apologized to Ice Spice, who was collaborating with Swift, for making offensive jokes at her expense. The 1975’s labelmate, Rina Sawayama, wrote a song called “STFU!” in response to Healy’s comments about Ice Spice and other subjects.
Conversely, in July, authorities in Kuala Lumpur shut down a 1975 concert after Healy criticized Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ+ stance onstage. The band canceled the rest of an Asian tour afterwards, and the festival’s organizers have formally asked the band to pay them £2 million since the government ended up shutting down the whole festival afterwards.