'Naked' Matty Healy appears on stage as The 1975 return to AO Arena

There are very few bands whose fans are dedicated enough to start camping at venues days before the show to secure a spot at the front of the stage - but it’s a power that Matty Healy and The 1975 behold. And after going to see their first of two Manchester dates of the Still…At Their Very Best Tour, I can understand why.

The 1975 don’t put on mere gigs. Their artistry goes beyond the music and their five studio albums. Instead, what they did was deliver a masterclass in the art of entertainment - and their homecoming show saw them truly capture the hearts and minds of those in attendance with an unforgettable setlist, impeccable musicianship, and unapologetic creativity from start to finish.

Following a stunning reverb-drenched ethereal pop set from The Japanese House, the curtain fell to reveal a giant doll-house like structure. The door opened, and members of the band took their time entering the stage, screams from fans amplifying at each new musician through the door. Vintage lamps adorning the stage were switched on one by one, before Matty Healy lit up a cigarette and kicked off the night with The 1975 (BFIAFL) from their most recent album, Being Funny In A Foreign Language, setting the tone for what would become an evening of mesmerising theatrics.

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The staging was a work of art in its own right, with lounging sofas, chairs, bookcases, streetlights and spiral staircases filled with Easter eggs from the band’s 20-year career. Each member of the band occupied their own room, with Matty navigating the set throughout, which really elevated the storytelling.

While the band rattled through the first portion of the set, featuring almost exclusively their newest releases like Happiness, Part of the Band and Oh Caroline, handheld cameras captured the action on stage to display on the big screens, filmed in the most wonderfully cinematic way that it would be a crime not to release it in DVD form. It was near impossible to take your eyes off the stage, and if you had, you’d have missed the tender moment bassist Ross hugged Matty before leaving him alone on stage for When We Are Together.

If you caught their At Their Very Best tour - or watched it via the series of clips uploaded to TikTok - you’ll notice there are some similarities, from lab-coat wearing technicians adjusting the set between tracks, to the multiple bottles of alcohol Healy swigs from before, during and after songs - but despite his tipsy appearance, this is a man who is very much in the driver’s seat. Seeing The 1975 live has only made me appreciate just how intelligent the 34-year-old singer is, with every move calculated and measured. There was no raw meat eating this time, though - thankfully.

Matty has earned quite a reputation for being outspoken, and while there are glimmers of controversy, such as the TV playing short clips of news segments from the Israeli conflict and XL bully ban, he remains relatively well behaved throughout, climbing through a television set before seemingly reappearing entirely naked on the b-stage in the middle of the crowd.

Before long, the real Matty Healy climbed onto the grassy platform to inspect the wax effigy of himself while singing I Like America and America Likes me. It was an uncomfortable and disconcerting experience that felt a little like watching Saltburn with your parents, but it’s all part of the art and really underscored the band’s desire to push boundaries and blur the lines of reality.

The second portion of their mammoth two hour and 15 minute set was one of nostalgia. We’d caught a glimpse of their earlier works with Robbers during the first half, for which the audience gave it their absolute all - but it was energetic tracks like TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME and It's Not Living (If It's Not With You) from their 2018 record A Brief Enquiry into Online Relationships, and the rarely-played Chocolate from their self-titled debut that saw the biggest reactions, with the frontman almost drowned out by the volume of his adoring fans.

“You’re watching not only Manchester’s, but the world’s greatest band”, declared a charismatically confident Healy before dedicating Menswear to the city he calls home. It’s a bold claim - but having laid witness to the AO Arena hanging off his every word, it’s easy to believe him.

They continued to deliver hits like The Sound - which had the whole arena jumping in unison - as well as Somebody Else and an emotional snippet of Guys as he reminisced about he, Ross, Adam and George having been performing together for 21 years. Love It If We Made It and Sex drew the 28-track setlist to a near close, but Matty, Adam and Ross appeared on the grassy platform one final time to perform their hard-charging punk-infused People, ending in Healy disappearing headfirst into the platform. I do hope there was a crash mat in there.

One of the most immersive shows unlike anything I’ve seen before, the Still…At Their Very Best tour stands as testament to the band’s masterful ability to blend music and theatre, cementing them as one of Manchester’s most innovative and exhilarating exports. Fans may well be disappointed by the news of the upcoming hiatus, but this show will no doubt live in their head rent free until they return.

The 1975 at AO Arena, February 17, 2024, setlist: