Sophia Michaels
If you’re a fan of The 1975, you know that now is the time to rebel. With one of their recently-released songs, The 1975 featured climate change activist, Greta Thunberg and her speech about the environment. How does this Grammy-nominated rock band know Greta Thunberg? Here’s what we know about this group and their political activism.
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The 1975 featured Greta Thunberg on their opening song for ‘Notes on a Conditional Form’
Once The 1975 releases their iconic title track, fans know a new era is just beginning. For the first time ever, this rock band featured another voice over the song “The 1975.” This song, released ahead of the 2020 album, Notes on a Conditional Form, featured climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
The 16-year-old spoke on the urgency of climate change over the group’s well-known song. Within a few months, the single earned over 3 million plays on Spotify. The next single released by the group, “People,” followed a similar theme, a sort of “call-to-action,” fighting against climate change and regressive ideas.
Does Matty Healy of The 1975 know Greta Thunberg?
It’s not exactly clear when, or how, these two celebrities met. During an interview with Pedestrian.TV, the singer described one of the first times he saw Greta Thunberg — while they were recording The 1975’s single.
“She’s so famous in regards to iconographically famous,” Matty Healy said. “You know she’s like, on a poster with Gandhi kinda-famous. So when I first seen her through the studio, through like frosted glass as well, you could just see the outline of her. And like Slash said, ‘To be truly iconic, you must be recognizable in silhouette.’ She’s recognizable in silhouette. So, it was really powerful.”
The 1975 often makes statements with their music, including ‘Loving Someone’ and ‘Love It If We Made It’
This rock group has never been shy about their political opinions. Following the Pulse Nightclub shooting, The 1975 projected the LGBTQ+ Pride flag during their song “Loving Someone.” Since then, the song became an anthem for people in the community and The 1975 continues to project some version of the Pride flag when they perform live.
With their album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, The 1975 created a song prompted by headlines in the news, entitled “Love It If We Made It.” The music video includes jarring images of real events, in addition to clips of the band.
“It’s the gem of hope amongst all of the rubble,” Healy said of “Love It If We Made It,” during a video for Genius. “I didn’t want to do a protest song. I wanted to be introspective but not so much like my diary.”
As a stark contrast, the music video for “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME” features Matty Healy along with a handful of fans, celebrating different cultures and gender identities. Additionally, their song “Give Yourself a Try” of the same album earned a Grammy nomination in the “Best Rock Song” category.
Music by The 1975, including their song featuring Greta Thunberg, is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and most major streaming platforms.
Written by: CheatSheet
