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If youā€™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? Hereā€™s what we know about this group and their political activism.

The 1975 featured Greta Thunberg on their opening song for ā€˜Notes on a Conditional Formā€™

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 ā€œThe 1975.ā€ 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 groupā€™s well-known song. Within a few months, the single earned over 3 million plays on Spotify. The next single released by the group, ā€œPeople,ā€ followed a similar theme, a sort of ā€œcall-to-action,ā€ fighting against climate change and regressive ideas.

Founder of Fridays For Future Greta Thunberg and co-founder of This Is Zero Hour
Founder of Fridays For Future Greta Thunberg and co-founder of This Is Zero Hour | Alex Wong/Getty Images

Does Matty Healy of The 1975 know Greta Thunberg?

Itā€™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 ā€” while they were recording The 1975ā€™s single.

ā€œSheā€™s so famous in regards to iconographically famous,ā€ Matty Healy said. ā€œYou know sheā€™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, ā€˜To be truly iconic, you must be recognizable in silhouette.ā€™ Sheā€™s recognizable in silhouette. So, it was really powerful.ā€

Matt Healy of English rock band The 1975
Matt Healy of English rock band The 1975 | Roberto Ricciuti/WireImage

The 1975 often makes statements with their music, including ā€˜Loving Someoneā€™ and ā€˜Love It If We Made Itā€™

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 ā€œLoving Someone.ā€ 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 ā€œLove It If We Made It.ā€ The music video includes jarring images of real events, in addition to clips of the band.

ā€œItā€™s the gem of hope amongst all of the rubble,ā€ Healy said of ā€œLove It If We Made It,ā€ during a video for Genius. ā€œI didnā€™t want to do a protest song. I wanted to be introspective but not so much like my diary.ā€

As a stark contrast, the music video for ā€œTOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIMEā€ features Matty Healy along with a handful of fans, celebrating different cultures and gender identities. Additionally, their song ā€œGive Yourself a Tryā€ of the same album earned a Grammy nomination in the ā€œBest Rock Songā€ category.

Music by The 1975, including their song featuring Greta Thunberg, is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and most major streaming platforms.Ā