The 1975's Matty Healy on touring after coronavirus: "It’s an opportunity to take the climate crisis seriously"

The 1975‘s Matty Healy has spoken of the need for touring to become increasingly eco-friendly when the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end.

In a new interview with ID, Healy described live shows as a “religious pilgrimage”, but warned they would need to become more sustainable in order to survive.

He said: “I don’t think we’re going to get rid of live music, because there’s something about reaching out [to an artist] in a gig that ‘s really powerful. It’s like a religious pilgrimage. I’m thinking, get rid of gigs at night. Build a carbon neutral black tent that you kind of let light into, in an artistic way, and then use that to light the stage.

“I don’t know! This idea that people can just keep doing what they’re doing and massage it enough to make it socially acceptable is over. There has to be some kind of sacrifice.”

Healy – who was speaking after coronavirus forced The 1975 to cancel their massive Finsbury Park show – also said that the aftermath of the pandemic would provide a new “opportunity” to tackle climate change.

He added: “We’ve just got to think about what live music is and what’s important about it. It’s about taking this as an opportunity to really take the climate crisis seriously.

“We can’t go into a new world and start to rebuild it exactly like the last one, and then wait until it gets fucked again, and then start dealing with climate change. We need to start now.”

The 1975 have been previously praised for their efforts to promote sustainable touring. Their postponed Finsbury Park gig was set to be the “greenest show” to be held at the North London location, with the band implementing measures such as paperless tickets and sustainably sourced HVO fuel being used to power the entire event.

They also took a step into sustainable fashion last year, by reprinting a new design over old t-shirts and inviting fans to have the new design printed on their old merchandise.

Meanwhile, The 1975 will release new album ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’ this Friday (May 22). In a five-star review, NME wrote: “The 1975 have somehow put out an album made for introspection and headphone listening and dancing around your living room, something deep and sprawling and occasionally silly to dig deep into over many listens, during which your favourite track will shift on a daily basis. Something that requires time and attention – something just right for now.”