The 1975’s prior touring campaigns have concentrated on the role social media plays in our lives and the weight of technology that we find ourselves under, depicted by monolithic LED walls, floating cubes, and a 11m-wide treadmill. This time around, maximalism has made way for storytelling, as the production spotlights the type of content we consume through these screens and the prevailing confusion between masculinity, sexuality and politics. The 1975: At Their Very Best takes this divisive content, which for the most part is challenging and uncomfortable to acknowledge in person, and places it in front of thousands of live music fans in venues across the globe each night. At First Direct Arena – fittingly a venue based in a city home to The 1975’s first ever live show – TPi went behind the scenes to discover the inner workings of this complex production.
Words: Jacob Waite
Photos: Jordan Curtis Hughes
