An old clip of The 1975 frontman, Matty Healy, making an appearance on some vintage British telly in what looks to have been his first-ever TV interview has been unearthed on social media and he even shows off some of his early dancing chops.
The London-born, Wilmslow-raised and still regularly Manchester-based singer, songwriter and guitarist is one of the biggest music names around and The 1975 is, without doubt, one of the biggest bands on the planet right now. They’ve come a long way from playing this city’s intimate venues back in the day.
However, it would seem the equal parts charismatic and often controversial frontman knew he was always destined for a career in entertainment all the way back in 1999 when he appeared on the BBC show, This Is Your Life.
I mean, having two well-known actor parents definitely didn’t hurt but even still, you could tell this lad was born for the stage.
Sat in the studio audience with family as he watched on at his father Tim Healy (Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Beniform, Waterloo Road) and mum Denise Welch (Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Celebrity Big Brother), a then nine-year-old Matty was quizzed by host Michael Aspel about his designs on showbiz.
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Quickly confirming, “Well yeah actually, I do, but Dad, I might not be as good as you at acting but I’m simply a better dancer”, his father was quick to agree, “You certainly are, son”.
The long-running biography show, which ended all the way back in 2007 after 43 series, then rolled a VT of Healy doing his best Michael Jackson impression in a white shite, black trousers and black shoes and a black fedora as he danced along to the King of Pop’s iconic track ‘Bad’.
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While he hadn’t quite mastered the moonwalk just yet (that came later), you could see the same kind of showmanship then as he has gone on to relish today, with his mum giggling and applauding throughout and dad Tim quick to give him a kiss and a cuddle. They shared a similar moment 25 years later when his dad joined him on stage for a surprise performance.
After seeing Matty Healy as a kid, several joked in the comments below the video, “our little nepo baby”, “The way he still has some of the same mannerisms and moves when he dances on stage”, and, “Imagining the future of my Aries child if I encourage his little ego…”
In fact, this wasn’t the only time the British public saw a Matty Healy on telly as a kid, as even before he scored himself a little cameo on Waterloo Road like his dad, he once again appeared on another episode of This Is Your Life a year later when the programme returned to focus on mother, Denise.
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Speaking then, he told the programme that he’s made “pretty good progress playing the drums” — the role he used to play in the very early days of The 1975’s formation — and was hoping to buy his mum “a new Bel-Air mansion” once he became successful.
You can see more from both that episode down below and his first appearance in full HERE.
Young Matty Healy didn’t just like dancing, he also wanted to be a ‘top-class musician’.
Fans are preparing to pay tribute to Mani from The Stone Roses ahead of his funeral service
Danny Jones
Stone Roses fans and Greater Manchester locals alike are getting ready to pay their respects to the late, great, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, following his tragic passing last month.
As well as details surrounding his funeral being announced earlier this week, the iconic Manc musician’s cause of death has also finally been revealed.
While Hatton’s service featured a high-profile cortège which started all the way from his hometown of Hyde, past multiple landmarks and ending at the Etihad Stadium, those local to Mani’s family home on the edge of Stockport are also being welcomed to help send him off.
It's the funeral of Mani of the Stone Roses on the 22nd. He lived locally. This poster is asking people to line the route of his funeral cortege to "show that he truly was adored". pic.twitter.com/X0DYHl10Hp
He had been struggling with emphysema for some time; he was declared dead at his home in the suburb of Heaton Moor, and is said to have died peacefully in his sleep.
As you can see from the posters put in various places around the area, residents wishing to pay their own tributes to Mani before his private funeral service at Manchester Cathedral are encouraged to line the long street leading down from St Paul’s and Heaton Moor United Church as he heads towards the city.
Departing Parsonage Road from 10am on Monday, 22 December, before turning right onto Heaton Moor Rd, then Wellington and eventually on to the Cathedral, you can expect plenty of people to show up.
One of those people will be his former bandmate and another influential guitarist, John Squire, who is one of many famous musical names to have honoured him in their own way over the last few weeks.
Other members of The Stone Roses, as well as Primal Scream (who he joined in 1996), are expected to join the close family and friends at the service itself.
Nevertheless, we have no doubt that plenty will be observing the funeral in their own way.
So, for those of you also looking to honour him, you know what to do; and to quote the poster itself, “together we can show this local legend and his family that he was truly adored.”
Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
Danny Jones -
12th September 2023 
