Rina Sawayama looks to have slammed The 1975 frontman Matty Healy yet again in her latest festival performance after he failed to apologise for a number of controversial comments he made on a recent podcast.
Referencing his appearance on The Adam Friedland ShowPodcast, the Japanese-born British singer, actress and model said that she’d simply “had enough” but following Healy brushing over the controversy with what many have described as a pretty insincere response/’apology’, Sawayama isn’t letting it slide.
Taking the stage at the NOS Alive Festival in Lisbon, Portugal over the weekend, she once again put the spotlight on her 34-year-old label-mate by saying, “So I’ve been thinking a lot about apologies and isn’t it funny how some people get away with no apologising ever?”
Rina calls out Healy again and is literally screaming for him to apologise for his comments.
Tapping into the rage of the song, Sawayama goes on to call out Healy for “saying some racist s***, some sexist s***”, adding, “Why don’t you apologise for once in your life without making it about your f***ing self!?”, before the kicking into the rest of the aggressive and specifically chosen track.
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As alluded to, Healy did address the situation by stating that the whole thing “doesn’t actually matter” and that he was simply making jokes on a sardonic podcast, as well as suggesting that “if it does you, you’re either deluded or you are, sorry, a liar.”
He did also go on to apologise to Ice Spice, who was the subject of what many have labelled as racist and body-shaming remarks on the show, saying, “I’m sorry… It’s not because I’m annoyed that me joking got misconstrued but because I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a d*ck”.
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A significant part of the friction between Matty Healy and Rina Sawayama beyond the incident is that the singer also belongs to the same record label as The 1975, Dirty Hit Records, of which Healy is also a shareholder and former creative director — hence her previously saying, “he also owns my masters”.
In this latest instance, he appears to hint back at Sawayama’s Glastonbury comments by saying, “So is a micro-aggression something like a——”, before the beginning of ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’ kicks in.
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As for the podcast from which the controversy originates, Adam Friedland and co-host Nick Mullen have since addressed the ongoing discussion, albeit only in their usual sarcastic and irreverent style, in which they seem to intentionally mispronounce her name and refer to her under the wrong nationality.
Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Niall Horan is heading back to Manchester with a massive arena show just announced
Daisy Jackson
Niall Horan will be back in Manchester this year on a huge newly-announced European arena tour.
The former One Direction star (and chart-topper in his own right) has just announced his Dinner Party Live On Tour tour.
The tour comes in support of his upcoming fourth solo studio album, Dinner Party, which promises to be ‘cinematic and organic’.
Niall Horan will be performing at the Co-op Live in Manchester this September, along with gigs in other UK cities including Sheffield, Glasgow, and Newcastle.
He’ll then head right across Europe, playing music from his multi-Platinum-selling songbook.
Niall first shot to fame as one-fifth of One Direction, but has one of the group’s strongest solo careers, with three chart-topping albums and massive hits like Slow Hands, Heaven, and Our Song.
Niall Horan is heading back to Manchester with a massive arena show just announced
He’s also worked on some exciting collaborations with the likes of Anne-Marie, and most recently Myles Smith.
£1 from every ticket sold for Niall Horan’s Dinner Party tour will be donated to the LIVE Trust, which is dedicated to protecting, expanding, and supporting grassroots music across the UK.
Niall Horan will be at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Friday 25 September.
Tickets will go on sale from 10am on Thursday 2 April HERE.
Danny Jones -
11th July 2023 
