Matty Healy might be one of the biggest frontmen on the planet right now but he’s also one of the most controversial figures in the music industry too, as those watching Glastonbury found out after Rina Sawayama called him out live on stage in front of thousands.
The 32-year-old singer, actress and model was performing on the Woodsies on Saturday, 24 June, when she decided to dedicate her song ‘STFU!’ to The 1975 singer, songwriter and guitarist following a number of offensive remarks he made or was involved with on a recent US podcast episode.
Healy, 34, appeared on The Adam Friedland Show back in February, during which he made a series of comments that many labelled inappropriate and racist, such as watching a porn genre which degrades Black women as well as joining in speculating about rapper Ice Spice’s ethnicity and discussing her body.
The Wilmslow-bred musician also went on to laugh when the hosts mocked the artist with attempts at Chinese, Hawaiian and Japanese accents, to which Sawayama — who was born in Japan before moving to London as a child — responded by screaming “I’ve had enough!” to the Glastonbury crowd.
Rina Sawayama shames label-mate Matty Healy for his racist remarks live at Glastonbury.
As you can see in the clip below, the recent John Wick 4 star said, “I wrote this because I was sick and tired of these micro-aggressions. This goes out to a white man that watches ‘ghetto gaggers’ and mocks Asian people on a podcast.”
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She then went on to say, “He also owns my masters” — with Sawayama and The 1975 both belonging to Dirty Hit Records, of which Healy was creative director and is one of multiple shareholders — before adding defiantly, “I’ve had enough!” before being met with rapturous cheers and applause for the crowd.
It is worth noting that Healy’s role as a director has since ended in the time since the podcast controversy, with online records showing that his contract in that capacity was terminated after five years back in April, though it’s unclear if the decision is linked.
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Elsewhere in the podcast, Healy also suggested that Harry Styles of “queerbaiting” fans and also made jokes about women’s synchronising while on their periods, which also upset many people, fans or otherwise. Regarding his Ice Spice comments, he apologised on stage this past April.
“This is Matty Healy PR damage control considering what he said about Ice Spice” that collab was planned months ago and Matty already apologized to Ice Spice. They’re probably on good terms now otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to the collab getting released now. Let’s move on. pic.twitter.com/rjvZrgwcpm
Nevertheless, The 1975’s 2018 single ‘Sincerity is Scary’ seems fitting here, as many still feel that there wasn’t much genuine remorse in his apology, especially given his comments in an interview with The New Yorker a month later where he said, “it doesn’t actually matter.”
He went on multiple-award winning musician insisted, “Nobody is sitting there at night slumped at their computer, and their boyfriend comes over and goes, ‘What’s wrong, darling?’ and they go, ‘It’s just this thing with Matty Healy.’ That doesn’t happen.”
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He even went so far as to say, “If it does [offend people], you’re either deluded or you are, sorry, a liar. You’re either lying that you are hurt, or you’re a bit mental for being hurt. It’s just people going, ‘Oh, there’s a bad thing over there, let me get as close to it as possible so you can see how good I am.”
Neither Healy nor Dirty Hit are yet to issue a response following Rina Sawayama’s comments at Glastonbury but it’s certainly sparked quite the discussion online surrounding a public figure who is well-accustomed to being amongst the headlines for his antics, being on or off-stage.
'I'm not the biggest 1975 fan but he's absolutely mugged him off here'. 😂https://t.co/jx9S7zGXdy
Featured Image — Rina Sawayama/The 1975 (via Instagram)
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Watch Gary Neville join The Reytons and ‘play bass’ on stage in Manchester
Danny Jones
Remember when we kind of thought Gary Neville was joining The Reytons on tour? Well, turns out he sort of has – at least for one night, anyway.
The former footballer turned pundit and entrepreneur seems to crop up absolutely everywhere these days, be that in Greater Manchester or otherwise, and we know that he’s proven to be a bit of a jack of all trades since his playing days came to an end.
However, we never thought we’d put Gary Neville and ‘playing bass’ in the same sentence, let alone on stage with one of the fastest-rising Northern bands around, but Rotherham’s very own Reytons have turned that seemingly random combination of words into a reality.
Playing the incredible Aviva Studios venue on Saturday, 8 March, the Manc crowd were in for a treat when the Man United legend and ex-England defender popped up on stage, guitar in hand.
As you can see, not only did G Nev join for the cult favourite anthem ‘Low Life’ but he made quite the entrance and pyros blasted from the front of the stage.
For anyone needing a bit more context, this all came about following a humorous stunt back in September of last year where the band made it look like the Manc might be standing in as replacement bassist after full-time member Lee Holland broke his arm.
The 50-year-old filmed a skit of him going through a fake audition process as other candidates were ignored and he ended up being selected.
It was pretty funny, to be fair, especially when the final punchline was that he had absolutely no idea how to play bass.
Still didn’t stop him from going ahead and doing a whole photo shoot though, did it? Now they’ve gone even further and brought him out in front of a massive hometown crowd.
Speaking on the cameo, frontman Jonny Yerrell thanked Neville for his support, telling the crowd: “He is honestly one of the most down-to-earth and nicest people we’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
Yerrell also went on to highlight their Grassroots Foundation initiative, explaining how they provided full football kits to 50 different grassroots teams in 2024, as well as applauding the Reytons fan base and the wider music community for rallying behind young mum Sophie White in a truly touching tale.
The 22-year-old Rotheram native, who has seen widespread support across Yorkshire, is currently battling a brain tumour; with that in mind, the band raffled off the stage sign from their flagship sell-out performance at Clifton Park performance.
With Sophie in attendance, Jonny announced to gig-goers that over £10,000 had been raised in just two days to help her undergo potentially life-saving treatment in Germany, which finally starts this week (Monday, 10 March 2025). Incredible stuff.
If there’s one thing we love more than a band with a sense of humour and who don’t mind a stunt or two, it’s the kind that does important stuff for their region like this.
And, as Jonny puts it, this is just the start; “We’re planning to do even more this year!”, he says, so don’t expect this to be the last time you hear about these Northern trailblazers doing something brilliant.
Who knows, maybe we’ll see Gary Neville joining The Reytons for their headline set at Tramlines Festivalthis summer too?
Featured Images — The Reytons/Graham Noble(supplied)
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A new art trail celebrating the city’s music scene will take over Manchester this summer
Emily Sergeant
A new art trail celebrating the city’s iconic music scene will be taking over Manchester city centre this summer.
It’s no secret that Manchester is a musical hub, with countless well-known artists getting their start here or calling our city home over the years, and in a fitting way to celebrate this incredible lineup of musical talent, an all-new multi-sensory art exhibition will be taking over the streets of the city centre this summer.
The new exhibition, which is titled Music for the Senses: an art arrangement for a musical city, is a collaboration between global art producer Wild in Art – the creators of the famous Bee in the City project – and Manchester City Council.
It’ll be running across the city centre from early July until the end of August.
At the heart of the exhibition will be an interactive installation called ‘Guitar Street’ created by Manchester artist Liam Hopkins, known as Lazerian, which will lovingly repurpose 100+ broken guitars, all donated by members of the public.
On top of this, more than 50 additional ‘unusable’ guitars will be painted or adorned by professional artists, turning them into individual artworks to be displayed in shop windows and venues around the city.
A guitar amnesty is now open for the people of Manchester to contribute instruments to become part of the trail.
As well as the amnesty, some celebrated Manchester musicians will also be loaning their precious instruments to display in windows across the city too.
Any guitars donated that are thought to be in ‘very good condition’ or of ‘significant value’ will instead be donated to a music charity where they’ll get a second life in the hands of aspiring musicians and the next generation of artists.
Created in collaboration with @ManCityCouncil, the Music for the Senses trail will run from 7 July – 31 August 2025.
“Guitar music is a huge part of the sound of Manchester,” commented Councillor Garry Bridges, who is the Deputy Leader Manchester City Council
“Music for the Senses promises to be a fabulous and unique celebration of an iconic instrument, of fantastic music, and of amazing art, with something for everyone to enjoy and get involved in, whilst at the same time supporting the next generation of music talent in the city.”
When the art trail draws to close at the end of August, all the guitars featured will be auctioned off for charity, with the funds raised going to support grassroots music projects and venues across Greater Manchester.
Music for the Senses: an art arrangement for a musical city will run from 7 July – 31 August.
Danny Jones -
26th June 2023 
