The 1975 were seemingly banned from Malaysia live on-stage after protests over the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws last week, the band has claimed.
Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur was unfortunately cancelled after the headliners showed their solidarity with the nation’s pride community and frontman Matty Healy delivered an extensive rant against Malaysia’s stance, as well as kissing bassist Ross MacDonald on stage.
Following the defiant display and a short break in the performance, Healy returned to the stage to inform the audience, “Alright, we gotta go, we just got banned from Kuala Lumpur. I’ll see you later”.
Stating that they had been ordered to leave the stage by officials, they swiftly ended their set and the festival was subsequently cut short on Saturday despite there still being a day of music and thousands of attendees.
The vibes can’t be that good if there’s no gay there
Explaining their decision to play the show in federal territory and anti-LGBTQ+ country in the first place, Healy told the audience, “When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it… I’m not in the f***ing mood anymore…
“I don’t see the f***ing point, right—I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.
“Unfortunately you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m f***ing furious, and that’s not fair on you because you’re not representative of your government. Because you’re young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool.”
You can see his speech and the lengthy snog down below:
Speaking to the BBC, Wan Alman — the entertainment director at Future Sound Asia (the organisers behind the festival) — said, “I think it’s very easy for him [Healy] to fly in and do whatever he wants to do, and then just fly out without having to face or take accountability for any consequences for his actions.
“Meanwhile the ones who suffered implications are his fans here because his set was cut short, the festival organisers and, you know, I think the industry as a whole.” He also stated that the company was assured the band would adhere to the country’s guidelines
Replying on behalf of Wilmslow group, who are yet to issue a statement on the incident, a source said: “Matty has a long-time record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and community.”
He is the moment The 1975 were “banned from Kuala Lumpur” and potentially Malaysia at large:
For context, homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and punishable by 20 years in prison, with those persecuted often flogged in public
Healy has made a habit of kissing bandmates and fans on the band’s current tour, so the behaviour hardly comes as a surprise. The Malaysian government is yet to confirm whether The 1975 has officially been banned from the Kuala Lumpur and/or the country in general.
On the other hand, he has also been wrapped up in plenty more controversy of late too after he was accused of sexist and racist remarks on a podcast by fellow performer Rina Sawayama.
Nevertheless, the 34-year-old has received a lot of praise from members of the LGBTQ+ community worldwide as a result of the protests but has still upset much of Malaysia and the Islamic faith.
It goes without saying that we stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
You guys should watch this about Matty Healy and the 1975 and what happened in Malaysia. pic.twitter.com/f3L05CFbBh
Rising pop favourite CMAT announces huge headline show in Manchester
Danny Jones
Fast-rising alt-pop favourite CMAT has announced a new show here in Manchester, and as she’s pretty much an honorary Manc at this point, you can expect the tickets to be snapped up in no time.
The Irish singer – real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson (erm, duh?) – relocated to 0161 as a 17-year-old back in 2013 to pursue her career in music, and it’s fair to say the move turned out to be a positive one.
First arriving with her old duo Bad Sea, it didn’t take the teenager too long to find a following among her Manchester cousins, and soon, CMAT was considered among the best and up-and-coming artists our city had to offer.
In fact, little else has changed in that respect besides the fact that more and more of the country and, indeed, the world knows about her now, so you can guarantee there’ll be plenty of demand for this new headline concert.
Announcing the big gig at O2 Victoria Warehouse on social media this Friday, 22 August, the Dublin-born ‘Dunboyne Diana’ from County Meath by way of Manchester, CMAT is set for multiple Northern shows over the next six or seven months alone.
The show over in Trafford is one of just half a dozen new shows confirmed in support of her upcoming new LP, Euro-Country, which debuts at the end of the month.
Dropping on Friday, 29 August, her third album follows undoubtedly the biggest year of her career yet, having supported the likes of Sam Fender and having played massive festival slots like Glastonbury this summer.
Other gigs include nights at ‘Ally Pally’ in London, Cork, Edinburgh and more. Commenting on social media amid the new additions, CMAT simply wrote: “Come and see me, CMAT, and The Very Sexy CMAT Band, play our BIGGEST SHOWS EVER next year!”
She actually has a healthy run of live performances coming up this autumn, including one at Manchester Academy One on 4 October – though, as we’ve already warned with this latest date, tickets disappeared faster than you could say, ‘I wanna be a cowboy, baby’.
Admittedly, more than half of those shows have already sold out, but that’s why we’re getting an extra show for our trouble.
If you pre-order my new album from my official store between now and 10pm next Wednesday, you’ll get a code for the artist pre-sale, which opens at 10am on Tuesday August 26.
With new singles ‘Running/Planning’, ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’, ‘The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’ and even the title track, ‘Euro-Country’, all having already been released since this past March, we’ve already got a decent taste of what’s to come next from Ireland’s finest.
Speaking as long-time listeners ourselves, we can assure you that these songs have gone down as instant hits among the fan base.
Arriving on Thursday, 12 March 2026, you can enjoy the pre-sale window via O2 Priority Access or by pre-ordering her new record, and general admission goes live at 10am next Thursday, 28 August.
Featured Images — Raph_PH (via Flickr)/Press shots (supplied)
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Olivia Dean announces HUGE Manchester gig at Co-op Live as part of UK tour
Emily Sergeant
Olivia Dean has announced she’s set to head out on the biggest UK and Europe headline tour of her career next year.
Fresh off-the-back of supporting the North East’s finest, Sam Fender, on his run of big outdoor gigs this summer – including a massive one at Wythenshawe Park this past weekend – Olivia Dean has now announced her very-own headline tour.
And of course she’ll be making a stop off here in Manchester as she heads around the UK.
The tour announcement comes ahead of the release of her sophmore album, The Art of Loving, which is out next month on 26 September, and follows the release of a collection of singles, including the already high-charting ‘Nice To Each Other’.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter will first head out on a tour of some of the UK’s major cities, before taking on the rest of the continent and visiting cities like Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam along the way.
From her earliest show in 2017 with a crowd of just 70 people, on to three triumphant sold-out nights at the Hammersmith Apollo, Olivia has been firmly building herself powerful live legacy and is already on her way to carving out a legendary path.
On release, the multi BRIT Award nominee’s debut album Messy received widespread critical acclaim and cemented her status as one of the most compelling voices across neo-soul and pop.
Olivia Dean announces HUGE Manchester gig at Co-op Live as part of UK tour / Credit: Jack Davison (Publicity Picture) | The Manc Group
While still relatively early on in her career, Olivia has already earned comparisons to the greats, and 2025 sees her ready to ‘scale up’ and ‘conquer’.
Olivia will kick off her tour next year in April, and will be taking to the stage of Manchester’s newest live entertainment arena, Co-op Live, on Saturday 25 April 2026, following a trip to Glasgow and before two huge gigs at London’s OVO Hydro Arena.
Tickets go on pre-sale at 10am next Wednesday 27 August for Co-op Members, and the general sale will follow on Friday 29 August, again at 10am – with tickets available here.
You can also re-order the album for early access to tickets here.
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Feeling a little fancier? You can treat yourself to VIP tickets to Olivia’s Co-op Live show via SeatUnique, with a range of different packages available here.
Featured Image – Gwen Trannoy (Publicity Pictures)
Danny Jones -
24th July 2023 
