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…
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“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.”
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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
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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.
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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.
Harry Styles announced as latest performer at the 2026 BRIT Awards
Danny Jones
Yes, in what is set to be his Co-op Live debut (yes, the venue he’s literally invested in), Harry Styles has been confirmed as the latest blockbuster performer at this year’s BRITs.
The lineup for the 2026 BRIT Awards was already pretty stacked, but this just takes the cake.
Not long after FINALLY announcing his fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally and releasing the new lead single, ‘Aperture’, the Cheshire-born singer-songwriter is coming to the Co-op Live arena for the very first time as part of the ceremony’s live music lineup.
Absolute scenes. Screaming, crying, throwing up.
we've got news… Harry's coming home 💋🪩@Harry_Styles will be making his live TV performance debut of music from his new album 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.' at The BRIT Awards 2026
Watch the performance live Saturday 28th February on ITV1 & ITVX in the UK and on… pic.twitter.com/Aax3lV03xM
The 31-year-old former One Direction member turned solo artist and global megastar recently revealed a raft of live shows this coming May (and there’s been plenty of discussion surrounding ticket prices), but he’s sadly overlooked Manchester for now.
However, anyone who already secured a seat at the first-ever BRITs here in Manchester will no doubt be doing cartwheels now following the announcement.
As if that wasn’t a mega enough name, he will be joining the likes of the wonderful, already award-winning and fellow multi-time nominee, Olivia Dean.
As quite literally two of the biggest musicians on the planet right now, we couldn’t pick a better roster if we dreamed it up ourselves.
Speaking of Ms Dean, she is also one of several acts confirmed to be playing a series of intimate acts across the country – and her’s is right here in Manchester.
You can see the full lineup of gigs HERE – all we’ll say is that there’s some seriously big hitters playing very small capacity venues on this list.
What a great few weeks for music, eh?
Taking place on Sunday, 28 February, public tickets for the show unfortunately sold out some time ago for what will also be his first-ever live musical TV performance.
Perhaps his booking is at least partly why we haven’t got a standalone Harry Styles Manchester gig on the ‘Together, Together’ tour, but we’re still keeping everything crossed that he’ll announce a second leg of shows here in the UK.
You’d think he’d fancy properly headlining the gaff he helped pay for, or maybe a return to the Etihad Stadium across the way, right?
Find the complete shortlist of nominees, as well as the rest of the live music lineup for the 2026 BRITs ceremony here in Manchester, down below; and if you see on screen trying to clutch at Harry’s ankles, we’re sure you’ll understand…
Featured Images — Leticia Moraes (via Flickr)/Press shots (supplied)
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Sounds From The Other City releases 2026 lineup with 100+ acts playing on 17 stages across Salford
Emily Sergeant
More than 100 exciting artists are set to perform on 17 stages dotted across Salford this spring.
In case you hadn’t heard, 2026 is the year Salford is celebrating 100 years since it was first declared its own city, and to celebrate such a monumental occasion, the popular Sounds From The Other City (SFTOC) festival has now released its full lineup ahead of its return on the early May Bank Holiday weekend.
Salford’s long-running independent festival of new music is known for its genre-spanning showcase of new artists from across the UK and beyond.
This year’s festival is curated by some of the most exciting promoters, record labels, radio stations, magazines, and tastemakers in the North.
Music lovers will get the chance to see artists in a wide range of independent venues and unconventional spaces across the city – with 17 stages around Chapel Street and The Crescent, from pubs and churches, to concert halls and galleries.
Artists announced today include the uncategorisable masked provocateur Lynks, South African ‘future ghetto funk’ trailblazer Moonchild Sanelly, Manchester-based artist jasmine.4.t, who has recently been named BBC 6 Music Artist of the Year 2025.
Other artists to look out for include Grey Lantern, FaT OuT, ambient pop artist Pollyfromthedirt, genre-straddling South London six-piece, Blue Bendy, South London trio ashnymph, and Manchester quartet Pyncher.
The Sounds From The Other City festival has released its 2026 lineup / Credit: Breige Cobane (Supplied)
One of the undeniable highlights of the lineup is that the spiritual home of the festival, Islington Mill, will be programmed day and night by the legendary Band on the Wall, multi-award-winning Reform Radio, Manchester’s infamous queer day-rave BENT, and the LGBTQ+ POC collective Swagga, with performances from Sorvina, Renee Stormz, and Chimpo.
“This year, we’re shining a spotlight on Salford’s independent venues and the selectors in the North who shape our programme,” commented Emma Thompson, Co-Director of From The Other, as the lineup was announced this week.
“Giving these organisations the space to showcase the artists they champion is vital, not just for discovering emerging talent, but to recognise how important these spaces are for our scene.”
Sounds From The Other City 2026 takes place on Sunday 3 May, and tickets go on sale this week – with Early Bird ticket access available to mailing list subscribers from tomorrow (Thursday 29 January) and the remaining tickets going on general sale from Friday 30 January.
Prices remain unchanged from 2025 with tiers at £30/35/40/45, and you can get tickets when they go live here.
Danny Jones -
24th July 2023 
