Matty Healy says The 1975 turned down more money than he's ever "seen" to support Ed Sheeran on tour

14 September 2022, 12:46

Matty Healy explains the meaning behind The 1975’s new album

By Rachel Michaella Finn

"Think about the money you think I’m getting offered – it’s not just offered, it’s what he can afford because of what he makes for shows – and then just triple it. It’s insane."

The 1975’s Matty Healy has revealed that he turned down more money than he’d ever "seen or heard of" to be the support act for Ed Sheeran's current +–=÷x Tour.

In a recent interview for The New York Times, Matty Healy said that the band had been "offered a four-month tour next year of stadiums with the biggest singer-songwriter in the world that would have made me money that I’ve never even seen or heard of in [his] life".

Although he didn’t initially name who had asked the band on tour, when pressed, he confirmed it was Ed Sheeran. He then explained that he turned the offer down so the band could focus on their own shows.

READ MORE: Matty Healy praises girlfriend FKA Twigs following Shia LaBeouf lawsuit

Matty said: "And I got offered to be main support and do whatever I want. Think about the money you think I’m getting offered – it’s not just offered, it’s what he can afford because of what he makes for shows – and then just triple it. It’s insane."

He added: "The thing that’s stopped me just doing that is because – I don’t care. It’s not worth it. Not because I don’t like Ed Sheeran. I think he’s, in a lot of ways, a genius, and he does what he does better than anybody else. But opening up for somebody and not just being real, that’s the kind of stuff I think about."

Matty continued: "It’s difficult to be big and say – genuinely – that I have zero commercial ambition. There’s definitely a ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ kind of thing, which is where, listen, we’ve never known what to do and we’ve never tried to do anything. So the second we stop doing that, we’ll probably fuck up. I tend to not do stuff for money."

The singer and guitarist later took to Twitter to clarify his comments, saying that he has "mad respect for Ed Sheeran" but that he simply wanted The 1975 to play their own shows.

Matty tweeted: "Just to be clear I have mad respect for Ed Sheeran and I didn’t decline sharing a stage with him I just wanted to do our own shows instead and he’s always been so nice to me personally and publicaly [sic] so don’t start a twitter thing for fun."

The band are set to tour the UK and Ireland in January next year in support of their fifth album, Being Funny In A Foreign Language, which will be released on 14 October. The tour includes two nights at the O2 arena in London, one of which is already sold out.

Read more The 1975 news here:

• Matty Healy says he wants My Chemical Romance to collaborate with The 1975
• The 1975's Matty Healy called out for "problematic" coronavirus joke
• Matty Healy has offered to produce a country album for Taylor Swift

WATCH: Rina Sawayama paints a self-portrait and answers questions about her life

Rina Sawayama Reacts To "Industry Plant" Rumour and Paints A Self-Portrait | PopBuzz Meets