English pop rock band The 1975 brought their UK tour to the P&J Live on Saturday night.
Lead singer Matty Healy, son of Loose Woman Denise Welch and actor Tim Healy, performed beneath a vast array of strobe lights and screens.
The 30-year-old, whose effortlessly ragged appearance could be likened to that one wannabee delinquent at the back of the school bus, opened with “People”, an angry, punky tune which called on the crowd to “wake up” and address serious issues.
Backing dancers, twins Kaylee and Taitlyn Jaiy, kept the momentum alive as a slightly weary Healy – the Aberdeen date came the night after the band’s raucous show in their hometown of Manchester – nevertheless treated the north-east crowd to a generous two hours of music.
At one point, the back of the stage was transformed into a New York street as Healy hopped upon a moving conveyor belt to re-enact the music video for Sincerity Is Scary.
The band continued to sift through their eclectic back catalogue of songs with Somebody Else, Robbers, Give Yourself a Try and Love It If We Made It as stand-outs.
Even an unreleased song, Too Shy, had the crowd dancing with the same fervour as they did for the previous hits: after the song’s first chorus, the catchy lyrics were ingrained in even the minds of the happiest party animals.
The band closed with favourite The Sound, described by Healy as “wearing pop on its sleeve” in an “unabashed” fashion.
Many in the seating area raced to the stretches of free space at the back of the venue, to dance away the night as a memorable evening came to a close.
