The 1975 hit back at Good Vibes Festival lawsuit

The 1975 have responded to a lawsuit filed against the band by the promoter of Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival.

The £1.9 million (€2.25m) suit was filed in the UK’s High Court by Future Sound Asia (FSA) over costs relating to the government-ordered cancellation of last year’s event.

Organisers are suing the British band over a violation of performance rules, having pulled the plug on their headline set after The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy criticised the country’s strict anti-LGBT laws and kissed a male bandmate on stage.

In a court filing, FSA said The 1975 and its management team were aware of its rules for performers, having previously performed at the same festival in 2016, but decided to “act in a way that was intended to breach guidelines”.

It cited Healy’s “provocative speech” and “long pretend passionate embrace” with bassist Ross MacDonald, which it alleged had “the intention of causing offence and breaching the regulations”.

The band deny the same-sex kiss was a premeditated act and say they “did not know” it would cause the gig to be cancelled

However, according to Law360, the band deny the same-sex kiss was a premeditated act and say they “did not know” it would cause the gig to be cancelled. In addition, they argue the rules they are accused of breaching were, on the “face of it”, guidelines that “do not impose any obligation” on international acts and were unenforceable.

Moreover, they insist that given Healy’s history of being outspoken on LGBTQ+ matters, promoters should not have booked the band had they known their actions could lead to its licence being revoked. Hence, The 1975 reject the claim that “the revocation of the licence for Good Vibes 2023 was a foreseeable consequence of any conduct of the band members”.

The group’s defence was filed last month but has just been made public.

FSA announced the return of Good Vibes in May. However, the 2024 edition was cancelled two months later out of respect for the coronation of the king.

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