Leeds Festival 2023: what time are The 1975 playing, setlist, Malaysia controversy and why Lewis Capaldi dropped out

The band will take to the Main Stage West on Sunday evening amid a cloud of controversy, having been threatened legal action by Malysian musicians and food vendors after frontman Matty Healey’s onstage criticism of the country’s LGBTQ+ laws at the Good Vibes festival saw the entire event cancelled.

Not one to hold back on expressing his opinions, there will likely be many in the audience keen to hear whether Healey addresses the matter during their set as much as they will be to hear their catchy, pop-rock hits.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of their performance:

What time will they be playing?:

The 1975 – who headlined the festival in 2022 and 2019 – are scheduled to take to the Main Stage East at 7.40pm and finish at 9.10pm.

What songs will they play:

The band announced that their shows at Reading and Leeds 2023 will see them mark the 10th anniversary of their self-titled debut album by playing it in full. The track listing for the album is as follows:

• The 1975
• The City
• M.O.N.E.Y.
• Chocolate
• Sex
• Talk!
• An Encounter
• Heart Out
• Settle Down
• Robbers
• Girls
• 12
• She Way Out
• Menswear
• Pressure
• Is There Somebody Who Can Watch You

At just over 50 minutes long, the band’s allotment 90-minute set time will likely give them ample opportunity to play other hits including ‘Somebody Else’, It's Not Living (If It’s Not With You), ‘Love It If We Made It’ and ‘About You’.

Will it be shown on TV?Unfortunately the BBC’s coverage of Reading and Leeds Festival 2023 will only feature footage of performances from the Reading site, meaning that while The 1975’s performance in Berkshire on Saturday will likely receive some coverage, the show in God’s Own Country will be strictly for the viewing of those in attendance.

Why did they take the place of Lewis Capaldi?

The group were announced as replacement headliners on the Main Stage West after Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi revealed in June that he would be cancelling all upcoming shows so that he could “adjust to the impact of Tourettes”.

The 1975 announced that they will be taking Capaldi’s place during their headline set at TRNSMT Festival in Scotland earlier this year.

It is the second consecutive year that the band have stepped in to replace an artist that has had to drop out, after Rage Against The Machine pulled out in 2022 due to an injury sustained by lead singer Zack de la Rocha.

What is the current controversy surrounding the band following their performance in Malaysia?

The 1975 are currently embroiled in a controversy stemmed from frontman Matty Healey’s outburst during a headline performance at Good Vibes festival in Malaysia against the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

The company that organised the festival – which was cancelled after a kiss between Healey and bandmate Ross Macdonald – is seeking $2.7m in damages, its lawyer has said.

Homosexuality is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia and laws criminalising sodomy are punishable by imprisonment, while LGBTQ+ people in the country also face regular discrimination by authorities.