Matty Healy is the lead singer of British band The 1975, who, as well as battling heroin addiction, was kicked out of school for getting into fights, smokes heavy joints in interviews and is generally better known for sex and drugs than rock and roll.
Healy has a unique take on stardom, having grown up the child of famous – now divorced – parents.
His father Tim Healy is best known for his role in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and his mother Denise Welch was famous when he was growing up for her role in Soldier Soldier.
She even had a (brief) singing career, releasing a single that nearly made it into the top 20. In 1997 she was chosen for Coronation Street and the family moved from Northumberland to Manchester.
At this point, Welch was suffering from depression and taking medication with alcohol and drugs, although she had been clean for some time.
Healy met his bandmates from The 1975 – Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald and George Daniel – at Wilmslow High School in Cheshire, where they were all “misfits”.
DailyMail.com dives deep into the life of Taylor Swift’s new handsome suitor, Matty Healy; the pair seen in 2015
Bad boy: Healy is the lead singer of British band The 1975, who, as well as battling heroin addiction, was expelled from school for getting into fights, smokes heavy joints in interviews and is generally better known for sex and drugs than rock and roll
They used to rehearse at Healy’s, which was packed with famous people including Ringo Starr, Mark Knopfler, Rick Wakeman and AC/DC’s Brian Johnson (who happens to be his godfather).
He told an interviewer, “I would play a guitar in the house, not knowing it was [Dire Straits’] Romeo and Juliet.’
One night, after hearing him play, prog rock legend Rick Wakeman pulled him aside and told him he had it.
His father Tim once told him: “The music is in your bones. You are the reincarnation of John Lennon. It’s in you.
Despite the support of their parents, the band struggled to get signed to a label.
Healy even toyed with an acting career, making a guest appearance in the BBC school drama Waterloo Road, which his mother also starred in.
The band released four EPs before releasing their self-titled debut album The 1975 in 2013, which topped the UK Albums Chart.
Following this success, they released four subsequent albums, won four Brit Awards and played Glastonbury three times.
He missed his mother’s wedding to artist Lincoln Townley in 2013 because the band were supporting the Rolling Stones on tour.
Famous Parents: His father Tim Healy is best known for his role in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and his mother Denise Welch was famous growing up for her role in Soldier Soldier; the family seen in 1995
Band: Healy met his 1975 bandmates – Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald and George Daniel – at Wilmslow High School in Cheshire, where they were all “misfits”; seen in March 2023
Success: The band released four EPs before releasing their self-titled debut album The 1975 in 2013, which topped the UK Albums Chart; seen in 2017
At the age of 25, he spoke of having had a small addiction to heroin and a bigger one to cocaine before he became famous, and claimed that they had been overcome.
But in the summer of 2017, the rest of the group staged an intervention and told him to go to rehab for alcohol, heroin and opiate use.
He flew to Barbados and spent eight weeks in rehab, which included equine therapy.
He said of his equestrian mentor: “I wanted to impress him more than any human being I’ve ever met. There were so many qualities that I envied this horse. And he had beautiful hair.
More recently he has lived in West London and had a much quieter life. He tried yoga and swimming, and tried to overcome the frequent migraines he suffers from.
But, having fallen in love with the most visible female pop star in the world, everything changed in the blink of an eye. The question is, to quote one of Taylor’s songs, are they Ready For It? Or will it be a quick ending?
