Matty Healy has sparked a furious reaction from The 1975 fans after deleting a song from their 2022 album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language.
The frontman, 36, has responded to a Reddit thread in which fans questioned where the ninth track Human Too had gone, as they couldn’t play it on Spotify after three years of enjoying it.
It turns out, Matty has retroactively removed Human Too from all online platforms, explaining that he didn’t like it much anymore.
In a post on Reddit responding to concerns, Matty explained: ‘Hey! Human Too was removed from the album so the album is more how I want it to be.
‘Previous physical release obviously remain the same.’
Matty went on to hint he is considering removing another track from streaming services – What Should I Say from their 2020 album Notes On A Conditional Form – but he hasn’t decided yet.
The singer added: ‘I doubt the same will happen with any other records as I am pretty happy with them outside of What Should I Say from Notes On A Conditional Form.
‘So that may also be removed, who knows.’
It’s safe to say, fans are not happy with the seemingly random move from the Somebody Else hitmaker.
‘I am BEGGING YOU MATTY PLEASE DON’T DO THIS! This song is so important to me, I think it’s such a bop, if it has no fans I am dead, if I never got to hear this song again it will be the loss of my life,’ the fan wrote of Matty’s decision to cut What Should I Say.
In a brief message, Healy simply responded: ‘Ok no worries x.’
Other fans were devastated by the erasure of Human Too.
‘Personally, I think it’s so strange to go back and alter your work like this. When you release an album into the world, it is no longer just yours. Just a strange thing to do and not a trend I hope catches on,’ said emerita-analoga.
OCDnanda thoughtfully wrote: ‘I deeply respect your artistic decisions and I truly admire you as a musician. But I think maybe you’re missing the point of your own idea that the band is something bigger than yourself.
‘Once an album is released, it belongs to everyone who connected with it, not just you. You chose to include Human Too back then, and that version of the album became part of people’s lives. Changing it now doesn’t erase that.
‘I understand that musical perspectives change, ours as listeners do too, but there’s a reason why you decided to include it at the time. Isn’t art, after all, a reflection of who we were in a certain moment?’
Other musicians who have retroactively deleted their work
J Cole removed 7 Miute Drill, a diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar, from streaming services in 2024. As all traces were gone of the track from his mixtape Might Delete Later, J Cole the track ‘don’t sit right with my spirit.’ He also described it as ‘the lamest s**t I ever did in my f***ing life.’
Pop duo Milli Vanilli, made up of Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, caused huge outrage when it was revealed in 1990 that neither member actually sung a note on their bestselling album Girl You Know It’s True, and they lip-synced their performances. Record label Arista dropped the duo and deleted their number one album.
Gnarls Barkley deleted their hit song Crazy in 2006, ending its run of nine consecutive weeks at the top of the charts, so that listeners would ‘remember the song fondly and not get sick of it’.
FeedbackQuick1211 called it a ‘bizarre decision’, adding: ‘The album was released 3 years ago and people obviously have grown attached to the songs on it. Surely it would be better to release it as a stand alone no?’
‘Matthew what the f**k,’ said Material_Locksmith86 simply, while ShutUpMonica added: ‘My brother in christ, all due respect….how dare? 🤣 I mean, fine, I’ll listen to one of my 4 or 5 physical versions, but dang!
‘I know you wrote it and everything, but once it goes out into the world…does it really belong to you anymore? I really love that song.#
AlternativceEarth04 called the move ‘insane’ while thegirlinbed said it was ‘weird dystopian s**t’.
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‘I feel violated like when u2 put that album on my ipod. I have so many thoughts and feelings about this that I can’t put into words,’ they added.
Being Funny in a Foreign Language was the band’s last release and they are currently working on their next record.
Matty’s TV star mother Denise Welch, recently revealed she has heard the new material her son’s band has been working on during their downtime from the road.
She is quoted by the Daily Star as saying at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards – powered by Jaguar – in October: ‘It’s fabulous. It’s very different, but it’s got the DNA of the 1975, I think you’ll love it.’
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