elease and promotionThe words Extinction Rebellion beneath an hourglass symbol on a green backgroundPlacard used by Extinction Rebellion, which received proceeds from "The 1975""The 1975" is the opening song on the 1975's fourth album, Notes on a Conditional Form. Healy initially said that the band were choosing between three songs to release on 31 May 2019 as the lead single of the album. However, "The 1975" was the first song to be released, on 24 July 2019, and the lead single "People" debuted on 22 August. As they have done for previous releases, the band deactivated their social media accounts shortly before the publishing of "The 1975". The band initially intended not to release "The 1975" prior to the album, but after its recording, they decided to do so. Oborne said that the song "just wasn't a statement that could wait" and that holding it back would have m ade it feel like a "vanity exercise". At the time of its release, the 1975 were alternating between touring and working on Notes on a Conditional Form, and "The 1975" was one of four songs that were complete or close to complete, alongside "The Birthday Party", "Frail State of Mind" and "People". Al Horner of The Daily Telegraph observed that the Conservative politician Theresa Villiers—who previously voted against initiatives to limit carbon emissions—became the UK Environment Secretary on the day of the release. According to Oborne, shortly before the release he was contacted by an unusual number of tabloids, and following it they began to run fabricated stories about Healy's relationship and drug usage. The Conservative politician David T. C. Davies—who has made incorrect claims about climate change in parliament—called the band hypocritical for their upcoming tour, due to its carbon emission cost. Obor ne said in May 2020 that he was still surprised by the "hate and negativity" that Healy received over the collaboration, describing him as "a bit weary of being that guy who fights for the under





















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