The 1975 to headline Reading and Leeds festival to replace Rage Against the Machine

Rock band The 1975 will now headline the Reading and Leeds Festival later this month - after stepping in to replace Rage Against The Machine. The band, fronted by Matty Healy, will be taking the vacant headline slot for Bramham Park in Leeds and its sister event in Reading later this month.

The headline slot became available following Rage Against the Machine's withdrawal earlier this week due to frontman Zack de la Rocha suffering a leg injury. It will be fans' first chance to see The 1975 live in the UK since 2020.

They last headlined the festival back in 2019. The four-piece, from Wilmslow, have been drip-feeding teasers of their upcoming fifth album Being Funny in a Foreign Language which is due for release on Friday, October 14.

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Frontman Matty took to Instagram to announce the news on Friday. He revealed he was originally due to attend the festival to watch Rage Against the Machine as a fan in Reading on Sunday, but now will be headlining it instead.

Matty said: "I'm in Japan, but I was coming to Reading Festival to see Rage Against the Machine on Sunday but I got a phone call to say Rage Against the Machine aren't playing anymore. And also another band have got the Covid and they pulled out as well so that's not happening anymore, so The 1975 are going to headline Reading and Leeds and it's going to be f***ing sick.

"There will be guys and girls my age who are like "that's not a replacement for Rage Against the Machine" and it isn't I mean, who can replace Rage Against The Machine? But it's going to be a different day, a different festival.

"Outside of like rock bands we're the best f***ing band in the world, so