More about: The 1975

Matt Healy of The 1975 has named the bands performances at Reading + Leeds festivals the highlight of their hugely successful 2013, and questioned how 'four stoner muppets' can achieve such success on the UK music scene.

The Manchester band are one of the big success stories of the year, with a No.1 album to their name, and a relentless touring schedule making them one of the hardest working bands of 2013. Now, as Reading + Leeds Festivals are set to announce the first acts to perform at the 2014 event, Healy says their festival shows, plus filming new video 'Girls' have been his highlights of the year.

"You know what, it was Reading + Leeds," Healy tells Gigwise. "That was a fucking homecoming. We had been on tour around the world, we'd seen our band grow and grow and that was our peak. It was one week before the album came out, and you couldn't get near the tent."

The band recently revealed the video for new single 'Girls', breaking with tradition in its light-hearted, brightly-coloured imagery. Healy claims this was a close second in 2013.

Watch The 1975's 'Girls' video below

"So I'd say Reading + Leeds, and I think the 'Girls' video as well, because we'd worked so hard stylising the band and making sure everyone knew exactly what our band was about, so to be in LA with four supermodels challenging that for fun - that was a good day.

"We realised we had confidence and we had a certain amount of swag about us. It was making light of how ridiculous this world is, and how four stoner muppets can become actual pop stars."

However, he shot down any perceived glamour of making music videos, telling us that the reality is a much colder, much more embarassing experience than the tightly edited, four-minute clip might suggest.

"When you're making a music video, everyone thinks it's cool, but when you're shooting a music video at no point do you think it's cool," he adds. "You think 'this is cold', 'this is ridiculous' or 'why am I acting?' We just wanted to make light of everything that situation throws up. It's our favourite video."

Below: The 1975 perform triumphant show at The O2, Glasgow

More about: The 1975