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The 1975 have reportedly been ordered to pay Future Sound Asia (FSA), the organiser of Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival, RM12.3m (£2.1m/€2.45m/$2.7m) or face legal action in the UK.
Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur was cancelled after The 1975 frontman Matty Healy condemned the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, before kissing his bandmate on stage. The band was then subsequently ordered off stage and banned from Malaysia.
FSA issued a seven-day Letter of Claim to the British band on August 7, asking for RM12.3m in damages following the cancellation of the remainder of the festival. This means that the band will have until August 14 before the organiser says it will take legal action.
In a statement to the Malay Mail, the festival organiser’s legal counsel David Mathew from Steve Thiru & Sudhar Partnership, said: “In the letter, FSA has demanded that The 1975 admit their liability and also pay the sum of £2,099,154.54 (RM12,347,967.91) within seven (7) days.
“The Letter of Claim is written in accordance with the provisions of the English Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocol which are part of the English Civil Procedure Rules.”
The main aspect of the FSA’s Letter of Claim was centred on Healy’s breach of contract.
Mathew added: “Healy’s representative categorically provided a pre-show written assurance that he and The 1975’s live performance ‘shall adhere to all local guidelines and regulations’ during their set in Malaysia.
“Despite this, the assurance was ignored, and the band’s actions also clearly contravened the contract with FSA, which led to the cancellation of the festival and caused significant losses to FSA.”
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