Matty Healy sips from a hip flask as he pays tribute to Lewis Capaldi at Reading Festival after The 1975 stepped in to replace singer for the headline set

Matty Healy paid tribute to Lewis Capaldi at the Reading Festival on Saturday night, after The 1975 replaced the singer’s headliner.

Lewis is currently taking time out for his mental health after canceling tour dates due to his ongoing battle with Tourette’s.

Matty, who drank from a hip flask during his performance, marked Lewis’s absence with fans.

He told them: ‘When Lewis took a well-deserved and much-needed break, the space remained open for us.

‘That gave us the freedom to perform songs from our debut album. It’s packed with firecrackers.”

Matty then performed the song Chocolate from their album.

Pause: Lewis is currently taking time out for his mental health after canceling tour dates due to his ongoing battle with Tourette’s

Lewis announced that all 24 upcoming shows for his Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent tour had been canceled in June, just days after struggling to wrap up his headlining set at Glastonbury.

He said on social media that it was “obvious” that he “needs to spend a lot more time getting his mental and physical health in order,” labeling the decision as “the hardest of his life.”

It comes as The 1975 face legal action after denouncing Malaysia’s anti-gay laws while performing at Kuala Lumpur’s Good Vibes festival.

Lead singer Matty sparked outrage by criticizing the country’s stance on homosexuality before kissing bandmate Ross MacDonald on stage, resulting in the music festival’s complete closure.

Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and laws criminalizing sodomy are punishable by imprisonment. LGBTQ people in the country are also regularly discriminated against by authorities and rights groups have been warned about the growing intolerance.

Promoters Future Sound Asia (FSA) are now taking legal action against the Manchester-based quartet, asking them to accept liability for the event’s collapse and pay compensation for damage incurred as a result of the incident.

According to FSA, the outspoken Healy “tarnished” Good Vibes’ reputation and “deliberately violated the agreement (the band) had with FSA.”

Healy took a sip from a bottle of wine and told fans that the band had considered pulling out of the event. He said, “I don’t see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who to have sex with.”

Sweet: Matty, who sipped from a hip flask during his performance, marked Lewis’s absence from fans

Crowed pleaser: He told them, ‘When Lewis took a much-deserved and much-needed break, it left the slot open for us’

Hip Flask: Matty enjoyed a drink on stage while he performed

Controversy: It comes as the 1975 faces legal action after denouncing Malaysia’s anti-gay laws during a performance at Kuala Lumpur’s Good Vibes festival

Speaking out: Healy denounced Malaysia’s anti-gay laws in profanity-laden speech before controversial kiss

He added: ‘I made a mistake. When we booked shows, I didn’t look into it. I’m sorry if that offends you and you’re religious… but your government is a bunch of f****** r******.

‘I don’t care anymore. If you push, I push back. I’m not in the goddamn mood. I’m sure many of you are gay, progressive and cool. I got this show back yesterday and we had a conversation.

“We said, ‘You know what? We can’t abandon the kids because they’re not the government.’

“If you want to invite me here for a show, you can fuck off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel right.’

He continued, “Unfortunately you don’t get a whole bunch of uplifting songs because I’m fucking furious and that’s not fair to you because you’re not representative of your government because you’re young people. , and I’m sure many of you are gay, progressive and cool.’

He later ended the set abruptly and said, “Okay, we have to go.” We’ve just been banned from Kuala Lumpur.’

The remainder of the 1975 Asia Tour, which included stops in Jakarta, Indonesia’s We the Fest, and a show in Taipei, Taiwan, was also scrapped.