"Everyone keeps asking, ‘Where do you see yourself in a year’s time?’ Well, eight or nine months ago I was in my bedroom making records!”

To say success has come quickly to Matt Healy and his band The 1975 is an understatement.

Before they released their self-titled album earlier this month, the band had already sold out London’s Brixton Academy and O2 Empire in Shepherd’s Bush.

But it’s not like they haven’t been putting the hours in.

Manchester-born Healy – the son of actors Denise Welch and Tim Healy – started his first band at the age of 13, and has been working at it ever since.

He even has the documentary footage to prove it.

“One of my oldest friends from home has filmed everything that has happened with every one of our bands since I was 16,” he laughs. “You can see in the footage that we never cared about being big.

“When you start anything at 13, it’s for an immediate reaction – you’re doing it for yourself. We’ve never lost that attitude. The best thing about it is we have always been making music for us.”

The first anyone heard of The 1975 was a series of EPs, beginning with the digital download Facedown which was released in August 2012, followed by Sex that November, Music For Cars in March 2013 and May’s IV.

The EPs established The 1975’s sound, combining guitars with electronic synth lines and funky rhythms overlaid by Healy’s vocal, which combines a keening rock tone with a pop edge – making the band as equally at home on BBC Radio 1 as on 6Music.

All accompanying videos and band promo shots were in classic black and white.

The road to the album began three years ago when the band wrote the bare bones of what would become their first top 20 hit, Chocolate.

“We said if we’re going to make an album we need ten of those,” says Healy, speaking from the Shepherd’s Bush hotel room he currently calls home two weeks before the album’s release.

“There are only singles on the album. We wanted to make something where every track at one point or another has been the most important thing in our lives.

“The EPs were more like portraits of where we were at one time.”

He sees an extra advantage in having so much material already available. “If you haven’t heard any of the EPs then there are more than 30 songs including the album to listen to. We realised people were willing to invest in our music, and wanted to make sure there was a wealth of material.”

He sees the band’s connection with the fans as an important part of The 1975’s development.

“In the early days, if there were only ten kids at our shows we would take them out for a drink or get some food with them,” he says. “We don’t have the opportunity to do that any more.”

The band have tried to remain detached with their online presence though – and caused outrage among the faithful when they released their first colour photograph a few weeks ago.

“The music industry is addicted to accessibility,” says Healy. “I think when you can’t find something on the internet it is very refreshing.

“We wanted to provide a bit of ambiguity, mystery and detachment like all the biggest rock stars in the world had.

“There needs to be a certain detachment – which was partly why everything was in black and white. It detaches you from reality. If you become a more personable figure people can not only relate to you, they can pick you apart.”

As for the future, Healy is already working on The 1975 Mk II: “We’re not tired of playing the album,” he says. “It has become such an innate part of our vocabulary, playing it is almost a Pavlovian reaction. It’s like saying you’re bored of saying the word ‘and’.

“I’m already well into the second album artwork and demoing a lot of it on the bus. I’m always on to the next thing.”

Support from Night Engine and MMX.