The lads of The 1975 have come a long way from their high school formation, in Manchester, 14 years ago. When The Independent sat down with lead singer Matty Healy to ask about adjusting to his newfound fame and recognition, the frontman had a few thoughts to share, including the particular musical career fate that scares him the most.

It starts with: “I’m quite a compassionate person. And I’m not remotely a sociopath. But I’m very self-obsessed, as most people are who are in my position. But I can’t become Sting.”

Healy elaborated: “I can’t become whiny and I can’t become too wanky – that self-awareness is what I pride myself on in my work. If my tongue’s in my cheek maybe I won’t fall over it. I don’t want to start telling everybody how to live their lives, I want to just reflect on how I live mine. ‘Cause that’s my biggest fear, being Sting.”

Healy also explained that this self-awareness served as the partial motivation behind the sound in their upcoming, sophomore album, I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It – set to be released on the 26th of February.