The 1975 are one of the world’s biggest bands.

So, when a relatively tiny gig at one of London’s best small venues, The Dome in Tufnell Park, was announced to raise money for War Child, it will come as no surprise to hear that demand was high. So high, in fact, that people had been queuing (camping?) outside the venue for over 40 hours (according to someone who worked in the venue), braving the harsh, merciless February weather with nothing but a duvet to protect them.

This is the level of devotion that The 1975 now command with just two albums under their belt.

And what a pair of albums they are. The group’s self-titled debut, propelled by its slick, earworm singles (‘Chocolate’, ‘Sex’, ‘Girls’), shot straight up to the top spot in the UK Albums Charts, and earned The 1975 support slots with Muse and The Rolling Stones. (Heard of them?)

Next came 'I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It', an ambitious, intelligent and funnysecond album that topped the charts in both the UK and the US.

20,000 capacity arenas are now the norm for The 1975. Stadiums are in their crosshairs. Major festival headline slots are already being announced.

So, to see them alongside 500 lucky fans at The Dome was a rare treat, and about as close as anyone will get to the band for some time.

The atmosphere inside The Dome is popping before the group, who had no support, have even ventured onto the stage. As The Japanese House, Pale Waves (check out their 1975-produced first track here) and more play out over the PA, anticipation builds.

When frontman Matt Healy and company finally appear, it becomes clear just how stripped back this performance, in relative terms, will be. Gone are the iconic beams of light, and there are no projections on show. It’s just The 1975, some lights, and two additionallive musicians. It’s about as raw as you’ll find them these days andabout as close as the raving young fans inside The Dome will ever get to Healy. But they’re not the only ones excited by the intimacy.

Healy, a glass of wine in his hand while his other swoops around exploring the venue, is excited to be in such a small space once again. “It’s like seeing individual people, instead of a massive mass…” he notes.

As the group play the first song from both of their albums, ‘The 1975’, Healy delivers a mission statement, "We’re not gonna do anything clever, we're just gonna play loads of songs". He doesn’t disappoint on this front.

With almost no breaks, the band shred through a 16-song setlist, clearly not interested in wasting time. ‘Love Me’, ‘She’s American’ and more are rattled off quick as a flash, and The Dome properly heats up. ‘Robbers’ is added to the setlist because someone tweeted Healy earlier in the day requesting it. ‘Paris’ gets a run out because Healy felt like playing it – which meant the lightshow had to be briefly improvised.

WATCH THE 1975's MUSIC VIDEO FOR 'THE SOUND' BELOW:

Matty Healy is a brilliant frontman. He's outspoken, always on the move, engages with people,regularly poses for photos, accepts roses from the front row, and, in one funny moment, descended into the crowd to embrace a newly engaged couple, before launching into 'Somebody Else', which he introduced as he began to laugh as,“a song about a devastating breakup.” Nice.

Though Healynotes how glad he is to see the familiar faces of harcore fans in The Dome (“It warms my heart”), Healy isn’t game for taking any nonsense, at one point saying, “shut the f*ck up, I decide what we’re playing thank you very much". Elsewhere, he routinely tells everyone how grateful he is for their dedication. It’s enthralling to watch.

‘Sex’, ‘Chocolate’ and the group’s biggest track, ‘The Sound’ – a song destined for the biggest fields the world over – round off the relentless, sweaty set. It might not have been as long as Biffy Clyro’s War Child sets from the night before, which pushed up against the three hour mark, but The 1975 once again proved why they deserve to be recognised as one of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and inventive bands. They're unpredictable, they're not afraid to speak their minds, they make brilliant pop music, and,more than anything, they’re genuinely great 'fun'.

The following night, The 1975 won the Best British Group award at the BRIT Awards. Fully deserved.

You can find Lucas Fothergill on Twitter.

The 1975 played:

The 1975

Love Me

UGH!

Heart Out

A Change of Heart

Robbers

Loving Someone

She's American

fallingforyou

Somebody Else

Paris

Girls

Sex

If I Believe You

Chocolate

The Sound

'Thousands of children are in urgent need of help as a result of the military offensive to retake Mosul. War Child’s team is on the ground right now providing ‘safe spaces’ and emergency care for 6,000 boys and girls who have fled the city. Your donation today could help War Child to reach even more children. Donatehere.'

'BRITs Week, which this gig was a part of, is sponsored by O2'.

'Listen to your favourite tracks no matter where you are with the MTV TRAX music app. No ads, no limits, no monkey business. Download it now for FREE at mtvtrax.com.'