Biography
Oliver Alexander Thornton (born 15 July 1990), known professionally as Olly Alexander, is an English singer, actor and LGBT activist.
He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the pop band Years & Years, who achieved two number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart, a number-one single, and five top ten entries on the UK Singles Chart. Between 2021 and 2023, he continued to release music under the name until their dissolution in 2024.
Alexander represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with his song "Dizzy", which marked his first release under his name; in the grand finale, he finished in 18th place with 46 points.
Music career
Years & Years formed in 2010, with Alexander joining the band as lead vocalist after member Mikey Goldsworthy heard him singing in the shower and liked his voice.
Their debut single "I Wish I Knew" was released in July 2012 on the Good Bait label, with the band performing as a five-piece group. In 2013, the group signed a deal with the French label Kitsuné as a three-piece and released their second single, called "Traps", in September 2013, which achieved support from Radio 1 and Radio 6, as well as many online publications such as The Guardian and The Fader. "Traps" also features on Kitsuné Maison's 15th compilation.
The band released their second single "Real" on Kitsuné and iTunes in February 2014. The music video featured an appearance from Alexander's Peter and Alice co-star, Ben Whishaw, and former Misfits actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Telling the story in The Independent article of 28 July 2015 of the Ben Whishaw effect (most recent James Bond Q actor), the video received eight and a half million views online, and in 2014 they also changed their record label from the French smaller label Kitsuné to Polydor as they gained prominence. In January 2015, they were announced winners of the BBC's Sound of… vote.
Years & Years' most successful single, "King", released under Polydor, headed straight to number one in the UK Single Chart in March 2015, earning the band national recognition. Their debut studio album, Communion, was released on 10 July 2015 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1.
As a gay songwriter, Alexander has stated in interviews he would like to see greater use of the qualified male pronoun in music. He explained that when he used to write in a diary, he would refer to "you and I" because he wanted to hide who he was writing about. Several Years & Years songs feature male pronouns. "It is kind of sad to me that we don't have gay popstars singing about men using a male pronoun," he told Digital Spy, "but that could change hopefully." Though his work with Years & Years openly references his sexuality, Alexander "can't speak for all gay people, because there are so many different issues, and experiences, and different shapes and sizes. But I can speak for myself, and that is what I'm doing if I'm going to be writing songs and giving interviews, I want to be able to speak about something I care about." Years & Years' second studio album, titled Palo Santo, was released on 6 July 2018 and features hits like "If You're Over Me" and "Sanctify". On 14 August 2018, "If You're Over Me" was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry and announced via the band's Twitter account.
In September 2018, Years & Years released the official music video for "All For You", featuring an angelic version of Alexander dancing within an abandoned warehouse before transforming into a demonic version of himself and engaging in a dance-off with an android.
Alexander collaborated with the Pet Shop Boys on their 2019 single "Dreamland" and later released a cover of "It's a Sin" to coincide with his starring role in the drama series of the same title.
On 18 March 2021, Years & Years became Alexander's solo project. In July 2021, Alexander was announced as one of the five musicians hosting BBC Radio 1's Future Sounds show for the month of August and early September alongside Arlo Parks, YUNGBLUD, Charli XCX, and Tom Grennan. Annie Mac, who hosted Future Sounds, left the radio station in late July after spending 17 years there.
On 16 December 2023, during the final of the twenty-first series of Strictly Come Dancing, it was announced that Alexander would be representing the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. Following the announcement, he told the BBC that he'd "wanted to do it for a while" and it "felt like this was the right time to start releasing music under my name". Years & Years' back catalogue was re-named to "Olly Alexander (Years & Years)" on streaming services. His Eurovision competing entry, "Dizzy", was released on 1 March 2024, and marked Alexander's first release under his own name. Alexander performed "Dizzy" at the first Eurovision semi-final on 7 May 2024, making the UK the first pre-qualifying country to perform in a semi-final. Alexander came 18th in the contest final on 11 May 2024 scoring 46 jury points (13th) but zero from the public vote (25th).
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