Olly Alexander
My dad had been very absent, even when he was there. Then he left the family and moved away. Our relationship, it feels to me, ended when I was 13.Collection: Relationship
It's like any other part of your body - your mental health gets sick, and it needs treatment.Collection: Health
We used to have quirky weird bands that made dance music like the Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode and I think people have still got an appetite for that type of music-melody and darkness.Collection: Pet
Dating shows should exist for people who aren't straight. They're out there, there aren't enough of them. Whether you try and squeeze a format that already works into something else. I don't know.'Collection: Dating
Well, I moved around quite a lot so I was born in Yorkshire and then I moved to Blackpool, which is like North England.
I grew up loving artists like the Spice Girls and Britney Spears - artists who seemed to live this fantasy lifestyle, and I remember always wanting to join these fantasy people in that world.
My mum's super Labour, and my gran. We all love Jeremy Corbyn in the family. Those are very deep roots and I feel like I could never not vote for Labour. Or I could never vote for the Tories because of that.
Blackpool is a hilarious place. It's kind of like the Las Vegas of the U.K. It's by the sea and there's a lot of casinos and resorts.
Pop music has a pretty good track record of embracing queer culture.
Everyone has a different definition of what they find sexy, so why do we so often get given one version of what sexy is time and time again?
I was obsessed with Jeff Buckley for a while - I was convinced that Jeff Buckley and I were communicating with each other through time.
I used to be scared of people thinking I was gay but now I'd be shocked if they didn't.
I was a fan of Belle and Sebastian. I didn't really know a lot of their music - I only knew the kind of bigger songs because I had a friend, when I was younger, who was really into them. But I have always really respected Belle and Sebastian for what they are, what they do. Yeah, they're just great.
Most of the pop videos I've seen that have any male/female interaction are usually centered around a romance - and that's great, I am all for romance. But let's face it, there are a lot of other sexualities and identities that are well-deserving of some shiny pop video love.
The word queer first started being used in the late 1980s by members of the community who wanted to reclaim something negative and turn it into a positive. It's still a painful word for some, and lots of people don't identify with it. But for me it's a helpful and empowering term that unifies an ever-growing community.
I can't play guitar well at all, so I had to learn that.
If you look at pop stars through the ages, we've had camp, glam popstars from the 80s - your George Michaels and what have you - but then people went back to the closet a bit, and became more homogenised and generic.
When I meet gay kids and they know who we are, I remember that's amazing because literally every gay person in every gay story I knew growing up was doomed to die. There weren't any positive gay stories and it's incredible that has changed.
So many queer people come out constantly for the rest of their lives, ya know? To the people they work with, to people in taxi cabs. Whatever it is, it isn't the one day.
We are traumatized by growing up in a world that doesn't really accept us. Obviously, we've made great leaps and bounds, but I think there's a tendency to force a narrative onto queer people that once you come out... you have to be really happy and really successful and proud all the time.
I like how it presented this contradiction because traditionally gay people have been shut out from the church, so 'Sanctify' was claiming a bit of that back and saying, 'My sexuality is holy.'
I feel sorry for straight people.
What's great about being gay is that you can celebrate all types of sexualities, because we understand that being queer means you might also be gender nonconforming or bi or whatever.
I love TLC and Aaliyah and all those early-millennial R&B singers.
I would love it if less bands were hetero.
When I was a bit younger, I loved Rufus Wainwright - just the fact that he existed.
I think the word 'twink' is pejorative. There's something endemic about the gay community where we praise masculinity more than anything else.
I want to feel sexy with the body I have.
We can't police the way people express their sexuality.
I get a real thrill for being 'overtly queer' in my aesthetic.
With anxiety and depression, what's been most helpful to me has been learning a toolbox - a set of skills I can use when I'm in periods of low mood or feel an anxiety attack coming on. When Years & Years took off it felt like I needed that toolbox really quickly.
I've been writing a lot of songs about my personal life and identity. That can be a real healing process.
If you're making something tangible, whether it's clothing, a song, a piece of art... when you create something that's outside of yourself you take a bit of the pain and it's released, you let it out a little bit. That's my Oprah Winfrey moment.
I think there's strength in being honest and open about yourself and your struggles. But it can also be a challenge. This is my life, I live with my own mental health, and that is happening to me every day. I can talk about it from a position of 'Oh, I've done this' but I'm still living that existence.
I've done bits of writing for other people but when I'm writing music as Years & Years, I'm using my life and my stories and my experiences. I want it to be authentic and real but also to work as a pop song - I never want to just put in a cheesy line.
Justin Tranter is an incredible queer voice in pop music and he's writing for Justin Bieber: it's genius.
I get trolled. The usual stuff - sometimes it's homophobic, like gay hate.
There was just this stage where I realised that people were listening to what I was saying and I could actually say something I believe in and, like... why wasn't I doing that? It's not because I think I have a responsibility as a pop star or whatever; it's because I think I have a responsibility as a human being.
I am obsessed with Matt Healy.
I want to do a song with Rihanna - we need to make that work.
I hear bands say they don't know what country they are in at times. Now I understand because we sleep at weird times and are always in different places - but I'm not moaning. It's all fun.
I think all of the best songs are about heartbreak and love.
I think everyone knows what it is like being in love. It's never a smooth thing. Whether you are happily together or not.
We could perform in space or be the first band to play moon, but we want to be the first 'Star Wars' band.
Felt really low as a teenager and hearing music from artists that could express their pain in a way that is beautiful and made me feel better about the way I felt and I think that is something that anyone can relate to.
I used to travel a lot as a kid and when I first moved to England I felt lonely and my parents were splitting up at the time.
My mum listened to stuff like Alanis Morissette and Tori Amos, but she also listened to a lot of '80s stuff like Heart. I still quite like Heart.
The first artist I really loved was Stevie Wonder. That opened the doors to other soul singers like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin.
I get to do my own thing with music. I get to write the songs and sing the songs. As an actor, you have to do what someone else tells you to do and say someone else's words. And you're limited by the way you look and music is just more rewarding creatively for me.
Now, to be a mainstream act, you have to be firing on all cylinders on so many different platforms. You've got to have a social media voice. You've got to do promo on TV. You've got to tour everywhere.