Entertainment
Olly Alexander frustrated by ‘backlash’ after walkouts at his show but loves being an ‘in your face kind of gay’Tom StichburyEntertainment – Metro
People in the audience claimed the show wasn’t ‘family-friendly’…
People in the audience at one of Olly Alexander’s shows claimed it wasn’t ‘family-friendly’ (Picture: Burak Cingi/Redferns)
Olly Alexander finds it frustrating that his joyous celebration of queerness so often sparks a ‘backlash’.
In an exclusive interview with Metro’s Guilty Pleasures, the Years & Years singer spilled he has walkouts on his Night Call tour.
‘I am an “in your face” kind of gay because I want to be,’ said Olly, 31. ‘That’s always met with a little bit of pearl-clutching, which I love.’
Talking about the annoying ‘backlash’ he explained: ‘I just did a show in Nottingham and it was amazing — the audience was out of this world.
‘But it was the only show so far where we had people complain.
‘I know a few of them said it wasn’t “family-friendly enough”. There’s never been anything explicit or gratuitous about a Years & Years show, so yeah, I find the reaction to be quite interesting.’
Earlier this year, the Bafta-nominated It’s A Sin star laughed off complaints that his BBC New Year’s Eve concert was too sexy.
Olly likes to make a statement on stage (Picture: Mark Holloway/Redferns)
He added: ‘It’s because I’m gay, but it’s a bit obtuse to put it all down to that, because it’s about more than sexuality, it’s about how we relate to each other.’
He admitted he had been nervous before the tour began. ‘Going into it, I had so much excitement and anticipation, but nerves too, because this is the first tour really since 2019,’ he said.
‘So much has changed in the world, so much has changed personally for me and for Years & Years, I announced a solo project, I’m touring all this new material.’
Olly wants to wow people with his latest venture (Picture: Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Talking about his vision for the show, he explained: ‘I want to wow people, and I want people to remember it – have the night of their lives. It’s my favourite thing to do, to put on a show and perform.
‘I knew I wanted to really push whatever concept or road we went down… we wanted to base it around a night out.’
Tonight Olly plays Wembley’s Ovo Arena, supported by Cat Burns and Queer House Party — but he’s worried about loo-sing it.
More: Guilty Pleasures
‘We bring on six toilet cubicles… you never know if someone is going to take a leak in one backstage, thinking it’s a real toilet!’ he laughed.
Try not to get too bogged down, Olly…
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