Years & Years’ Olly Alexander speaks out (Photo: Polydor)
Olly Alexander has opened up about ‘casual homophobia’ in the music industry.
The out gay singer of pop band Years & Years, 27, spoke of his concerns in an interview with Paper magazine.
Despite feeling that ‘this is the very best time to be a gay artist ever’, Alexander said that there are still challenges for artists like himself.
He said: ‘We wouldn’t be where we are today without all the gay artists that have come before us and broken down so many barriers. But barriers aren’t gone. Particularly for less privileged members of the queer community.
‘There is this very insidious casual homophobia that exists in the fabric of everything including the music industry.’
Alexander lamented the lack of gay artists at the top of pop’s pyramid, despite his own success.
‘When are we going to see a gay artist really thrive and succeed? Selling out arenas, hitting number ones.
‘I guess that kind of happened with Sam Smith. But I just think from my personal experience, the amount of comments like “Oh, this is very gay” or “This is going to turn some people off” is a real problem.’
Years & Years’ debut single King shot to number one in their home country the UK in 2015. Their debut album Communion also debuted at number one that same year. It became the the fastest selling debut in 2015 from a UK signed band, selling over 1,000,000 copies.
New album Palo Santo a critical smash
The band released their latest album Palo Santo, the follow-up to Communion, on 6th July. The album has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.
The band are gearing up for their biggest tour to date this year. Following their summer festival circuit run, The Palo Santo arena tour kicks off in Glasgow on November 28, and will continue through Europe until February.
Check out the trailer for Palo Santo below:
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