Olly Alexander in the Sanctify video | Photo: YouTube
Olly Alexander from Years & Years has said the band’s new single Sanctify is inspired by having sex with straight guys.
On the track openly gay pop star sings: ‘You don’t have to be straight with me. I see what’s underneath your masl.’
Now, the 27-year-old has put the record straight, literally, about what the lyric means.
‘I wanted to write a song that was kind of inspired from some experiences I’ve had’
Speaking to Beats 1, he said: ‘I wanted to write a song that was kind of inspired from some experiences I’ve had with guys who identify as straight but I’ve had something a bit more than just a friendship with them.’
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‘I’m helping them satisfy the sexual desire’
Speaking to GQ about ‘men that present as straight’ (as interview Brennan Carley puts it), Olly furthermore elaborated: ‘Now that I’m an out gay man – very out – I’ve noticed how some straight guys gravitate…it’s weird because I’ve almost found myself having these encounters with straight guys and find myself playing this saint and sinner role, or like this angel and devil, because I’m leading them down the path of “sinful gayness.”‘
He also added: ‘But also I’m helping them satisfy the sexual desire that they feel they can’t get anywhere else.’
Olly also spoke about the pitfalls of Grindr in the interview.
‘Grindr has some great things about it,’ he said. ‘But it also has a lot of negatives, and it’s just very hard to trust anybody. It just feels like this meat market of dick pics and sex positions. “Are you a top or bottom?”
‘It does kind of depress me a bit, even though I love to hook up as much as the next guy.
‘It’s good for that, but people would think I was catfishing myself, or they’d be like, “Oh, I’m such a big fan,” and that’s kind of a turnoff.’