Years and Years singer Olly Alexander reveals his rather unlikely crush…
Years and Years singer Olly Alexander has opened up about his surprising crush… on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The ‘Shine’ singer, who has been vocal about the need for gay role models – and recently released a music video celebrating sexuality.
Speaking to ES Magazine, the 25-year-old opened up about the issue.
He said: “When I was starting out a musician five years ago, I made a decision to be as authentic as possible. I can be really awkward frontman on stage.
“I’m a rambling mess sometimes, but other times I come off thinking, ‘That was a genuine interaction with the audience and that was so much fun’.”
He added: “My lyrics are about same-sex relationships, because that’s who I am. It was important to me that I felt comfortable expressing myself.
“I’m always touched and humbled by the number of people who come up to me and say they connect with my sexuality in the songs. Other people just like the songs.
“But Sam Smith already proved an important point to the very risk-averse music industry, which is that you can be an openly gay male artist and sell records.”
Speaking about politics, the singer revealed a surprising crush.
He said: “I’m a real left-winger… I fancy Jeremy Corbyn!”
Labour leader Mr Corbyn is 41 years his senior – but the frontman clearly appreciates the six-time winner of Parliamentary Beard of the Year.
He said: “Maybe it’s naïve of me to have this romantic political fantasy but I like the way he looks like he’s always about to head off to a march or protest.”
The singer, who has been candid about his ongoing treatment for anxiety and depression, certainly appears to be championing mental health – which Mr Corbyn’s party also pushes on.
He said: “[There] should be a body that helps people with mental health issues get into employment.
“We need to educate employees. Because those people are all potentially valuable, smart employees – they just don’t happen to function the same way as the rest of the office.”
“I talk a lot about my medication. People are often scared to talk about it and at first I felt ashamed of taking medication because it made me feel like I was ‘ill’.
“But you don’t necessarily need to take it for the rest of your life. It’s not about becoming a perfect person. It’s about getting through a certain period, maintaining mental health like a muscle.”
The full interview appears in this week’s issue of ES Magazine, out Thursday 10th March 2016
