Years & Years singer Olly Alexander has said he has a “romantic political fantasy” about Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
In an interview with ES Magazine, he also opened up about being a victim of homophobia and his battle with depression.
Mental health advocate Alexander, 25, has lent his voice to a variety of causes including anti-bullying campaigns and supporting safer sex.
Olly Alexander of Years & Years in 2015 (Ian West/PA)
On the subject of politics, he said: “I’m a real left-winger. I fancy Jeremy Corbyn! Maybe it’s naive 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 a protest,” he told the magazine.
Pop synth band Years & Years were nominated for four Brits this year: British group, British breakthrough act, British single of the year and British video.
They left empty-handed as the categories were won by Coldplay, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Adele and One Direction respectively.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Years & Years were formed in 2010 when Michael Goldsworthy and Emre Turkmen heard Alexander singing in the shower.
They won the BBC Sound of 2015 poll, following in the footsteps of Oscar-winners Adele and Sam Smith, and enjoyed chart success when debut album Communion went to number one in the same year. The acclaimed band’s single King also topped the charts in 2015.
Alongside his musical career, Alexander has also acted in E4 drama Skins and Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, to name a few of his television vehicles.
On the stage, he played Peter Pan in Peter and Alice alongside James Bond stars Ben Whishaw and Dame Judi Dench in 2013.
Emre Turkmen, Olly Alexander and Mikey Goldsworthy of Years & Years (Matt Crossick/PA)
The openly gay Yorkshire-born artist talked about experiencing homophobic attacks and revealed he had been spat at and called names in public. However, undaunted, he said he will continue to write songs that are drawn from his life.
He told ES Magazine: “My lyrics are about same-sex relationships, because that’s who I am. It was important to me that I felt comfortable expressing myself.”
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