Years & Years


Years & Years are a British synth-pop band, founded in London, England. The band consists of Olly Alexander, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen. Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements. The band's debut studio album, Communion, debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart in July 2015 and was the fastest-selling debut album of the year from a UK signed band.
Their biggest hit single "King" from their debut album Communion reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in March 2015, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland. Their single "Shine" from the same album reached number two on the UK Singles Chart.
In April 2018 they announced the release of their second studio album Palo Santo which features singles "Sanctify" and "If You're Over Me", the latter of which reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom. The album features a dystopian world consisting of robot-like beings named Androids and humans as the minority, and was released on 6 July 2018.

Career

2010–2014: Formation and early years

The band was formed in 2010, after Goldsworthy moved to London from Australia and met Noel Leeman and then later, Türkmen online. Alexander later joined the band as its lead vocalist, after Goldsworthy heard him singing in the shower. The band was originally a five-piece group, with Noel Leeman and Olivier Subria. Leeman and Subria left the band in 2013. Years & Years' first single, called "I Wish I Knew" was released in July 2012 on the Good Bait label, with the band performing as a five-piece group. In 2013, the group signed a deal to the French label Kitsuné as a three-piece and released their second single, called "Traps" in September 2013. Their third single, called "Real" was released by Kitsuné in February 2014 and its music video featured an appearance by Alexander's Peter and Alice co-star, Ben Whishaw, and the former Misfits actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. In 2014, the group signed a deal to Polydor Records and then released their fourth single, called "Take Shelter". The song reached number one on the iTunes UK Singles Electronic Chart. In December 2014, the group released their fifth single, called "Desire", which peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.

2015–2016: ''Communion''

In January 2015, the band won BBC's Sound of 2015 poll. In the same month, the band's sixth single, "King", was previewed on BBC Radio 1 and selected as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record in the World. "King" was released on 1 March 2015 and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. Internationally, the single peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland. On 25 February 2015, Years & Years were nominated for the Critics Choice Award at the 2015's BRIT Awards. On 18 March 2015, Years & Years announced their debut studio album, Communion on their Instagram profile. It was released on 10 July 2015, by Polydor Records, debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart. As well as it being the fastest-selling debut album in 2015 from a UK signed band, it was also the first number one on the inaugural New Music Fridays release date, marking a moment in history.
To celebrate the launch of the album, a world first interactive ad-break takeover happened on Channel 4, on the evening the album was released. Three exclusive music videos for the band's next single, "Shine", were filmed especially for the initiative, and fans were encouraged to 'take control' of the ad break by tweeting the hashtag for the video they most wanted to see; #ChooseLight, #ChooseShadow or #ChooseDark. The initiative garnered 1.55 million viewers and resulted in the most interacted-with ad in Channel 4 history. "Shine" was released as the band's seventh single, serving as a follow-up to their sixth single, "King". It was released on 5 July 2015, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. "Eyes Shut" was released as their eighth single that was to be taken from Communion. The music video for the single was released on 27 September 2015, and the video depicted the band exploring a post-apocalyptic world, set in the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria.
In January 2016, Years & Years were nominated for four BRIT Awards, including British Group, British Breakthrough Act, British Single and British Artist Video. On 2 March 2016, the band announced that Tove Lo would feature on their next single; a new version of, "Desire". The music video was released on the next day, accompanied by an open letter from frontman Olly Alexander on the band's Facebook page. This detailed the concept of the video and highlighted the LGBT issues addressed by it, for which Alexander had become somewhat of a spokesperson. The band played their biggest headline show to date on 8 April 2016, at Wembley Arena, London, as part of their 2016 UK headline tour. The show was completely sold out, with support coming from MØ, Nimmo and Mabel. In July 2016, the band released the music video for their next single from Communion, "Worship". The music video was directed by Matt Lambert, with choreography from Ryan Heffington. On 11 September 2016, Years & Years performed the last show of their Communion tour at Lollapalooza in Berlin.
during the Palo Santo Tour in 2018

2016–present: ''Palo Santo''

On 13 September 2016, the band released the song "Meteorite", which was included on the soundtrack for the film Bridget Jones's Baby. On 28 September 2016, the music video for the song was released.
Alexander later announced that he had been working on new music with Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter. The first single from the album, "Sanctify", was released on 7 March 2018.
The song became the number 1 trending video on YouTube within the first 24 hours after its launch. A short interview was released after the music video with Alexander explaining his inspiration for the song came from experiences he had with men who claim to be heterosexual but have desires of other sexualities in which they struggle to embrace.
The second single of the album, called "If You're Over Me", was released on 10 May 2018 with its music video released on 14 May 2018. The single peaked at number 6 in the United Kingdom.
On 18 June 2018, the band announced the European dates to their Palo Santo Tour.
The album's title track, "Palo Santo", was released on 22 June 2018 and "All for You" was released on 27 June 2018, with the album subsequently being released on 6 July 2018. The album received acclaim from critics and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart. On 17 September 2018, the music video for "All For You" was released, featuring an angelic Alexander dancing within an abandoned warehouse before transforming into a demonic version of himself and engaging in a dance off with an android.
The band was featured on covering "Come Alive" alongside Jess Glynne which was released on 16 November 2018.
In November 2018, "Play", a collaboration with DJ Jax Jones was released. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Official Chart. On 28 January the music video released, this was a supermarket belt which Alexander and Jones danced upon with previous signature Jones brands appearing as supermarket items.
On 14 February 2019, a collaboration with MNEK titled "Valentino" was released.
On 4 March 2019, the band announced that Emre would be taking a hiatus from the band whilst they were touring in Asia. His wife delivered a healthy baby girl called Daphne Türkmen. The group performed at the Glastonbury Festival where Alexander gave a speech that was universally praised by fans and media.
11 September 2019 - they released a single in collaboration with Pet Shop Boys called "Dreamland" - This track was already scheduled to be released on the Palo Santo album in 2018, but in the end Pet Shop Boys decided to release it under their name, listing Years & Years as featured.

Influences

The band's influences include Radiohead, Flying Lotus, Marilyn Manson, the Beatles, Jai Paul, Timbaland, Joni Mitchell, Aaliyah, Robyn, Scritti Politti and Sigur Rós.

Members

Live members