Olly Alexander & Years and Years Excited To Announce the Acts Joining Nightcalls Tour
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Years and Years frontman Olly Alexander said he’s absolutely thrilled to announce the other acts joining its Nightcalls Tour across the United Kingdom this summer: Cat Burns, L. Devine, Eddy Luna, and Queer House Party. The tour is in support of Years and Years’ third album Night Call, which debuted in January. Nightcall is the first since EP since Years & Years became the solo project of vocalist Olly Alexander in 2021 via Polydor.
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The tour will begin at the Brighton Centre on May 19, taking in shows in Bournemouth, Manchester and more, before finishing up in Glasgow at Bellahouston Park on June 25. A London show is set for Wembley Arena.
See the full list of Years & Years’ 2022 tour dates below. Tickets are on still on sale here.
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MAY 2022
19 – Brighton, Centre
20 – Bournemouth, International Centre
21 – Birmingham, Resorts World Arena
26 – London, Wembley Arena
28 – Manchester, AO Arena
JUNE 2022
24 – Dublin, National Museum of Ireland
25 – Glasgow, Bellahouston Park
Alexander says of Nightcall:
“I was writing from a fantastical space, stuck in the same four walls. I wanted to have as much pleasure as possible in the music.”
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Alexander previewed much of the album in 2021 with the singles ‘Crave’ and ‘Starstruck’. Following the arrival of ‘Starstruck’ in April, Years & Years recruited Kylie Minogue for a collaborative remix of the single.
Alexander also joined forces with Elton John for a cover of Pet Shop Boys’ ‘It’s A Sin’, with the pair performing the track live at the BRITs 2021. Elsewhere, Years & Years reimagined Lady Gaga’s ‘Edge Of Glory’ to mark the 10th anniversary of the latter’s 2011 album ‘Born This Way’.
Alexander’s come a long way since beginning his acting career at 16 after auditioning for a part in Skins in which he landed a supporting role in the final season playing Cassie Ainsworth’s stalker in the two-part episode “Skins Pure”, which aired in July 2013.
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His best known role was on Channel 4/HBO Max mini-series It’s A Sin. The show chronicles life as a gay man in the 1980s and 1990s, including depicting the outbreak of AIDS. Alexander received huge critical acclaim for his portrayal of Ritchie.
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Alexander also appeared in a celebrity version of The Great British Bake Off last year.
Alexander’s band Years & Years formed in 2010 and the group released their debut single in 2012. Their second single, Real, was released in 2014.
The band then garnered national attention after their most popular single, King, went straight to No.1 in the UK charts in March 2015. Following this, their album Communion shot to No.1 in the album charts too.
They released a second album called Salo Panto in 2018. Then in March 2021 the name became Alexander’s solo project.
Years & Years was named as the BBC’s Sound of 2015 and were nominated for four BRIT awards the following year.
The popstar has often made personal divulgences to fans and in interviews, including that he wants to see more male artists using male pronouns in their songs to increase LGBT+ representation in music.
He has been a long-time advocate of safe sex and HIV screening, and has been honest about his mental health struggles, discussing his battles with self-harm and bulimia.
During his appearance at Glastonbury in 2016, Alexander made a spur-of-the-moment speech about being queer and societal prejudices in the wake of the shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub, Pulse.
He said: “Now, as a queer person, as queer people, we know what it’s like to be scared. We know what it’s like to live with fear; it’s part of our every day.”
Alexander was widely praised for the speech online, and later opened up about how devastated he felt in the wake of the shooting.
Last month Olly Alexander was interviewed by British TV personality Lorraine Kelly on daytime TV. After the encounter, Kelly tweeted that she would “like to adopt” the Years & Years singer, adding “he’s an angel!”
But Alexander’s mum was having none of it – although she said she understands why Kelly feels that way. She suggested the presenter could be an “on-screen aunt” instead. Sorry Lorraine, but it seems Olly is quite popular with his own family!
This though seems poised to be Alexander’s biggest year yet.
