Olly Alexander

“I want to feel sexy with the body I have.”

“I was a fan of Belle and Sebastian. I didn't really know a lot of their music - I only knew the kind of bigger songs because I had a friend, when I was younger, who was really into them. But I have always really respected Belle and Sebastian for what they are, what they do. Yeah, they're just great.”

“I've always loved sci-fi and fantasy.”

“I'm fascinated by technology and how it is changing the way we live and view our humanity.”

“When I meet gay kids and they know who we are, I remember that's amazing because literally every gay person in every gay story I knew growing up was doomed to die. There weren't any positive gay stories and it's incredible that has changed.”

“Solitude is very restorative for me, especially because I spend so much time around other people and performing to people.”

“I come from a single-parent family and my Mum is super liberal.”

“I don't know if there's ever a point where you go, 'Oh, I'm successful now. Look at all this great stuff I've done,' because I don't think it can be tangible in that way.”

“We used to have quirky weird bands that made dance music like the Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode and I think people have still got an appetite for that type of music-melody and darkness.”

“I identify as a gay man all the time, but I also like to identify as queer.”

“I'd love to work with SBTRKT if he'd have me.”

“I'm the person I am because of all the support we have but inside there is still a scared, gay kid, worried he's going to get bullied and people aren't going to like what I do.”

“The likelihood is that you or someone you know closely will suffer from a mental health condition in your lifetime.”

“I'm a big believer that if you want things to change you have to embody that change.”

“I'm a real left-winger. I fancy Jeremy Corbyn!”

“Normal is not a thing. No one's actually normal.”

“If you're making something tangible, whether it's clothing, a song, a piece of art... when you create something that's outside of yourself you take a bit of the pain and it's released, you let it out a little bit. That's my Oprah Winfrey moment.”

“I can't play guitar well at all, so I had to learn that.”

“I get trolled. The usual stuff - sometimes it's homophobic, like gay hate.”

“There was just this stage where I realised that people were listening to what I was saying and I could actually say something I believe in and, like... why wasn't I doing that? It's not because I think I have a responsibility as a pop star or whatever; it's because I think I have a responsibility as a human being.”