A biography for Olly Alexanderhasn’t been written yet.
“Most of the pop videos I've seen that have any male/female interaction are usually centered around a romance - and that's great, I am all for romance. But let's face it, there are a lot of other sexualities and identities that are well-deserving of some shiny pop video love.”
“So many queer people come out constantly for the rest of their lives, ya know? To the people they work with, to people in taxi cabs. Whatever it is, it isn't the one day.”
“My sexuality is part of my music, part of my identity.”
“If you look at pop stars through the ages, we've had camp, glam popstars from the 80s - your George Michaels and what have you - but then people went back to the closet a bit, and became more homogenised and generic.”
“For a long time - when we first started getting a much higher level of attention - I really struggled with feeling like I was letting people down. Because when you do a show, there are, like, a hundred fans waiting to see you afterwards, and sometimes you can't see them.”
“I hear bands say they don't know what country they are in at times. Now I understand because we sleep at weird times and are always in different places - but I'm not moaning. It's all fun.”
“I've been taking medication for depression and anxiety ever since I was a teenager and I've had treatment for both.”
“At 13 I taught myself piano from an old song book, and Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now' was the first song I learned.”
“I feel sorry for straight people.”
“I feel like you could listen to any Bon Iver song and it would make you cry. They're all so heart-wrenching.”
“We have to listen and learn from each other to lift each other up, so we can all live the life we deserve.”
“It's just a very weird thing to have a relationship that's commented on by the world wide web.”
“I think anything that happens to you between the ages of zero to 18, and probably further on, has a lasting impact on you.”
“I am obsessed with Matt Healy.”
“I think music can be therapeutic and a really positive thing, but that seeing a therapist is the best form of therapy you can get.”
“When I was younger I thought that if you were famous and successful, it would mean that you just felt happy all the time. That you would become, like, this mystical creature that people just adored. And so you would adore yourself.”
“When I was a bit younger, I loved Rufus Wainwright - just the fact that he existed.”
“I think the reason I've been so committed to advocacy is because I see so many people in pain.”
“I like how it presented this contradiction because traditionally gay people have been shut out from the church, so 'Sanctify' was claiming a bit of that back and saying, 'My sexuality is holy.'”
“There's entrenched homophobia behind the scenes at all levels of the music industry.”