Quotes from Olly Alexander

I am obsessed with Matt Healy.

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 want to do a song with Rihanna - we need to make that work.

All the best songs have an element of sadness.

I've always loved sci-fi and fantasy.

Justin Tranter is an incredible queer voice in pop music and he's writing for Justin Bieber: it's genius.

My sexuality is part of my music, part of my identity.

We can't police the way people express their sexuality.

I want to feel sexy with the body I have.

I used to be scared of people thinking I was gay but now I'd be shocked if they didn't.

I can be a really awkward frontman on stage.

I love being alone.

With anxiety and depression, what's been most helpful to me has been learning a toolbox - a set of skills I can use when I'm in periods of low mood or feel an anxiety attack coming on. When Years & Years took off it felt like I needed that toolbox really quickly.

I always had really, really bad nightmares, like night terrors or whatever they're called. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to move... I'd hallucinate and have really scary visions and dreams, so I wouldn't want to sleep.

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

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've been writing a lot of songs about my personal life and identity. That can be a real healing process.

I don't know what's wrong with me - I don't know why I only get picked to play strange characters!

I grew up loving artists like the Spice Girls and Britney Spears - artists who seemed to live this fantasy lifestyle, and I remember always wanting to join these fantasy people in that world.

I've done bits of writing for other people but when I'm writing music as Years & Years, I'm using my life and my stories and my experiences. I want it to be authentic and real but also to work as a pop song - I never want to just put in a cheesy line.

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.

I genuinely do want the world to change in a positive way, but I wouldn't call myself an activist, you know? I'm an entertainer who engages with activism because it feels really meaningful for me.

I get to do my own thing with music. I get to write the songs and sing the songs. As an actor, you have to do what someone else tells you to do and say someone else's words. And you're limited by the way you look and music is just more rewarding creatively for me.