Olly Alexander confirms Years & Years have officially broken up

Olly Alexander has officially confirmed that Years & Years are no more.

Performing at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Luton, Olly told the assembled crowd that this was his first live performance under his own name, and that he will now continue to perform as Olly Alexander, effectively ending the Years & Years project.

"I don’t have to tell you how good it feels to be back in the UK, doing a show," he said. "Do you know what, this is my first-ever show as Olly Alexander?"

Continuing, Olly added that: "I used to be in Years & Years, I used to be Years & Years and now I’m just me.”

The Big Weekend performance was the first time Olly had taken to the stage following his participation in Eurovision 2024 with the song Dizzy, which reached a disappointing 18th place in the contest, after receiving zero points in the public vote.

Hoping to follow in the UK chart success of previous UK entrants Sam Ryder and Mae Muller (who both scored their first Top 10 hits following taking part in Eurovision), Dizzy's success on the Official Singles Chart was more muted, peaking at Number 42 on the week of its release.

Dizzy was Olly's first release under his own name, before then he had been the frontman of Years & Years for more than 10 years.

Originally formed in 2010, Years & Years was an indie-pop trio, comprising Olly, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Turkme, who quickly became known for their catchy synth-anthems, winning the BBC Sound Of...2015 poll before releasing their critically acclaimed first album, Communion. 

The biggest hit from Communion was the band's first (and now only) UK Number 1 single, King, which topped the Official Singles Chart for one week in March 2015. Two more Top 20 singles followed in its wake, the Girls Aloud-esque Shine (Number 2 peak) and Eyes Shut (Number 17).

2018 saw the launch of Years & Years's ambitious second album Palo Santo, wherein Goldsworthy and Turkme noticably took a backseat on writing and production duties. Later, it was confirmed the two had left Years & Years as full time members, essentially turning the band into a solo project for Olly.

Years & Years's last official release was the 2022 album Night Call, their third, which debuted at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart, becoming their second chart-topping record, following Communion.

Altogether, Years & Yeas scored a total of 10 UK Top 40 singles, and all three of their studio albums charted within the Top 3 of the Official Albums Chart. Further solo music is expected to arrive from Olly later this year.