Olly Alexander Says New Years & Years Tracks Are on the Way, Thanks to It’s a Sin

Olly Alexander is set to be the breakout star of Channel 4's new show It's A Sin, created by the multi-award-winning Russell T Davies. Set in the 1980s, the show explores the HIV and AIDS epidemic, following the lives of four young men living in London during the outbreak.

On 20 Jan., Alexander joined Lorraine to talk about the series and his role, explaining that it's "the most important role of my career", adding that "to play a gay character like Ritchie was a dream come true". He touched on what it was like to work with Davies and how the producer wanted "to address this part of history that he lived through and show how brightly these lives shone." In context of the show, they also chatted about the parallels between the outbreak of HIV/AIDS pandemic and COVID-19, with the five-part series exploring familiar themes such as the spread of misinformation, quarantining for those infected, and the general feeling of fear in society. Thankfully, due to modern medicine and better education surrounding the disease, progress has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS since the '80s. "People with effective treatment can no longer pass on the virus", Alexander noted.

For Alexander, not only has the show shone a much-needed light on a crucial part of history for him, but it's also helped to get the creative juices flowing. He told Lorraine that "the drama inspired my music, too — how could it not really?" With the soundtrack featuring iconic names like Pet Shop Boys and Blondie, it's easy to see how that could be the case. He described the '80s as "an amazing decade for music, showing the spirit of the dance floor and how important that was for people." Unsurprisingly, his involvement with It's A Sin has sparked the imminent release of more Years & Years music, with Alexander confirming that new songs are indeed on the way!

It's A Sin begins on Channel 4 on Friday 22, Jan.