Olly Alexander - Polari (2025) Hi-Res

British singer/songwriter Olly Alexander first made a name for himself as the lead vocalist of synth pop trio Years & Years -- at the same time he was attracting the British public's attention for his role in the 2021 TV drama It's a Sin. Alexander branched out from there, first with the 2024 career-spanning compilation Odyssey and then with his debut album, Polari, in early 2025. Born and raised in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Alexander spent his childhood years nurturing his love of the arts, writing his own songs, and performing in school plays before going on to study the performing arts at college. He first moved into acting with roles on television and film, starring alongside Alex Pettyfer and Ben Whishaw. Even with his acting career taking off, he found time for his first love, music, and in 2010 joined the fledgling synth pop act Years & Years as their lead vocalist. While the group, initially a five-piece, started to make a name for themselves, Alexander continued acting, gracing the London stage in Peter Pan and appearing in the 2014 horror series Penny Dreadful. Years & Years, now a trio, inked a deal with French label Kitsuné in 2013, issuing a handful of singles for the label before moving to Polydor the following year. Over the next few years, the group issued two successful albums -- 2015's Communion and 2018's Palo Santo -- and toured the world. In January 2021, Alexander starred in the incredibly moving and poignant TV series It's a Sin and was applauded for his portrayal of a young gay man in the '80s and '90s amid the onset of the HIV and AIDS virus. A few months later, Years & Years issued their third album, Night Call, the first with a solo Alexander at the helm. In 2024, he represented the U.K. in the Eurovision Song Contest, and although he came in at 18th, he kickstarted his solo career under his own name with the release of the single "Dizzy." The compilation album Odyssey appeared mid-year and featured a selection of hits from his work with Years & Years, as well as some solo tracks. The rest of the year saw him working on new material, and in early 2025, he issued his debut studio album, Polari.

Pre-add the pop adventurer’s first album as a solo artist. After three Years & Years albums, Polari is Olly Alexander’s first release under his own name. “I’m still trying to convince people I’m a brand-new artist, like, ‘Surprise!’” he tells Apple Music. “It’s quite nerve-wracking, because it’s a slightly different feeling to having a Years & Years album out. I’m so excited—I felt like I couldn’t have done this album without the experience of making music for more than 10 years.”
Danny L Harle, who’s also worked with Charli xcx, Nile Rodgers and Rina Sawayama, handled production duties—and he and Olly pulled in their favourite influences from the 1980s for the 13 tracks. “I was taking so much inspiration from that era, with Stock Aitken Waterman, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Janet Jackson and George Michael,” says Alexander. “It’s a fascinating era for music. I think that’s partly due to how it was being created, using technology for the first time. There’s a real simplicity to the complexities, where it feels exciting and elements are too loud or are sticking out in places. So I wanted to tap into that feeling in the music, but give it my own spin.”
Polari takes its name from a form of slang with a rich history. “It’s made up of lots of different dialects and it became quite popular among some gay men as a way for them to communicate in secret, in the days when homosexuality was criminalised. It came up in discussion when we were in the studio and suddenly this lightbulb went off in my head. ‘Polari’ seemed to encapsulate so much of what I was trying to get at with this album. I love how it sounds magical, like Polaris—it’s in the night sky like a star. Because of everywhere I was taking inspiration from, it felt like the right word to contain all of this stuff that I was trying to make.” Read on, as Alexander takes Apple Music through 10 key tracks from Polari.