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Years & Years
Years & Years at Festival SOS 4.8 in Murcia, 2015.
Background information
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Genres	Electropop synth-pop indie pop dance-pop
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Polydor Interscope
Members	Olly Alexander Mikey Goldsworthy Emre Türkmen
Website	yearsandyears.com

Years & Years is a British synthpop band, founded in London, United Kingdom. The band consists of Olly Alexander, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen. Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements. The band's debut studio album, Communion, debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart in July 2015 and was the fastest-selling debut album of the year from a UK signed band.

Their biggest hit single "King" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in March 2015, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland.Shine reached number two in the UK Singles Chart.

Career

2010–14: Formation and early years

The band was formed in 2010, after Goldsworthy moved to London from Australia and met Noel Leeman and then later, Türkmen online. Alexander later joined the band as its lead vocalist, after Goldsworthy heard him singing in the shower. The band was originally a five-piece group, with Noel Leeman and Olivier Subria. Leeman left the band in 2013. Years & Years' first single, called "I Wish I Knew" was released in July 2012 on the Good Bait label, with the band performing as a five-piece group. In 2013, the group signed a deal to the French label Kitsuné as a three-piece and released their second single, called "Traps" in September 2013. Their third single, called "Real" was released by Kitsuné in February 2014 and its music video featured an appearance by Alexander's Peter and Alice co-star, Ben Whishaw, and the former Misfits actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. In 2014, the group signed a deal to Polydor Records and then released their fourth single, called "Take Shelter". The song reached number one on the iTunes UK Singles Electronic Chart. In December 2014, the group released their fifth single, called "Desire", which peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.

2015–16: Communion

In January 2015, they band won BBC's Sound of 2015 poll. In the same month, the band's sixth single, "King", was previewed on BBC Radio 1 and selected as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record in the World. "King" was released on 1 March 2015 and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. Internationally, the single peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland. On 25 February 2015, Years & Years were nominated for the Critics Choice Award at the 2015's BRIT Awards. On 18 March 2015, Years & Years announced their debut studio album, Communion on their Instagram profile. It was released on 10 July 2015, by Polydor Records, debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart. As well as it being the fastest-selling debut album in 2015 from a UK signed band, it was also the first number one on the inaugural New Music Fridays release date, marking a moment in history.

To celebrate the launch of the album, a world first interactive ad-break takeover happened on Channel 4, on the evening the album was released. Three exclusive music videos for the band's next single, "Shine", were filmed especially for the initiative, and fans were encouraged to 'take control' of the ad break by tweeting the hashtag for the video they most wanted to see; #ChooseLight, #ChooseShadow or #ChooseDark. The initiative garnered 1.55 million viewers and resulted in the most interacted-with ad in Channel 4 history. "Shine" was released as the band's seventh single, serving as a follow-up to their sixth single, "King". It was released on 5 July 2015, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. "Eyes Shut" was released as their eighth single that was to be taken from Communion. The music video for the single was released on 27 September 2015, and the video depicted the band exploring a post-apocalyptic world, set in the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria.

In January 2016, Years & Years were nominated for four BRIT Awards, including British Group, British Breakthrough Act, British Single (for "King") and British Artist Video (also for "King"). On 2 March 2016, the band announced that Tove Lo would feature on their next single; a new version of, "Desire". The music video was released on the next day, accompanied by an open letter from frontman Olly Alexander on the band's Facebook page. This detailed the concept of the video and highlighted the LGBT issues addressed by it (such as sexuality and gender dynamics), for which Alexander had become somewhat of a spokesperson. The band played their biggest headline show to date on 8 April 2016, at Wembley Arena, London, as part of their 2016 UK headline tour. The show was completely sold out, with support coming from MØ, Nimmo and Mabel. In July 2016, the band released the music video for their next single from Communion, "Worship". The music video was directed by Matt Lambert, with choreography from Ryan Heffington. On 11 September 2016, Years & Years performed the last show of their Communion tour at Lollapalooza in Berlin.

2016–present: Palo Santo

On 13 September 2016, the band released the song "Meteorite", which was included on the soundtrack for the film Bridget Jones's Baby. On 28 September 2016, the music video for the song was released. Alexander later announced that he had been working on new music with Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter. The first single from the album, called "Sanctify", was released on 7 March 2018. The song reached #1 Trending on YouTube within the first 24 hours after its launch. A short interview was released after the music video with Olly explaining his inspiration for the song came from experiences he's had with men who claim to be heterosexual but have desires of other sexualities in which they struggle to embrace. The second single of the album, called "If You're Over Me", was released on 10 May 2018. On 18 June 2018, they announced their Palo Santo European tour.

Influences

The band's influences include Radiohead, Flying Lotus, Marilyn Manson, the Beatles, Jai Paul, Timbaland, Joni Mitchell, Aaliyah, Robyn, Scritti Politti and Sigur Rós.

Members

• Olly Alexander – vocals, keyboards, synthesisers (2010–present)
• Mikey Goldsworthy – synthesisers, keyboards, bass guitar (2010–present)
• Emre Türkmen – synthesisers, keyboards, beats, samples, sampling, sequencers, laptop, guitar (2010–present)

Live members

• Dylan Bell – drums (2014–2018)
• Paris Jeffree – drums (2018-present)

Discography

• Communion (2015)
• Palo Santo (2018)

Tours

• Years & Years UK Tour (2016)
• Palo Santo Tour (2018-19)

Awards and nominations

References

1. "Years & Years". Last.fm. 28 October 2014.
2. O'Brien, George (20 February 2014). "Introducing Years & Years". The Line Of Best Fit.
3. Rudick, Clarke (9 April 2014). "'Real' Talk with Years & Years". Opening Ceremony.
4. "Years & Years". Indie Shuffle. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
5. "Years & Years Live At Rescue Rooms". Rescue Rooms. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
6. "Years & Years – I Wish I Knew". The Music Ninja. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
7. Cragg, George (7 August 2013). "Years & Years – Traps: New music". The Guardian.
8. Baggs, Michael (20 May 2014). "Years & Years talk tours, 'Real' success, their mums and more". Gigwise.
9. Etheart, Zac. "Passing time with Years & Years". Interview.
10. "YEARS & YEARS". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
11. Youngs, Ian (9 January 2015). "BBC News – Years & Years top BBC Sound Of 2015 list". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
12. "Years & Years – King". Radio 1. BBC. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
13. Singh, Anita (15 January 2015). "Brit Awards nominations list 2015: year of the male". Telegraph. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
14. "Years & Years on Twitter: OK you can now pre-order our debut album Communion out 10-07-15". Retrieved 15 April 2015.
15. "Years & Years' debut at Number 1: "This is the best day of our lives"". The Official UK Charts Company. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
16. "Lollapalooza (6th October 2016)".
17. Corner, Lewis (9 January 2015). "Years & Years interview: 'We now have a responsibility to not be s**t!'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
18. Levine, Nick (7 April 2016). "Years & Years: How They Became The Most Important Pop Band Of Our Time". NME. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
19. "Vevo Polska on Twitter". Twitter.
20. "Years & Years on Twitter". Twitter.
21. "The 2014 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: as it happened". Popjustice. Popjustice Ltd. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
22. "BBC Music Awards 2015: Shortlisted Artists Revealed!".
23. "BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards".
24. "Brit Awards 2015: James Bay wins Critics' Choice prize". The Independent. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
25. "2015 MTV Europe Music Awards – BEST UK & IRELAND ACT".
26. "2015 MTV Europe Music Awards – BEST PUSH".
27. "Q Awards 2015 shortlist announced!". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
28. "Attitude's Album of the Year Award: 'Communion' by Years & Years".
29. "Years & Years top BBC Sound Of 2015 list".
30. "Years & Years win 2016 European Border Breakers Award".
31. "Se Years & Years takke for GAFFA-Prisen".
32. "O2 Music".
33. "Winners from the 2015 mtvU Woodie Awardst".
34. "Winq Music Award winners Years & Years".
35. "Nominees Announced For 'UK Music Video Awards'".
36. "WINNERS OF THE MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2015 ANNOUNCED".
37. "YEARS & YEARS ONTVANGT EERSTE XITE AWARD 2015". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
38. "Brit Awards 2016: Adele, James Bay and Years & Years lead nominations".

External links

• Official website

• Musical groups established in 2010
• 2010 establishments in the United Kingdom
• British electronic music groups
• Polydor Records artists
• Interscope Records artists
• Musical groups from London
• Kitsuné artists
• LGBT-themed musical groups