It’s hard to believe that only a year ago Years & Years opened for Sam Smith at this very venue where they now play their own headline show. Back in May they played at the Introducing Showcase at Bi Nuu showing that they are a formidable live act.
Years & Years were formed in 2010 in London when Michael Goldsworthy and Emre Turkman met online while looking to start a band; they’d eventually be joined on vocals by actor Olly Alexander after hearing him singing at a friend’s house while taking a shower. The trio’s synth pop sound first gained exposure when the single Traps was released on Kitsuné Music in 2013. The group’s second EP, Real, came out in February 2014 and with some impressive live dates under their belts, the trio announced they had signed a deal with Polydor. Their first major-label single Take Shelter appeared in the August — as well a collaboration with the Magician on Sunlight a month later — followed by the release of Desire. In 2015, on the heels of winning the prestigious BBC Sound Of award, Years & Years released their debut full-length album Communion in July.
Years & Years have been named the winners of the prestigious BBC Music Sound Of 2015. Last year, the same award helped launch the career of the million selling, Grammy award nominated Sam Smith. The prize, which is voted for by music industry tastemakers, aims to judge the artist most likely to succeed over the next 12 months. Years & Years won after having established a fanbase through their self-made videos and a support slot on Smith’s sold out 2014 tour.
2015 has seen Olly, Emre and Mikey burst into the spotlight as one of the years’ most exciting prospects with most recent single King topping the charts at the end of March. Their third single to be playlisted at Radio 1 and became the 3rd most played track of the year across the network (after Ellie Goulding and Mark Ronson).
“It’s pretty overwhelming,” said frontman Olly Alexander, who is joined in the band by bassist Mikey Goldsworthy and keyboard player Emre Turkmen. “It’s a mixture of emotions – mainly so grateful and happy that we’ve got this recognition, but also quite terrified of crashing and burning!”
He added: “We’ve all been doing our own thing for long enough now, so we’re not going to let this disrupt us.”
