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The UK synthpop project Years & Years started off in 2010 — first as a group, then as the solo project from frontman Olly Alexander. There were three Years & Years albums, starting with 2015’s Communion, and the most recent, 2022’s Night Call, was just Alexander working on his own. Earlier this year, Alexander released the single “Dizzy” under his own name, and now he says that he’ll just be Olly Alexander going forward. Years & Years is over.
Recently, Olly Alexander performed on his biggest-ever stage, as “Dizzy” was chosen to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. (Alexander signed a statement demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, but he refused calls to drop out of the contest, which allowed Israel to participate.) The song got zero points from the voting public, which is not great. On Saturday, Alexander played his first post-Eurovision show at Radio 1’s Big Weekend fest, and he told the crowd that he was finishes with Years & Years.
As NME reports, Alexander said, “Listen, listen, I don’t know have to tell you how good it feels to be back in the UK, doing a show. Do you know what? This is my first ever show as Olly Alexander. I used to be in Years & Years, I used to be Years & Years, and now I’m just me.” Alexander also introduced “Dizzy” as “the song that was only 17 places away from winning the Eurovision Song Contest.”
Recently, Olly Alexander has been dealing with the criticism that “Dizzy,” which he co-wrote with producer Danny L Harle, sounds too close to the Pet Shop Boys’ 1987 classic “It’s A Sin.” Alexander has named the Pet Shop Boys as one of the song’s inspirations. In 2021, Years & Years released a cover of “It’s A Sin,” and Alexander sang it with the Pet Shop Boys at the Brit Awards in 2021. Alexander also sang his “It’s A Sin” cover the song at the Radio 1 show on Saturday.
But PSB singer Neil Tennant says that he doesn’t think “Dizzy” is a ripoff, telling NME, “When I read people saying it sounded similar, I immediately listened to it, and I don’t think it does. But personally, I always think Pet Shop Boys sound like something else to what everyone else does. I think I hear what it’s meant to sound like.”