Olly Alexander review: ‘Celebration, liberation and scintillation’

Without question, the last three years have undoubtedly been a bit of a whirlwind for Alexander. Following the departures of Emre Türkmen and Mikey Goldsworthy, Alexander released the final Years & Years album as a solo project in 2022 before going on to carve out a career under his own name. Last spring, he represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest before releasing ‘Polari’ in February under his own name. On what was the best-selling show of the Up Close and Polari tour, it is clear to see that Alexander’s confidence as a solo artist continues to grow and that performing solo is something that the singer is perfectly suited to.

As a performer, you can’t help but feed off the 34-year-old’s incredible energy. His vocals are captivating in a live setting; he exudes humility and warmth; he’s charismatic, charming, comedic, and playful, as evidenced by the singer addressing himself as “your local angry homosexual”; and he had the audience hooked from the moment he arrived on the stage and exploded into a rendition of the punchy ‘Polari’ before performing tracks such as the bubbly synth-heavy ‘I Know’ and the irresistibly catchy ‘Make Me A Man’, which goes down a treat in a live setting.

Unsurprisingly, tracks from Years & Years’ impressive catalogue featured in the set, and the material blended perfectly with Alexander’s ‘Polari’. Launching into a rendition of ‘If You’re Over Me’, the impactful drumming and distorted electric guitar stood out on a track that sparked a mass singalong. The synth riff-driven ‘King’ remains a crowd-pleasing anthem that leaves the audience singing their hearts out; the Justin Timberlake-esque ‘Starstruck’ is a rush of adrenaline to the bloodstream, and the soaring harmonies from Alexander’s backing singers on the piano-led rendition of ‘Rendezvous’ are spine-tingling in a live setting.

Midway through the set, Alexander brought out the trousers he wore at the aforementioned Eurovision Song Contest last spring and joked that he was saving them for “the Olly Alexander museum” before performing a rendition of ‘Dizzy’ with a twist. Rather than performing the track as the upbeat, sugary, electronic dance-pop studio version, Alexander opted for a stripped-back approach in a live setting as he performed a piano-led rendition of the song, and it was a moment that left you speechless.

As the first part of the set came to a close, ‘Desire’ exploded with fizzy synths, and the lyric “Is it love that I’m feeling for you?” rings around the venue in a moment of pure joy. An electric guitar-driven rendition of ‘It’s A Sin’ showcased the raw power of Alexander’s vocals before renditions of ‘Eyes Shut’, the dance-inducing ‘When We Kiss’ and the dancefloor anthem ‘Sweet Talker’ close out the night. After returning to the stage for the encore, the emotional ‘Heal You’ drew an emphatic reaction with the tweaked lyric “From Manchester out to the world”, and the exhilarating singalong from ‘Shine’ ends the night with Alexander in red-hot form, and it’s without a doubt that the audience has been left starstruck.