Years and Years' new single inspired by ABBA

29 September 2021

Years & Years' new single, 'Crave', is inspired by ABBA.

Olly Alexander

Olly Alexander - who is now the sole member of the pop group - has revealed the Swedish pop icons' "weird" story arcs in their songs influenced his latest track from the upcoming album 'Night Call'.

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, he said: "Well, you know who was an inspiration in the studio? Well, amongst others, ABBA.You know how ABBA just take you on a journey? And suddenly there'll be a shift or a change, and you're just like, 'Oh, take me with you.' So, yeah. They're so weird."

Olly, 31, also revealed he channelled "slightly deranged sexual energy" into the LP, which sees him take on a character who he admitted he has been "at different times" in his life.

He explained: "I really wanted to go into this sort of twisted fantasy...

'"Crave"' is a good example of this slightly deranged sexual energy that kind of became a bit of a Muse, this character that I very much have been at different times, so that's throughout the record. And I think it's a little bit more assertive than maybe the previous ones. Exactly. Ask for what you want, guys... I feel definitely more solid."

The 'It's A Sin' actor admitted that amid the COVID-19 pandemic he wasn't in the right "headspace" to work on the record, as he further teased that fans can expect the collection to be "a little sexy" and "a little thrilling".

On returning to music after working on Russell T. Davies' TV drama series - which focuses on a group of gay men during the HIV crisis in the UK - he said: "From the moment I met Russell T. Davies, the writer, and read the script, I was like, 'Oh, this is so special. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.' But I think, coming out of that, and then obviously the pandemic and everything that's happened, really put a pause to getting music ready, and I wasn't in a headspace where I could focus at all, like a lot of people.

"So I'm just excited to be coming back. So much about the music I make is all about escapism, but I really wanted this one to be somewhere you're going to have fun, and it's going to be a little sexy, a little thrilling ... And so I just wanted to really bring all that stuff out, and have fun, like... God."

Listen to the full interview now on Apple Music 1.