Last time Olly Alexander brought a Years & Years show to London he was headlining Wembley Arena. Nine months on, the It’s A Sin star reprised his Night Call tour at the West End’s buzziest new venue, with an intimate performance as part of BRITs Week presented by Mastercard for War Child.
It wasn’t just the 2,000 lucky ballot winners revelling in the exclusivity of last night’s gig: Alexander was clearly relishing the opportunity to see the whites of an audience’s eyes again. Appearing endearingly buoyed by nervous energy, the five-times BRIT nominee zipped through the highlights of his last three albums, pausing to showcase a lookalike doll brought by a fan, and to thank the audience for “supporting the amazing work that War Child does in countries like Yemen, Afghanistan and Ukraine.”
With its giant LED screens and cavernous, club-style layout, HERE proved a neat fit for Night Call’s boldly hedonistic narrative. Video interludes depicted Alexander roaming the streets at night, engaging in various after-hours trystes. Meanwhile, the record’s pounding electro-pop was brought to life by a drummer, a multi-instrumentalist and a pair of backing singers doubling up as dancers. Indeed, the latter’s vocal blend proved one of the show’s enduring highlights, their silky harmonies helping the likes of Sweet Talker and Muscle truly soar.
Alexander’s own vocal talents were a little less consistent, offering gorgeous melismatic moments alongside the odd bum note. High points included a soulful outing of his Magician-collaboration Sunlight and a cover of Pet Shop Boys classic It’s A Sin that began with Alexander playing piano and climaxed with a cacophony of triumphant synths. Crave was less successful, its challenging falsetto chorus proving a leap too far at points.
Throughout, Alexander proved an affable presence, generously offering to take BeReals for fans, and conspiratorially admitting to muddling up the setlist. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” he confided following Hallucination, displaying a level of self-doubt that felt at odds with the sexually-liberated choreography on display.
But it’s this very relatability that makes him such a likeable frontman. And though it perhaps wasn’t a performance with the polish of last year’s arena shows, any imperfections were ultimately outweighed by the sheer goodwill fostered by Alexander’s enthusiasm.
