Years & Years

Years & Years
Years & Years at Festival SOS 4.8 in Murcia, 2015.
Background information
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Genres	Electropop synthpop indie pop electronica
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Polydor Interscope
Associated acts	The Magician Clean Bandit Tove Lo
Website	yearsandyearsofficial.com
Members	Olly Alexander Mikey Goldsworthy Emre Türkmen
Past members	Noel Leeman Olivier Subria

Years and Years are a British electronica trio founded in London. The band consists of frontman and keyboard player Olly Alexander, bass guitarist Mikey Goldsworthy, and keyboardist Emre Türkmen.^[1] Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements, with Flying Lotus, Diplo, Radiohead and Jai Paul being their core influences. Their biggest hit single, "King", reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, while their later single "Shine", reached number 2.

Career

Early years

The band was formed in 2010, after Goldsworthy moved to London from Australia and met Türkmen online.^[2] Shortly afterwards, Alexander joined the band as lead vocalist after Goldsworthy heard him singing in the shower.^[3] The band was originally a five-piece group, with Noel Leeman and Olivier Subria.^[4] Leeman left the band in 2013.^[5]

2012–present: Communion

Years & Years' first single, "I Wish I Knew", was released in July 2012 on the Good Bait label, with the band performing as a five-piece group.^[6] In 2013, the group signed to the French label Kitsuné as a three-piece and released their second single, "Traps", in September 2013.^[7] Their third single, "Real", was released by Kitsuné in February 2014 and its music video featured an appearance by Alexander's Peter and Alice co-star, Ben Whishaw, and the former Misfits actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.^[8] In 2014, the group signed to Polydor Records and released their fourth single, "Take Shelter". The EP reached number one on the iTunes UK Singles Electronic Chart.^[9] In December 2014, the group's fifth single, "Desire", was released, peaking at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.^[10] In January 2015, Years & Years' sixth single, "King", was previewed on BBC Radio 1 and selected as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record of the day.^[11] In January 2015, Years & Years won the prestigious BBC Sound of 2015 award.^[12] Years & Years were also nominated for the Critics Choice Award at the Brit Awards in 2015.^[13] "King", released on 1 March, reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on 8 March 2015. On 18 March 2015, Years & Years announced their first album, Communion. It was released on 10 July 2015 by Polydor and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one.^[14][15]

Members

• Olly Alexander – vocals, keyboards, synthesisers (2010–present)
• Mikey Goldsworthy – synthesisers, keyboards, bass guitar, acoustic bass guitar (2010–present)
• Emre Türkmen – synthesisers, keyboards, beats, samples, sampling, sequencers, laptop, acoustic guitar (2010–present)

Live members

• Dylan Bell – drums (2014–present)^[16]

Discography

• Communion (2015)

Awards and nowminations

Year	Organisation	Award	Work	Result	Ref.
2014	Popjustice	Popjustice £20 Music Prize 2014	"Take Shelter"	Nominated	[17]
2015	BBC Music Awards	British Artist of the Year	Years & Years		[18]
	BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards	Best British Group			[19]
		Best British Single
	BRIT Awards	Critics Choice			[20]
	MTV Brand New	Brand New For 2015
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Best UK & Ireland Act			[21]
		Best Push			[22]
	Q	Best New Act			[23]
	Attitude	Album of the Year Award		Won	[24]
	BBC Sound of 2015	Sound of 2015			[25]
	European Border Breakers Award	European Border Breakers Award			[26]
	GAFFA	Best New International Artist Act 2015			[27]
	O2	Artist's Recognition Award			[28]
	mtvU	Artist to Watch			[29]
	Wing	Music Awards			[30]
	UK Music Video Awards	Best Artist		Nominated	[31]
		Best Interactive Video	"King"
		Best Pop Video
	MTV Video Music Awards Japan	Best New Artist Video		Won	[32]
	XITE	Most Played Music Video			[33]
2016	BRIT Awards	British Artist Video		Nominated	[34]
		British Single
		British Breakthrough Act	Years & Years
		British Group

References

1. "Years & Years". Last.fm. 28 October 2014.
2. O'Brien, George (20 February 2014). "Introducing Years & Years". The Line Of Best Fit.
3. Rudick, Clarke (9 April 2014). "Real Talk with Tears & Years". Opening Ceremony.
4. "Years & Years". Indie Shuffle. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
5. "Years & Years Live At Rescue Rooms". Rescue Rooms. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
6. "Years & Years – I Wish I Knew". The Music Ninja. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
7. Cragg, George (7 August 2013). "Years & Years – Traps: New music". The Guardian.
8. Baggs, Michael (20 May 2014). "Years & Years talk tours, 'Real' success, their mums and more". Gigwise.
9. Etheart, Zac. "Passing time with Years & Years". Interview.
10. "YEARS & YEARS". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
11. "Years & Years - King". Radio 1. BBC. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
12. Youngs, Ian (9 January 2015). "BBC News - Years & Years top BBC Sound Of 2015 list". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
13. Singh, Anita (15 January 2015). "Brit Awards nominations list 2015: year of the male". Telegraph. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
14. "Years & Years on Twitter: OK you can now pre-order our debut album Communion out 10-07-15". Retrieved 15 April 2015.
15. "Years & Years’ debut at Number 1: "This is the best day of our lives"". The Official UK Charts Company. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
16. https://twitter.com/Vevo_PL/status/591938721341173760
17. "The 2014 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: as it happened". Popjustice. Popjustice Ltd. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
18. "BBC Music Awards 2015: Shortlisted Artists Revealed!".
19. "BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards".
20. "Brit Awards 2015: James Bay wins Critics' Choice prize". The Independent. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
21. "2015 MTV Europe Music Awards - BEST UK & IRELAND ACT".
22. "2015 MTV Europe Music Awards - BEST PUSH".
23. "Q Awards 2015 shortlist announced!".
24. "Attitude’s Album of the Year Award: ‘Communion’ by Years & Years".
25. "Years & Years top BBC Sound Of 2015 list".
26. "Years & Years win 2016 European Border Breakers Award".
27. "Se Years & Years takke for GAFFA-Prisen".
28. "O2 Music".
29. "Winners from the 2015 mtvU Woodie Awardst".
30. "Winq Music Award winners Years & Years".
31. "Nominees Announced For 'UK Music Video Awards'".
32. "WINNERS OF THE MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2015 ANNOUNCED".
33. "YEARS & YEARS ONTVANGT EERSTE XITE AWARD 2015".
34. "Brit Awards 2016: Adele, James Bay and Years & Years lead nominations".

External links

• Official website