Olly Alexander on Girls Aloud’s sweet response to new LP Polari – and how Derek Jarman helped inspire it
“I kept going back to who my heroes were, like Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and George Michael” the star previously told us of the LP
Olly Alexander stepped out in style at the Attitude 101, empowered by Bentley event at the Rosewood London yesterday (Friday 14 February 2025) following the release of his new album, Polari.
Attitude’s latest cover star was joined at the celebration of 101 trailblazing LGBTQs across different industries by the likes of Doctor Who writer Juno Dawson and The Masked Singer’s Harriet Rose.
“Girls Aloud said how much they loved the album – they said congratulations!” Olly shared of the response to Polari, while chatting with Attitude on the red carpet. (The former Years & Years singer performed with the band at last year’s Brighton Pride.)
“I was touched; that was amazing!” he said, before joking of two more of his former collaborators: “I haven’t heard from Elton or Kylie yet!”
“I’ve been reading his diaries and watching his films” – Olly Alexander on Derek Jarman
When asked for his personal LGBTQ trailblazer for 2025 (“there are so many!”), Olly chose “Derek Jarman – he really inspired me for my new album Polari.”
Late filmmaking icon Jarman is known for the unique queer sensibilities in movies like Jubilee (1978), Caravaggio (1986) The Last of England (1987) and Blue (1993).
“I’ve been reading his diaries and watching his films,” explained ‘When We Kiss’ singer Olly, who discussed the 80s vibe of his latest LP in his recent Attitude cover interview.
The star previously told us of the LP: “I kept going back to who my heroes were, like Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and George Michael.”
“The sounds are too loud and a bit janky,” the 34-year-old said in his Attitude cover interview of the album’s sonic vibe.
“It’s an approach that is the antithesis to how you make music today, where things tend to be slicker and about creating sound beds.
“With this record, we were trying to go for a much more maximalist approach.”
Issue 363 of Attitude magazine is available to order here, or alongside 15 years of back issues on the Attitude app.
