Olly Alexander confirms name change to crowd at Radio 1's Big Weekend

Pop star Olly Alexander addressed the crowd at Radio 1's Big Weekend Festival, confirming he's changed his name.

Olly is fresh from representing the UK at Eurovision, with the poor guy receiving zero points from the public vote and finishing 18th out of 25.

He's taking the disappointing result in good humour though, saying as he introduced the song he performed at the contest: “And now for the song that was only 17 places away from winning the Eurovision Song Contest, it's ‘Dizzy’.”

Eurovision aside, Olly is best known for his role in 2021 Channel 4 drama It's a Sin, which saw him nominated for a BAFTA, as well as the lead singer of the band Years & Years.

The 33-year-old confirmed that the band's name was a thing of the past. (Jo Hale/Redferns/Getty)

Years & Years originally consisted of Alexander and co-founders Mikey Golsworthy and Emre Türkmen and released two albums together, 2015’s Communion and 2018’s Palo Santo, managing to top the UK Singles Chart with the hit song 'King'.

The band performed together from 2013 before splitting in 2021, after which Alexander released 2022 album Night Call under the band name as a solo project - think Panic! at the Disco.

At Radio 1's Big Weekend, which took place in Luton, Alexander some of played the band's early songs such as 'Desire', 'Eyes Shut' and 'Shine', from 2014-2015.

He was dressed in a black top and white jeans at the festival, also playing 1987 Pet Shop Boys hit 'It's a Sin' on the piano.

The 33-year-old also addressed the crowd at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend Festival, announcing that he would be performing under a different name from now on.

The pop star says that he will now be performing under his own name. (Jo Hale/Redferns)

Alexander said to fans at Stockwood Park: “Listen, listen, I don’t know how to tell you how good it feels to be back in the UK, doing a show, do you know what this is my first ever show as Olly Alexander.

“I used to be in Years & Years, I used to be Years & Years and now I’m just me."

Following his results at Eurovision, the singer was defended by his father, David Thornton, who said to the BBC that he enjoyed 'every minute' of his son's performance.

He said: “To me it’s a real surprise the public didn’t sort of connect with that song, though the juries gave it a really good score.

“This is going to be a fantastic learning experience for him, he’s had a wonderful time out there.

“It’s just one more step in wherever he’s going to go next."