Live Review: Olly Alexander – 7th April 2025 – London Palladium, London, UK

Olly Alexander (formerly Years & Years) released his first fully solo album Polari on 7 Feb 2025, and embarked on a tour with stops in Europe and 6 major UK stops. We caught the show on its final stop at the iconic London Palladium on 7th April.

As the name suggests, the Up Close and Polari tour is smaller in scale and more intimate than his previous Night Call tour (billed as Years & Years) and featured  simple stage decor and no backup dancers. Joined by a guitarist, drummer, and two backing vocalists, he started off the show with a trio of songs from the new album Polari, I Know, and Make Me a Man. The latter was co-written with Alexander by Vince Clark (of Erasure) and has a distinctive Erasure-style sound.

Occasionally changing jackets from a trunk just off stage or making light conversation with the audience, he went through his repertoire of songs mostly from the new album, as well as his best known hits from Years & Years. For Dizzy, the song he performed at last year’s Eurovision song contest, he  completely rearranged it as a haunting piano ballad which really worked.

Alexander is equally as strong performing acoustically at piano as he is with full backing, and his renditions of Worship, Breathe, and Eyes Shut were fantastic. Keeping his own choreography simple, the show was cohesive and well-paced as he interspersed his dance-pop hits with acoustic ballads and Alexander is a confident, refined, and seasoned performer who can really command the stage.

Also included were crowd favourites King, the world wide hit that made Years & Years famous, as well as the Pet Shop Boys cover of It’s a Sin and the very catchy Sweet Talker, his collaboration with Galantis. Closing out the amazing set was an encore of Heal You, and my personal favourite Shine.