Olly Alexander review – part night creature, part light entertainer

Palladium, LondonThe singer and actor hints at an outre new synth-heavy sound, drawn largely from latest album Polari. He stops short, though, of scaring his daytime TV fans“I’m all about playful subversion,” declares Olly Alexander with a grin on the final night of his UK tour. Clad in a series of outfits whose shiny buttons nod towards London’s pearly kings and queens and the dressing-up box – there’s one handily located on the left side of the stage – he is outlining the essence of Polari, the slang once used by the LGBTQ+ community, showfolk and the denizens of London’s Soho, as was.Evolving out of the vocabularies of Italian immigrants and Travellers to evade the understanding of law enforcement and mainstream society in the 19th and early-mid 20th centuries, Polari also doubles as the title of Alexander’s latest, queer-club pop-themed album. Released two months ago, it was the first under his own name; previously, he had traded as Years & Years, first as a band, then as a solo project. Continue reading...

Comments

Similar News

Olly Murs says scrutiny of his body is 'madness'

Olly Murs ‘egg-cited’ to announce he and wife expecting second child

'I'm in the best shape of my life,' says Olly Murs

Culture

Barbra Streisand’s star-studded new duets album to feature some of pop’s biggest names

Cause of death for Gene Hackman’s wife confirmed in autopsy report

EastEnders star to make sudden return after Queen Vic explosion

Now You See Me 3 promotion rewards fans with $119 for texting mystery number

Nintendo Switch gets major update with game-sharing feature before Switch 2 launch — how to download it

Cheat: Unfinished Business — here's which couples stayed together

What Comes After Trauma and a TikTok Hit? Gigi Perez Is Finding Out.

35 unmissable movies joining Netflix in May including iconic crime thrillers

Vatican issues 'sede vacante' postage stamps valid until a new pope is elected

Tech moguls flock to Washington to kick-start American reindustrialization efforts versus China

Lockheed Martin loses experimental satellite after launch goes wrong

Debbie Allen urges co-star Ellen Pompeo to return to Grey’s Anatomy

ITV awarded top Bafta honour for ‘changing hearts and minds’ with Mr Bates vs the Post Office

Katy Perry says she felt like ‘human piñata’ during backlash to space flight

Adorable moment Beyoncé’s daughter Rumi steals show in stage debut at Cowboy Carter tour

New Gruffalo book to hit the shelves - by original author and artist

Reboot of BBC detective drama Bergerac confirmed for series 2 - here's when

Minecraft Movie is biggest film of 2025 so far in UK and Ireland

Marvel seeks to exit Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni legal battle over ‘Nicepool’ character

One of the world’s biggest boybands confirm reunion talks this summer

Netflix series with 100% Rotten Tomatoes score saved from presumed cancellation

Molly-Mae Hague confronted by sister about Tommy Fury reconciliation after 'problems'

Malpractice season two: who's in the all-new cast?

Kevin Bacon performs song from his classic 80s film weeks after ‘banning’ it

Wuthering Heights casting director says even her friends ‘rampaged’ over the actor choices

Star Wars character recast in Disney series Andor due to scheduling conflict

Olivia Colman’s unusual crumpets topping unveiled in new Warburtons ad

Ed Sheeran shares Taylor Swift’s Kanye West dig in throwback photo

Theatre critics to recognise Scotland's best panto for first time

The Names by Florence Knapp review – What's in a name? Rather a lot in this intriguing debut novel

Exclusive: Comic Strip Presents…to be screened at Edinburgh Fringe

My Master Builder at Wyndham’s Theatre review: Ewan McGregor's first stage appearance in 17 years is a dud

Epic Games offers free Fortnite Stormtrooper skin and Star Wars game – how to claim both

London Sinfonietta at Southbank Centre review: perfect symbiosis of motion and movement

80s rock icon finally reveals tragic reason behind infamous rift with bandmate

Katy Perry felt 'battered and bruised' by backlash

Steven Spielberg hails epic film as ‘greatest American movie of all time’

Theo Barklem-Biggs: 'I am interested in how men relate to each other, and compulsion'

Noughties icons accidentally announce they’re playing Glastonbury 2025

Katy Perry says she’s been made a ‘human piñata’ after backlash to space flight

Major Gianni Versace exhibition to open in London

Some of the TV shows and movies we're excited for this summer

Georgian filmmaker embedded in a birth clinic for a year to make abortion drama

24 New Books to Read in May: Stephen King, Ocean Vuong, Alison Bechdel and more

A Novelist Finds Unsettling Echoes in a Nazi-Era Filmmaker’s Compromises

Book Review: ‘Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves,’ by Sophie Gilbert

Bake Off’s Paul Hollywood swoops in on helicopter to rescue pilot after crash

Five pivotal moments in Pope Francis' relations with Native communities in the Americas

Chinese astronauts' return to earth delayed owing to weather

Amazon launches its first internet satellites to compete against SpaceX's Starlinks

Adams family values: Commission drums up support for John Adams memorial

Amazon launches its first batch of satellites in bid to compete with SpaceX's Starlinks

TikTok users gamble on the next pope as Vatican sets May 7 conclave

Decision looming for Trump administration on first PFAS drinking water limits

The Memphis church pivotal in Martin Luther King Jr.'s final days suffers a devastating fire

Betsy Arakawa, Gene Hackman's wife, died from hantavirus, autopsy confirms

Largest U.S. teachers union finds educators' salaries lagging behind inflation

Starbucks' new drive-thru in Texas is the coffee giant's first 3D printed store in the US

First accuser takes the witness stand at Harvey Weinstein's #MeToo retrial

The global breakfast table: What's trending in morning meals