'I imagined myself as a wanton sex goddess, with a very bad man between my thighs.'

It's not exactly what you expect to come out of a 26 year-old's mouth when describing a day's work, but Years and Years front man Olly Alexander isn't exactly your average twenty-something.

Since rising to fame with the British electronica band last year, after winning the BBC Sound of 2015 award, Olly – along with bandmates bass guitarist Mikey Goldsworthy and keyboardist Emre Türkmen – has gone on to critical acclaim with a hit number one single 'King', four BRIT Award nominations and a sell-out headline show at Wembley Arena.

Not bad for a group of guys who recruited Alexander after hearing him singing in the shower.

Today, the trio invited ELLE down to Twickenham to the set of the music video for their latest single 'Meteorite', featured on the newly released film, Bridget Jones's Baby.

Years and Years Meteorite filming  | ELLE UKpinterest
Phil Smithies

The spotlight is firmly trained on Olly, who is wearing a Swarovski-encrusted culotte-style catsuit that I'm told weighs more than a stone – on one of the hottest days of the year, I might add. What a trooper.

Within a short space of time on set, we've seen him dance the same choreography 11 times, under boiling hot lights with minimal air conditioning and a bevvy of stylists, make-up artists and seamstresses buzzing around to make minor tweaks to the outfit between takes.

'It was tough,' he admitted after filming. 'I was dancing all day and I couldn't sit down or pee – I was sewn into [the catsuit]. But, I felt like I was attending my own sparkly space wedding, which is ultimately a fantasy fulfilled.'

Years and Years Meteorite filming  | ELLE UKpinterest
Phil Smithies

What's evident from the shoot is Olly's clear vision for how he, and his fellow dancers, should appear on stage and in music videos.

'For me, it's a dream to be involved in the design process,' he says of his input into his bedazzled outfit. 'To get the chance to create something bespoke is everything, especially for a kid that watched every episode of Project Runway and America's Next Top Model – I'm heavily into that kind of sh*t.'

Years and Years Meteorite filming | ELLE UKpinterest
Phil Smithies

Coline Bach, the band's stylist – who's worked with the likes of Tove Lo and Kiesza – tells us that the catsuit is covered in approximately 86,000 Swarovski crystals, graded in colour, from dark grey to light grey.

So, how long does it take to place almost 90,000 crystals on an outfit?

'Approximately 600 hours. It took six people 20 hours a day to individually place the crystals on. Olly wanted the outfit to be moveable as he's required to dance throughout the video. I think he looks like a diamond-encrusted knight,' Bach explains of the piece, designed by Lara Jensen, who has previously worked with Beyoncé.

Years and Years 'Meteorite' music video | ELLE UKpinterest
Phil Smithies

After a busy summer touring festivals, the band is hoping to take some time off.

'I'm going to go to L.A for a few weeks and then I want to go on holiday which I haven't done in five years. I want to go by myself,' reveals Olly.

So no sign of a second album any time soon?

'We're not making any firm decisions on what we want the new album to sound like so we're going to give it a few months. We want to do something different. I'm really into up-tempo disco, throwback soul sounds and dance music at the moment so I'd like to try out some of that.'

We just hope we get to see more of Olly channelling his inner wanton sex goddess...

Watch the official video for 'Meteorite' below:

youtubeView full post on Youtube

'Meteorite' was released as past of the Bridget Jones' Baby Original Soundtrack on 13 September. Buy it here or stream on Spotify here.

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Katie O'Malley
Site Director

Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.