Olly Alexander has shared how his now famous duet with Sir Elton John was initiated by Sir John himself via a personal phone call. The singer’s teamed up to perform at the Brits Awards this year, and their performance has already started to make history.

The ‘Years & Years’ singer spoke to the newspaper The Daily Star’s Wired column about the life-changing moment.

“Elton phoned me and asked if I would be up for doing a special performance for the BRITs. When I was on stage with him, I thought back to being a little kid watching him at the BRIT Awards and I thought, ‘I just can’t believe I’m doing this.’”

Sir Elton John and Olly Alexander’s appearance at the Brit Awards saw the duo perform a duet, covering the Pet Shop Boys 1987 hit ‘It’s a Sin’. The duet has already become legendary, for the artist’s performance as well as the cause and message in which it supported. The pair’s duet was in support of Sir Elton John’s AIDs Foundation and has also been released as a single in support of the Foundation.

The ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ singer set up the foundation in 1992 and since then the organisation has provided support for prevention, provided support services and has formed education programs to support people living with HIV and AIDS. Since its inception, the foundation has raised millions to support programs and people within fifty-five countries.

The song choice may have been influenced by multi-talented Alexander’s star turn in the TV series with the same name, ‘It’s a Sin’. In the Channel 4 show, which aired in January 2021, the actor plays Russell T Davies, a leading role that has gained 30-year-old Alexander respect from his peers as well as critics. The show, which is set in the 1980s and 1990s, depicts the effect in which the AIDs epidemic had within the gay community.

Sir Elton John’s husband David Furnish and chair of Sir Elton John’s AIDS Foundation, gave an emotional and touching speech to introduce the performance, where he compared the current COVID-19 pandemic to the AIDs crisis within 1981.

“When a new virus broke out in 2020, the whole world reacted immediately. Governments took action, cities closed down, scientists created vaccines, and we all talked about it night and day. Quite rightly, given the pain and suffering which has been reaped on so many people the world over. But when the same thing happened in 1981, there was silence. That was the year HIV arrived, but people with HIV and AIDs were treated with ignorance, fear, shame, and stigma. That silence allowed AIDs to grow into the greatest disease affecting our planet. But we fought back. Campaigners and activists and allies shouted down the silence and demanded to be heard. We refused to let men, women, and children die in shame, and by fighting together, we’ve changed the world.”

The studio single is available to stream and download on all platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and YouTube. Proceeds from the sale of the single will go towards the Elton John Aids Foundation.

Click here to listen to the single.