Olly Alexander Quotes

I was such a big Kiss and Van Halen fan, Yngwie Malmsteen, Racer X... all that stuff. I loved everybody.

So when I got to be about 13 or 14, I started listening - even though my parents music was way cool - to contemporary hard rock at that time, which was Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Ted Nugent and all that, and that's just where I came from.

My influences are Alice in Chains and Elton John.

I've got my old favorites like The Eagles and Bon Jovi.

My older brother was into Creedence Clearwater Revival and ZZ Top, and my sister was into pop radio. So somewhere along the line, I got into Ozzy Osbourne, REO Speedwagon, Heart, Pat Benetar, Journey.

I like Journey, Bad Company, Soundgarden and Aerosmith.

I was in a party band in the early '80s, and we played Sabbath and Ozzy songs as well as Rush and Van Halen... all that kinds of stuff.

Well, what I love about '80s rock music is the amazing, fantastic melodies.

My favorite type of music to sing and to listen to, you know, rock. It's not always metal, but you know, half the time it is. Metal's cool, you know? Not everybody on 'American Idol' listens to metal.

Rock music is niche.

I am the man who put the hair in hair metal.

I grew up listening to classic rock - the Kinks, Genesis, The Who, Pink Floyd.

I've always loved Def Leppard, ever since I was little.

I was a closet Journey fan when I was growing up.

I was just obsessed with bands like Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Everclear - those were shows I was going to. A lot of those bands definitely inspired me. Those bands' songs are powerful enough that they can last forever.

We all grew up with Black Sabbath. I mean, there's no secret there. Any of us, any of the members of any band I've ever been in, or anyone I've ever worked with.

I actually grew up on rock music; that's what was played around my house. I listened to Led Zepplin, AC/DC, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Nirvana, Aerosmith - really almost everything.

Where I lived, on Long Island, you had the radio stations that always played Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and AC/DC and all that. I grew up on all that stuff.

I love Eighties rock.

I think it'd be weird for us to do hard rock.

I get my inspiration from a lot of bands actually. I really like AC/DC, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and new bands. I like The Pretty Reckless.

I love heavy metal, Metallica. I'm into Jefferson Starship and acid rock.

American rock was, and still is to some extent, a closed shop. REO Speedwagon, Toto, Boston, Foreigner all those bands, and I wouldn't be able to tell which from which.

Growing up, my parents loved Bon Jovi and Boston and Rush and all that, but it wasn't really connecting with me. I was still in my boy-band phase - Backstreet Boys for life!

The music that I really jive with is the ELO sound and maybe Wings as well.