Following their performance of the Pet Shop Boys classic “It’s a sin” at the BRIT Awards, Elton John and Years & Years have officially released a new version of Olly Alexander’s brilliant cover.
Produced by Stuart Price (The Killers, Madonna, Scissor Sisters, Dua Lipa) and Pet Shop Boys the single sets a somber tone with Elton’s unmistakable vocals and piano and Olly’s wistful vocals, before unveiling itself as a euphoric, floor-filling anthem.
The collaboration and performance were inspired by the Russell T Davies hit TV series, It’s a Sin, a five-part series set in 1980s London during the AIDS epidemic, starring Alexander in the leading role.
The single is in support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Founded in 1992, the Elton John AIDS Foundation is one of the leading independent AIDS organizations in the world.
Elton and his husband, filmmaker David Furnish, will also be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at AIDS Walk: Live at Home 2021, a virtual fundraising event hosted by GMHC of New York and AIDS Walk San Francisco Foundation. The event airs Sunday, May 16th at 1:00 p.m. ET/ 10:00 a.m. PST on local television stations and on streaming services.
Hosted online due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the ceremony will combine seven AIDS Walk events from cities around the country — Austin, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles — into one fundraising show.
John and Furnish have a long history of working with advocacy groups in battling the AIDS epidemic. In 1991, John helped kick off the first AIDS Walk in Atlanta, Georgia. Furnish currently serves as the foundation’s Chairman of their Board of Trustees.
In addition to presenting John and Furnish with their awards, AIDS Walk: Live at Home 2021 will feature appearances by Billy Porter, Ann-Margret, Danielle Brooks, Heather Headley, Rita Moreno, Tony Goldwyn, Liz Callaway, Alex Newell, Rosie Perez, Carson Kressley, George Takei, and contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Buy or stream Elton John And Years & Years’ “It’s a sin.”