Written by: Oliver Alexander Thornton, Resul Emre Turkmen, Michael Thomas “Mikey” Goldsworthy, Mark Ralph and Greg Kurstin Produced by: Years & Years and Ralph Album: Communion UK release: July 2015 UK chart peak: 2
King gave Years & Years the big breakthrough smash they needed, and its follow-up Shine established them as true long-term saviours of boypop.
Olly and co have an incredible knack for emotionally complex songs (Sanctify! Take Shelter! Even King!), but I love how… lovely Shine is?! How tentatively optimistic and shimmery it is, despite its melancholic edge. Also when it’s performed live and the backing vocalists do a full harmony on “lightning” and “shining” in the chorus, OOOH the feelings!!
I’ll be writing about my favourite 100 pop songs of the decade; one a day for the last 100 days of 2019. They’re in no particular order, except the Top 10 – which will (obviously) come in late December.
