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Belgrave said artists like Olly Alexander have changed the music landscape for gay singers

The London-based singer has dropped his new single Riviera

By Steve Brown

Laurie Belgrave said gay artists like Olly Alexander have changed the music landscape.

The singer/songwriter – who performs under his surname now – started performing when he was just 14 after landing a place in South London’s BRIT School, which has pushed out stars including Amy Winehouse, Jessie J and Adele.

But he admitted when he was in a Stokes-inspired guitar band called Jenner’s End, there were conversations about how to address his sexuality.

In an exclusive interview in Attitude’s summer issue, the 27 year old said: “When I was in a band as a teenager, there were still conversations such as, ‘How should we approach the gay thing?’

“But now it’s changed, thanks to a number of artists, including Olly Alexander, who have changed the landscape.

“If nothing else, I owe that honesty to 15 and 16 year olds who are still working things out.

“I owe it to them to be real about the fact that I’m a gay guy, I go out with men and it’s great.”

Belgrave’s new hypnotic EP ‘Riviera’ has been released now and can be streamed  iTunes Stream, iTunes and Spotify.

Watch the official music video below:

Read Belgrave’s full interview in Attitude’s new summer issue, which also comes with a two covers featuring Adam Lambert and Sense8 star Miguel Angel Silvestre. Buy now and take advantage of our best-ever subscription offers: 3 issues for £3 in print, 13 issues for £19.99 to download to any device.