’30 years of fearless representation’: Placebo cover Attitude ahead of collecting Attitude Pride Award (EXCLUSIVE)
Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal reflect on reclaiming a pub insult with their hit 'Nancy Boy' and three decades of defiance, saying "We never hid"
By Ryan Butcher
Placebo‘s founding members Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal are to appear on the cover of Attitude magazine almost three decades after hit song ‘Nancy Boy’ put them on the map, in an exclusive cover interview and shoot – the band’s first in years.
Released as the fourth single from Placebo’s self-titled 1996 debut album, ‘Nancy Boy’ shot the band from cult curiosity to national consciousness. It became their first Top 5 hit, earned them an appearance on Top of the Pops and introduced a mainstream audience to a group that looked and sounded unlike almost anything else in British music at the time.
For a lot of queer people, ‘Nancy Boy’ was a gateway drug not just to Placebo, but to the possibility that there might be another way to be. For others, it was the first time they had heard a song toy so openly with sexuality, gender and identity. In recent years it has become something else entirely: a call to arms, a protest song and, in countries hostile to LGBTQ+ rights, an act of defiance.
It remains the song most closely associated with Placebo and helped establish them as one of Britain’s most influential alternative bands, with a career spanning eight studio albums, 14 UK Top 40 singles, more than 14 million records sold worldwide – and now a Pride Icon Award at the 2026 PEUGEOT Attitude PRIDE Awards Europe, supported by British Airways. The award will be presented to the band on Friday 3 July at The Chancery Rosewood in London’s Mayfair, at a charity lunch event hosted by broadcaster Emma Willis.
“I thought, ‘Fuck it. I’m going to reclaim all these insults” – Brian Molko on writing ‘Nancy Boy’
“It feels like we’re receiving an award for 30 years of fearless representation,” says Brian Molko on the band’s Attitude Pride Awards nod. “To receive this recognition for me is really very moving. It means we’ve done some good in this world.” Stefen Olsdal is more succinct: “We never hid.”
On the inspiration behind ‘Nancy Boy’, Brian Molko says: “After maybe the fourth or fifth time a stranger called me a ‘Nancy boy’ in a pub, I thought, ‘Fuck it. I’m going to reclaim all these insults. I’m going to write a song about how a bisexual person can have so much more fun than you. Has so many more options than you. So much more freedom than you.’ Look at how much fun I can have. I’m taking your insult and making it mine.”
Asked what he would say to a young queer person in 2026, Brian Molko says: “There are far more people out there like you, going through what you’re going through, than you could ever imagine. Find your tribe. Find your community. And never let anybody stop you from being yourself.”
Olsdal smiles, adding: “And turn it up loud. Loud and proud. Nobody needs to hide. You’re not alone.”
Placebo’s full interview will appear in issue 371 of Attitude magazine, on sale in print and digital on 3 July. Pre-order Attitude magazine issue 371 in print now, or in digital on the links below on Apple News+ and the Attitude app.