Elton John and Olly Alexander have released a new version of Pet Shop Boys’ classic hit It’s a Sin for the former’s AIDS Foundation charity.
The pair collaborated on the track – the title of which was also the namesake of Olly’s hit Channel 4 drama series – at Tuesday’s BRIT Awards, and host Jack Whitehall revealed before they took the stage the tune would be released to benefit the organisation.
And in his own introduction to the performance, Elton’s husband David Furnish gave a moving speech in which he compared the AIDS crisis to the current Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: “When a new virus broke out in 2020, the whole world reacted immediately. Governments took action, cities closed down, scientists created vaccines, and we all talked about it night and day. Quite rightly, given the pain and suffering which has been reaped on so many people the world over.
“But when the same thing happened in 1981, there was silence. That was the year HIV arrived, but people with HIV and AIDs were treated with ignorance, fear, shame, and stigma. That silence allowed AIDs to grow into the greatest disease affecting our planet. But we fought back.
“Campaigners and activists and allies shouted down the silence and demanded to be heard. We refused to let men, women, and children die in shame, and by fighting together, we’ve changed the world.
David insisted there is now light at the end of the tunnel for those living with the illness, but encouraged people to continue fighting to “banish” the stigma attached to it.
He added: “Today, HIV is no longer a death sentence. Now it’s a condition you can manage with just one pill a day. Medicine makes the virus undetectable, which means it’s untransmittable, so the fight goes on until we can banish stigma, ignorance, fear, and the virus itself, forever.”
Debuting the track, Years & Years star Olly donned a crop top while lying atop Elton’s piano, before the tune went full disco in the vein of the original ’80s recording – at which point Elton took over lead vocals.
It’s a Sin is available to stream and download now, with proceeds benefitting Elton’s AIDs Foundation.
The Tiny Dancer star’s AIDS Foundation was established in the early 1990s to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care and support services to people living with HIV.
It comes after Olly told James Corden on his The Late Late Show last week that he and Elton had “surprises” planned in the near future.
