Desire (Years & Years song)

"Desire"
Single by Years & Years
from the album Communion
Released	23 November 2014 (2014-11-23)
Recorded	2014
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:25
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Olly Alexander Michael Goldsworthy Emre Turkmen Kid Harpoon
Producer(s)	Years & Years Two Inch Punch
Years & Years singles chronology
"Sunlight" (2014) "Desire" (2014) "King" (2015)

"Desire" is a song by English synthpop band Years & Years from their debut studio album, Communion (2015). It was released on 23 November 2014 as the album's third single. Written by Years & Years and Kid Harpoon, the song peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Desire" was first released onto YouTube on 4 November 2014 at a total length of three minutes and twenty-six seconds.^[1] The video features night scenes of the city of Tokyo with Olly seen writing the same word on a typewriter in a darkened room, scenes of Japanese people eating dinner, taking Paparazzi pictures, having sex, and the members recording the song in a blue foggy studio. At the end, Olly is seen in the darkened room with the typewriter with the entire room on fire.

Track listing

• Digital download^[2]

1. "Desire" – 3:27

• Digital download – Remixes^[3]

1. "Desire" (Tourist Dub Mix) – 5:06
2. "Desire" (Rainer + Grimm Remix) – 4:45
3. "Desire" (Zac Samuel Remix) – 3:01
4. "Memo" – 3:22

• 7" vinyl^[4]

1. "Desire" – 3:25
2. "Memo" – 3:22

• Digital download – Re-release^[5]

1. "Desire" (featuring Tove Lo) – 3:23

• Digital download – Remixes^[6]

1. "Desire" (Fono Remix) – 5:15
2. "Desire" (Feki Remix) – 3:39
3. "Desire" (Gryffin Remix) - 4:28

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2014–2016) Peak position Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[7] 7 Bulgaria (IFPI)[8] 5 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[9] 42 Ireland (IRMA)[10] 61 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 22 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 32 Poland (Dance Top 50)[13] 48 Poland (Polish Airplay New)[14] 2 Slovenia (SloTop50)[15] 41 Scotland (OCC)[16] 20 UK Singles (OCC)[17] 22 UK Dance (OCC)[18] 5 US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[19] 21

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position Netherlands (NPO 3FM)[20] 57 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 87 Chart (2016) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] 202 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[23] Platinum 60,000^‡ Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[24] Gold 45,000^‡ United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Platinum 600,000^‡ ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United Kingdom[26]	23 November 2014	Digital download	Polydor
	24 November 2014	7-inch single
United States[27]	29 September 2015	Contemporary hit radio	Interscope

Remix featuring Tove Lo

"Desire"
Single by Years & Years featuring Tove Lo
from the album Communion (deluxe edition)
Released	4 March 2016 (2016-03-04)
Recorded	2014–2015
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:23
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Olly Alexander Michael Goldsworthy Emre Turkmen Kid Harpoon Tove Lo
Producer(s)	Years & Years Two Inch Punch
Years & Years singles chronology
"Eyes Shut" (2015) "Desire" (2016) "Worship" (2016)
Tove Lo singles chronology
"Scars" (2016) "Desire" (2016) "Close" (2016)
Music video
"Desire (featuring Tove Lo)" on YouTube

On 24 February 2016, the band announced a re-release of "Desire" via social media. They uploaded a short video containing clips from the new video and featuring a new backing track containing female vocals. The clip ended with the words "Desire March 4th" appearing on screen.^[28] On 2 March, the band announced Swedish singer Tove Lo would be featured on the new version.^[29] On 3 March, the band debuted the track on Capital FM Breakfast.

Music videos

At midnight on 4 March, the band released the new video via their Vevo channel on YouTube.^[30]

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[31]	22
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[32]	78
UK Singles (OCC)[33]	27

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United Kingdom	4 March 2016	Digital download	Polydor	[5]
	18 March 2016	Contemporary hit radio		[34]

References

1. Years & Years – Desire. 4 November 2014 – via YouTube.
2. "iTunes – Music – Desire – Single by Years & Years". iTunes Store (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 2015-03-09.
3. "iTunes – Music – Desire (Remixes) – EP by Years & Years". iTunes Store (United Kingdom). January 2014.
4. "Desire [7" VINYL] by Years & Years: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk.
5. "Desire (feat. Tove Lo) – Single". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
6. "Desire (Remix - EP) by Years & Years on iTunes". iTunes Store. April 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
7. "Years & Years – Desire" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
8. "Airplay Top5: 23.02.2015 – 01.03.2015" Airplay Top 5. Bulgarian Association of Music Producers.
9. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 20. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
10. "Chart Track: Week 15, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Years Years" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
12. "Years & Years – Desire" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
13. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Dance Top 50.
14. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay New. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
15. "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
16. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
18. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
19. "Years & Years Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard.
20. "Jaaroverzichten - 3FM 2015". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 May 2022.
21. "Top 100 Songs Year End 2015". top40.nl. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
22. "Jaarlijsten 2016" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
23. "Brazilian single certifications – Olly Alexander (Years & Years) – Desire" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
24. "Danish single certifications – Years & Years – Desire". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
25. "British single certifications – Years & Years – Desire". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
26. "Desire – Years & Years". Amazon.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
27. "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
28. "Years & Years on Twitter". Twitter.
29. "Years & Years on Twitter". Twitter.
30. Years & Years – Desire ft. Tove Lo. 3 March 2016 – via YouTube.
31. "Years & Years feat. Tove Lo – Desire" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
32. "Years & Years feat. Tove Lo – Desire". Singles Top 100.
33. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
34. "BBC – Radio 1 – Playlist". BBC Radio 1. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

External links

• "Desire" on YouTube
• "Desire" (featuring Tove Lo) on YouTube