Oliver Sykes
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Oliver Scott Sykes (born 20 November 1986) is a British musician who is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...
. He also founded the apparel company Drop Dead Clothing, and created a graphic novel.


Early life

Sykes was born on 20 November 1986, in Ashford, Kent, England. As an infant, he moved to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
with his parents, Ian and Carol Sykes, moving between
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
and
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
during a period of about six years. The family returned to the United Kingdom when Sykes was about eight, settling in
Stocksbridge Stocksbridge is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish, it is encircled to the north and east by the southern edge of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, although since 1974 it lies within the borders of the City of Sheffield, in ...
in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
,
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...
. As a teenager, he attended Stocksbridge High School then
Barnsley College Barnsley College is a further education college just outside the town centre of Barnsley, England. It has several campuses, including the SciTech Digital Innovation Centre and The Electric Theatre. The college provides A Levels, apprenticeship ...
.


Career


Womb 2 Da Tomb, Purple Curto and Olisaurus pseudonym (2000–2004)

In early 2000, while still in school, he began crafting compilation CDs and short tracks under the name Quakebeat. He also played in the mock hip-hop band "Womb 2 Da Tomb" with his brother Tom Sykes and fellow Bring Me the Horizon member Matt Nicholls, and in metal band "Purple Curto" with Neil Whiteley, as the drummer/vocalist under the pseudonym "Olisaurus", which he would later use when releasing solo material.


Bring Me the Horizon (2004–present)

In 2004, Sykes formed
Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...
. The band released their debut EP '' This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For'' in 2004, then releasing their debut studio album, '' Count Your Blessings'' in 2006. Their second studio album, '' Suicide Season'', was released on 29 September 2008, and their third studio album '' There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret.'' on 4 October 2010. They released their fourth studio album '' Sempiternal'' on 1 April 2013 which features the new member
Jordan Fish Jordan Keith Attwood Fish (born 26 June 1986) is a British musician and record producer. He was the keyboardist and producer of the Rock music, rock band Bring Me the Horizon from 2012 until his departure in 2023. Fish appeared on five studio re ...
and Sykes playing rhythm guitar for the album. They released their fifth studio album ''
That's the Spirit ''That's the Spirit'' is the fifth studio album by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. The album was released on 11 September 2015, and marks a departure from the group's metalcore roots, in favour of a less aggressive alternative rock and ...
'' on 11 September 2015, and their sixth album '' Amo'' on 25 January 2019. On 27 December 2019, they released their commercial release '' Music to Listen To...''. On 30 October 2020, they released another commercial release, '' Post Human: Survival Horror''.


Collaborations and other musical projects

Sykes has been featured in songs for the bands You Me at Six's " Bite My Tongue",
Architects An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
' "Even If You Win, You're Still a Rat", Admiral's Arms' "Dawn of the New Age" and Deez Nuts' "If You Don't Know, You Know Now". He is also featured on a music video of American rock band
A Day to Remember A Day to Remember is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Ocala, Florida, in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs. They are known for their amalgamation of metalcore and pop-punk. The band currently consists of voca ...
's " All I Want". In 2017, Sykes featured as guest vocalist in the song "Silence Speaks" with English
metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...
band
While She Sleeps While She Sleeps are a British metalcore band from Sheffield. Formed in 2006, the group consists of vocalist Lawrence Taylor, guitarists Sean Long (guitarist), Sean Long and Mat Welsh, bassist Aaran McKenzie and drummer Adam Savage. They are ...
. Sykes was briefly featured in the music video for
Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...
's song "
Boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy ...
" along with other artists such as
Brendon Urie Brendon Boyd Urie (born April 12, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is best known as the former lead vocalist and frontman of Panic! at the Disco, the only constant member throughout the band's 19-year run. Many of his ...
,
Denzel Curry Denzel Rae Don Curry (born February 16, 1995) is an American rapper. Born and raised in Miami Gardens, Florida, Curry started rapping while in the sixth grade and began working on his first mixtape, ''King Remembered Underground Tape 1991–1995 ...
,
Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his cover (music), song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record labe ...
and
Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is an English-Ghanaian rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' ...
. Sykes has also collaborated with DJ
Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...
as the backing vocals of the song "Visions," featured on the Bring Me the Horizon album ''There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret.''. Skrillex has also remixed a Bring Me the Horizon song "The Sadness Will Never End" off ''Suicide Season'' which the remix was featured on the '' Cut Up!'' version of the album. On 27 October 2017, Sykes performed with
Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...
– who he claims were his first ever concert as a teenager – at Linkin Park and Friends: Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington. He performed the song " Crawling" with DJ and record producer
Zedd Anton Zaslavski (; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a German record producer and DJ. His stage name, Zedd, was derived from ''zed'', the Z#Name and pronunciation, English pronunciation, barring American English, for ...
on percussion.


Clothing line

In addition to his vocal and songwriting contributions in Bring Me the Horizon, Sykes is also the founder and owner of the alternative clothing line Drop Dead Clothing (stylized as DROP DEAD).


Writing

On 1 February 2013, Sykes launched a
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
project to fund a graphic novel created by him and Drop Dead Clothing artist Ben Ashton-Bell, entitled ''Raised by Raptors''. With a £15,000 goal, the project exceeded its target within weeks of launching, attaining a final total of £39,223.


Restaurant

In July 2018, Sykes opened a vegan restaurant/bar in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
called "Church - Temple of Fun". The restaurant also has an arcade and live music.


Influences and legacy


Influences

Sykes has cited
Glassjaw Glassjaw is an American post-hardcore band from Hempstead, New York. It was formed in 1993 by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck. The band is known for their intense live shows, as well as their frequent line-up changes. Despite ...
,
Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...
, Black Flag,
Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...
,
Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...
,
Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhyt ...
,
Every Time I Die Every Time I Die was an American metalcore band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1998. For most of the band's career, the line-up was centred on brothers Keith (vocals) and Jordan Buckley (guitar), as well as rhythm guitarist Andy Williams, ...
, Skycamefalling, Poison the Well, Norma Jean, Slipknot and
The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of Consonance and ...
as influences.


Vocals and lyrics

Sykes' lyrics have a strong feeling of
catharsis Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing", commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal an ...
for him. He mainly draws from personal experience and has likened the band's live performances to being
therapeutic A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications an ...
. In 2006, when asked about the lyrics of ''Count Your Blessings'', as they had been criticised for their content fixated on heartbreak or other themes that were called "shallow and meaningless", he responded "My life's never been that bad so I've not got that much to talk about".


Legacy

The main character of the French feature film '' A Taste of Ink'' is an admirer of Oliver Sykes and Bring Me the Horizon. He is a post-hardcore singer and wears as a tribute to Oliver Sykes a
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
black jersey. The French title '' Compte tes blessures'' is inspired by the first album of the band '' Count Your Blessings''.


Personal life

Since the age of 12, Sykes has suffered from a form of night terrors known as
sleep paralysis Sleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is conscious but in a complete state of full-body paralysis. During an episode, the person may hallucinate (hear, feel, or see things that are not there), wh ...
, which is the inability to move or speak while falling asleep, or upon waking. Sykes became a vegetarian in 2003 at age 16 after watching a documentary about
animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...
online: "When I saw how animals are tortured on factory farms, I couldn't justify being a part of that cruelty." He went on to become one of the faces for
PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...
, eventually designing charity T-shirts with the slogan "Meat Sucks" via his Drop Dead Clothing line. He turned vegetarian at age 16 before turning vegan 15 years later. His passion for veganism can be seen in his venture 'Church', an arcade bar with a fully vegan menu, opened in 2018 and based in Sheffield's Kelham Island. Sykes is an outspoken
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, stating "I don't believe in God. I was asked to believe in him when I was in a shitty place. I couldn't understand why I needed a god or, in my opinion, something that doesn't exist." In an interview with Radio.com in 2013, he also stated "In my opinion, I don't think believing in God is a
victimless crime A victimless crime is an illegal act that typically either directly involves only the perpetrator or occurs between consenting adults. Because it is consensual in nature, whether there involves a victim is a matter of debate. Definitions of vi ...
. It's not that I'm right and everyone else is wrong. If it was just people believing in God had no effect on the world, then it wouldn't matter. Then you can believe in what you want, if you want an imaginary friend that lives in the clouds that's fine. But it's the fact that it does have an effect on other people and other things and the whole world is in turmoil mainly because of religion, at least a massive part of it." After receiving the Album of the Year award at the first
Alternative Press Music Awards The Alternative Press Music Awards was an annual music awards show in the United States, founded by the music magazine ''Alternative Press''. History On April 24, 2014, ''Alternative Press'' announced they were organizing an award show to be h ...
in 2014, Sykes revealed a history of addiction and abuse of the drug
ketamine Ketamine is a cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties, used medically for anesthesia, depression, and pain management. Ketamine exists as its S- (esketamine) a ...
. Addressing the crowd, he said "My band wanted to kill me, my parents wanted to kill me, my fucking brother wanted to kill me," and also admitted, "I went to rehab for a month, and you guys were sending me texts and e-mails. When I got out of that rehab, I didn't want to scream anymore, I wanted to sing from the fucking rooftops." On 12 July 2015 in Tuscany, Italy, Sykes married model and tattoo artist Hannah Pixie Snowdon. In 2016, Sykes announced that he and Snowdon had separated. In May 2019, Sykes alleged that their relationship ended due to Snowdon's
infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include non-consensual non-monogamy, cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, se ...
, and referred to her as his "ex-wife". Snowdon had admitted to being unfaithful, but alleges abuse and infidelity from Sykes as well. The band's 2019 single, "
Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
" was written about the pair's relationship. On 22 July 2017, Sykes married Brazilian model Alissa Salls. In March 2021, Sykes shared a photo on
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
confirming he stayed in Brazil with his wife for the entirety of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
to that point, that he had acquired a
CPF number The CPF number (', ; Portuguese for "''Physical Persons Register''") is the Brazil, Brazilian individual taxpayer registry, since its creation in 1965. This number is attributed by the Receita Federal do Brasil, Brazilian Federal Revenue to Brazi ...
, and had bought a house in the city of
Taubaté Taubaté is a medium-sized city in the state of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. History Taubaté was part of the ancient Tupinambá Territory, along the Paraíba do Sul River. The Tupinambá Territory in the 16th century, stretched from ...
, countryside of the state of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, where he was living with her. In March 2023, Sykes got his Brazilian National Migration Registry card as a permanent resident of the country. In May 2025, Sykes and Salls revealed through their personal Instagram accounts, that she was expecting twins, a girl and a boy, alongside a gender reveal video.


Controversies

In 2007, a female fan accused Sykes of urinating on her and accused him and his bandmates of assaulting her. He was put on trial and pleaded not guilty. The fan took a photo of her face, which appeared to be covered in blood. An employee of venue Rock City in Nottingham, England said: "After the gig, two girls tried to get on the tour bus. Later on, the singer, Oliver Sykes, tried it on with one of the girls. When she said no, he called her a dyke and first pissed on her before him and the rest of the band threw her and her friend off the bus. Once off the bus, someone within the band threw an empty bottle of Jagermeister at the girl's head". Sykes strongly denied the allegations. According to record label Visible Noise Records, "numerous versions of the alleged incident have been posted online". Charges against Sykes were dropped due to a lack of evidence. During a tour in 2008, Bring Me the Horizon and the British
metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...
band
Architects An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
filmed two videos. The first showed a fight between Sykes and Architects' lead singer Sam Carter, while the second showed an ambulance with Sykes supposedly inside. The videos were uploaded to YouTube, leading to outrage from many Bring Me the Horizon fans, and resulting in
hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwi ...
and
death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...
s being sent to Carter. However, it was later revealed that the videos were a stunt staged by both bands, and that they are in fact good friends. Sykes said, "All-day events can get boring very fast so we conjured up the first idiotic thing we could think of and made it as unbelievable as possible." In June 2013, Sykes and Bring Me the Horizon were sued by the parents of a 12-year-old girl due to injuries received in the
mosh pit Moshing (also known as slam dancing or simply slamming) is an extreme style of dancing in which participants push or slam into each other. Taking place in an area called the mosh pit (or simply the pit), it is typically performed to aggressive s ...
while watching the band's performance during the
Warped Tour 2013 The Warped Tour is a touring rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music festival in the United S ...
. This led to Sykes announcing via Twitter that legally he was no longer able to start any form of moshing activities during his concerts. However, Sykes later stated that the suit had been dropped and that moshing was not going to be banned. Sykes was accused of domestic violence by his former wife Hannah Pixie Snowdon on Instagram in 2016, alleging that Sykes "slapped and spat" on her. Snowdon also alleged that she "wasn't the first girl this entire pattern happened to."


Discography


Bring Me the Horizon

* '' This Is What The Edge Of Your Seat Was Made For'' (EP) (2004) * '' Count Your Blessings'' (2006) * '' Suicide Season'' (2008) * '' There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret.'' (2010) * '' Sempiternal'' (2013) * ''
That's the Spirit ''That's the Spirit'' is the fifth studio album by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. The album was released on 11 September 2015, and marks a departure from the group's metalcore roots, in favour of a less aggressive alternative rock and ...
'' (2015) * '' Amo'' (2019) * '' Post Human: Survival Horror'' (2020) * '' Post Human: Nex Gen'' (2024)


Singles featured on


Music videos


Accolades


Bibliography


As writer

* ''Raised by Raptors'' (2013–present)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Oli Bring Me the Horizon members British critics of religions English male singer-songwriters English atheists English fashion designers English heavy metal singers Nu metal singers English music video directors 1986 births Living people English expatriates in Australia People from Ashford, Kent People from Stocksbridge People educated at Barnsley College Metalcore singers People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder