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Will Young had to re-record 'Leave Right Now' because he "sounded gay"

23 March 2018, 10:57 | Updated: 23 March 2018, 11:01

Will Young has opened up about his struggles with homophobia in the music industry.

The singer revealed that he was made to re-record his classic 2003 hit 'Leave Right Now', because he "sounded gay".

The lead single from his second album Friday's Child, it was a number one hit at the time, with songwriter Eg White winning the Ivor Novello Award for 'Best Song Musically and Lyrically'.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Will explained: “I didn’t know at the time, but when I was recording ‘Leave Right Now’, someone at the record company said I ‘sounded gay’ and kept making me re-record the track.

“There’s a real flavour to homophobia and bigotry. It’s really shaming. People don’t understand the power of language.”

Will's comments come soon after he claimed that a London bus driver shouted homophobic abuse at him.

The Pop Idol winner tweeted about the alleged incident on Friday, January 5, claiming that a TFL bus driver use homophobic slurs.

He said that despite reporting the abuse “ten minutes after it happened”, he had been told by bus companies that any video footage is “gone” because it’s “too late” after the incident.

“Quite how someone complains and actually GETS footage I am unsure,” he said at the time.

Meanwhile, Will Young will soon star in a new production of Strictly Ballroom on stage, and recently unveiled a video of his version of 'Time After Time. Watch the clip above.