Sir Elton John compares Olly Alexander to his late friend Freddie Mercury

Sir Elton John has lauded  British singer Olly Alexander for being 'hilariously funny' and talented like his late pal Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

 The 'I'm Still Standing' singer  brought up  Freddie - who died in 1991 due to complications from AIDS at the age of 45 - while talking to Olly about his role as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series 'It's A Sin'.

The  hit show depicts the lives of gay men and their friends who lived during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the UK.

The 73-yea-old music icon went on to describe his love for Freddie in his own words, saying: "I miss him every day because he was such, a bit like you [Olly], positive, full of life, full of energy, hilariously funny, and what a talent."

He also praised  young British musician Olly in his own words: "Having spoken to you on the phone and now speaking to you in person I get the feeling that you in real life are not very far away from Ritchie the character in ‘It’s a Sin’?"

The 30-year-old singer agreed to the legend and responded: "We’re similar! We share a lot of similarities - 18-years-old I moved to London, that's what I did to make a name for myself. I wanted to be an actor, I wanted to be a musician, and I really related to that with Ritchie straight away."

Oliver Alexander Thornton is a British musician/actor and LGBTQ advocate. He is the lead singer of the synth-pop trio Years & Years.

 Sir Elton John gushed over Alexander and said: "You have so much life in you, no matter what you do, whether you’re making music, whether you're acting, you have this great spirit. I love people with that kind of positivity."