Picture sourced from Sophie's Facebook page
By Tyler Ody
Hey everybody, it’s Tyler here.I am doing a deep dive into the career of Sophie Ellis Bextor.
Sophie Michelle Ellis Bextor was born in Hounslow, London on 10 April 1979 to actress and Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis and Robin Bextor who is a film producer and director.
Sophie’s music career began in 1996 when she was a member of indie rock band Theaudience who released 4 singles and their self-titled and only album in 1998. Theaudience disabanded in 1999.
In 2000, Sophie would become a star in her own right when collabarated with Italian DJ Spiller on the UK Number One single Groovejet (If This Aint Love) which knocked Victoria Beckham into Number 2.
27 August 2001 saw the of her debut UK Number 2 album Read My Lips which had five singles. They were Take Me Home UK Chart postion Number 2, Murder on the Dancefloor (same UK Chart postion as Take Me Home), Double A side single Get Over You/Move This Mountain UK Number 3, and the Top 20 hit Music Gets The Best Of Me.
Due to the success, Read my Lips was re-released in 2002 and during this time she took the album on a tour of the same name.
Two years later in October 2003 Sophie released her second album Shoot from the Hip which has a darker sound in comparison to Read My Lips.
Shoot from the Hip charted in the UK at Number 19, and had two single releases.
Mixed Up World served as the first single off the album charting in the UK at Number 7. The second and last single released was the top ten ‘I Won’t Change You.’
Sophie took a three-year hiatus from 2004 to 2007 during which time she gave birth to her son Sonny, and got married to Richard Jones (who is in the band The Feeling and also plays in Sophie’s band)
2007 saw Sophie return to the music industry with her electrifing third top ten album Trip the Light Fantastic and spawned three singles Catch You was the first single off Trip the Light Fantastic and went to Number 8 in the UK.
Two more were released Me and My Imagination (UK chart postion Number 23) and the UK number 64 hit Today the Sun’s on Us.
In 2009, Sophie gave birth to her son Kit and in the Summer of the same year she collabarated with The Freemasons on the top twenty hit Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer) which later served as a lead single on her fourth album.
April 2011 saw the release of her fourth album Make a Scene peaking in the UK at Number 33 which had nine singles (some released in certain territories or did not chart in the United Kingdom) including Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer).
Another single released was Cant Fight the Feeling (this single did not chart in the UK), Bittersweet UK chart Position Number 25 Not giving Up on Love, Off and On and Starlight.
In 2012 Sophie gave birth to her third son named Ray. January 2014 Sophie released her fith album Wanderlust in which she changes from her normal dance pop sound to more Folk, Baroque and Ochestral.
Wanderlust charted at Number 4 in the UK becoming her highest charting album since 2001s Read My Lips and chalked 4 singles Young Blood, Runaway Daydremaer, Love is a camera and The Dear and The Wolf.
Work began on her sixth album in 2015 during this time she gave birth to her fourth son Jesse.
In 2016 Sophie released her sixth album Famillia which was a UK and Scotland top ten album. Famillia had four singles released to promote.
2019 saw the release of the UK top ten album The Song Diary’s which is a greatest hits album but with a re-recorded orchestral twist of all her singles plus a track from her Theaudience days. A new track called Love is You was released.
In the same year Sophie gave birth to her fith son who is called Mickey.
During the 2020/21 lockdowns Sophie entertained us all with her Kitchen Disco and released an album called Songs From The Kitchen Disco in 2020. During this time Sophie created her Podcast called Spinning Plates which she interviews celebrities who are also mums.
In 2021 she released her autobigraphy book titled Spinning Plates and last year released a cookbook called Love Food Family: Recipes from the Kitchen Disco and a new single called Hypnotised was released
As of 2022 she is taking the kitchen disco on tour playing to packed arenas.
I became a fan of Sophie Ellis Bextor when I first heard of Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer) and been a fan ever since.
I hope Sophie releases an album with her husband as I think it will sound amazing with there own songs but throw in some covers from Sophie and The Feelings back catalogue.
