Hitmaker Sophie Ellis-Bextor is set to light up the dancefloor on BBC’s New Year’s Eve Disco tonight.
Premiering at 11.30pm, the popstar will perform her biggest hits ahead of the big countdown, then she will return after the fireworks show for more dancefloor classics.
Younger generations will know the artist for her famous Instagram kitchen discos, which took the internet by storm during lockdown, however Sophie has led a stunning music career for over 20 years.
Now 45 years old, she was born in West London to mum Janet, a former BBC TV presenter, and filmmaker dad Robin Bextor.
Claim to fame
The singer’s major breakthrough came when she was just 16 years old, as the lead of rock band Theaudience. Although Sophie had always loved music, she did not know she wanted to in the field until she joined the guitar-pop band.
“Until then, I’d been unsure what I wanted to do… but then I started singing and it just felt like it joined the dots for me in terms of all the things I loved,” she told Thought Economics in 2023.
Having formed in 1996, the band had a short yet successful run, which peaked with their debut album landing at number 22 in the UK’s album charts.
However, their glory was cut short when they were dropped by their record label, leaving the Murder on The Dancefloor singer to question her future in the industry.
Recalling the difficult period, she revealed to Thought Economics: “The crucial bit came when I was 20 and we got dropped from our record deal, leaving us high and dry. That was when I thought, ‘am I going to be someone who only wants to do music when it’s all going well? And only when it’s served to me on a plate? Or do I want to do this… no matter what.”
Ultimately choosing to hone her craft, Sophie quickly garnered chart success. In 2001, she released her debut album, Read My Lips, which peaked at number two on the UK charts.
The Londoner also found critical success with her beloved single Murder on the Dancefloor, which landed in the number two spot on the UK charts and became a global hit.
The disco-pop song returned to the number two spot in the charts this year, after a raunchy film feature.
Saltburn success
Emerald Fennell’s thriller Saltburn featured Murder on the Dancefloor in a scene where Barry Keoghan danced around a mansion stark naked.
Following the film’s November 2023 release, the song gained popularity on TikTok in January 2024, with the likes of Love Island star Molly-Mae sharing videos featuring the catchy song.
Sophie has previously acknowledged the whirlwind revival of her 23-year-old song and said it was “like having a second honeymoon”.
On Tuesday, December 31 she appeared on BBC Breakfast to reveal the extent of the song’s success since featuring in Saltburn.
“There were some things I knew I was doing this year and there were so many things that I wasn’t expecting. I think there’s a lot to reflect on. I’ve never done so many shows in my life. I’ve done about 110 gigs this year,” she said.
She continued: “That’s not just me, that’s all my band and crew as well. Amazing. There’s been some real highlights. It’s an extraordinary thing to get to my stage in my career and to still be doing things, new excitement. So I’ve just wanted to really grab hold of that. And this is very much part of that as well.”
Amongst her 2024 gigs were performances at the BAFTAs and on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Is Sophie Ellis-Bextor married?
Sophie is married to The Feeling bassist Richard Jones, the pair share five sons.
The couple met when Richard was auditioning for Sophie’s tour band in 2002 and they married in 2005.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2022, Richard recalled his heart-warming first impression of Sophie, who was already on the road to stardom at the time: “I was like, wow, look at this ethereal, beautiful woman that is way more beautiful in real life than I expected.”
New Year’s Eve Disco airs tonight at 11.30pm on BBC1