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sophieellisbextorarchives · 3 years

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor shows off her colourful home and reveals why it's a reflection of her personality

SOURCE: HELLO MAGAZINE

And she tells HELLO! how the house, which she shares with her musician husband of 12 years Richard Jones and their five sons, is a true reflection of her personality. "I've no qualms about putting who I am into interior form," she tells the magazine. "I'm a maximalist. I love bright colours and have never been afraid to use them. If I see a colour I like, it gives me a rush of endorphins. Having a home that sings to me puts me in a good mood."

Talking about her popular Friday night Kitchen Disco, which she livestreams over Instagram and which features her children Sonny, 16, Kit, 12, Ray, eight, Jesse, five, and two-year-old Mickey as backing dancers, she says: "The boys love dancing around in the background. Mickey walks into the playroom and cries: 'It's disco time!' He was crawling when lockdown started, now he's full-on grooving. I get the impression that he learnt to walk so he could dance – he's always loved a beat – and being surrounded by his adoring big brothers and mum and dad has made him so happy and confident.”

“This is how we've always coped with stress as a family," she adds. "Nothing we use in our Kitchen Disco, from the smoke machine to the lasers, has been put in specially; it's been there for years. We all enjoy putting on the music and lights, jumping around and having fun."

In the interview Sophie, who is an ambassador for baby and child toiletries brand Childs Farm, also talks about her television presenter mother Janet Ellis, who she recently interviewed for her podcast. "All of the conversations have been fascinating, but none more so than with my mum," she says. "We talked about how she worked throughout my childhood and was a single mum until she met my stepdad John, who died of cancer in July. I miss mum and can't wait to have her over for Sunday lunch after lockdown."

And she said her ideal guest on her podcast, Spinning Plates with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, would be the Duchess of Cornwall, whom she's met on several occasions. "Camilla's always seemed really lovely," she says. "I'd be fascinated to hear her insight on the royal family and the changing face of monarchy."

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Hello Magazine #interview

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 3 years

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor celebrates one year of her famous Kitchen Disco as she performs hits while drinking cocktails in a pink frilly nightdress

SOURCE: DAILY MAIL

She has kept the nation entertained throughout lockdown with regular concerts from the comfort of her own kitchen. And Sophie Ellis-Bextor was back with another Kitchen Disco on Saturday night as she celebrated one year of the weekly party while wearing a pink nightdress. The songstress, 41, toasted to the anniversary with cocktails after she performed a series of hits via Instagram Live from her home.

Kitchen Disco was an instant lockdown success, which has led to an album and a tour for Ellis-Bextor, as it broke up the monotony of a year of COVID-19 restrictions. The Murder On the Dancefloor hitmaker's Friday disco consisted of the usual disco lights and sparkly streamers as a backdrop as well as a large gold balloon in the shape of the number one. She performed her own 2007 hit New Flame and Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) as well as covering Disco Inferno by The Trammps.

Her three youngest children gleefully danced about around her in costumes, with two dressed up as a 'party robot' and a 'pigeon'. In an Instagram post to mark the occasion, Sophie wrote: "Happy birthday, disco! Here’s a celebration for you with a party robot, a pigeon and a singer in a nightie. Woo!”

The Masked Singer star's five sons - Sonny, 16, Kit, 11, Ray, eight, Jesse, five, and Mickey, two, make regular appearances in her kitchen discos, which is filmed by her musician husband Richard Jones. Sophie said recently that, while it would be a 'wacky' idea, she hasn't ruled out trying for number six. Speaking to BANG Showbiz, she said: "The idea of number six is absolutely wacky and I suspect it won't happen but it's a never say never kind of thing.”

She added that she feels she's had the chance to experience a whole 'spectrum' of personalities thanks to her large brood. Sophie continued: “The nice thing is that when you have a big family is you get this sort of spectrum really and you have basically created a tiny little society and kids are quite canny, kids will sort of find something that can be their own and then sort of go headlong into that. I feel like across the board I've kind of got most things ticked really in terms of personalities and interests and all of that stuff.”

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Kitchen Disco #Instagram Live #COVID-19 #Lockdown #live #music #pop #dance #singer-songwriter #British #popstar #disco

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 3 years

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A|PART feat. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Life On Mars?

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A post shared by Pablo Tato (@ptato)

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #David Bowie #cover

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 3 years

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@sophie-e-b recorded a cover of Bowie’s “Life On Mars” with A | PART

A | PART is the socially distanced recording project created by Spanish guitarist, arranger and producer Pablo Tato in 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the early months of 2020, musicians around the world saw their busy diaries full of gigs, sessions and performances disappear in thin air, their creative output stopped for months. A | PART was Pablo's response to keep creating, ambitiously challenging the idea of the need for musicians to be in the same room to make beautiful, heartfelt music. After more than 20 years working in the music industry, both in Spain and in the UK, Pablo has curated a different lineup for every A | PART song, getting involved more than 30 of the most talented and successful musicians and artists of the industry, who recorded individually at their own studios, all material to be mixed and produced afterwards by Pablo. The only rule: to make music together, being a | part from each other.

Stream on Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music. You can also purchase the song from iTunes.

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #david bowie #Life On Mars #cover #A|Part #socially distanced project #Pablo Tato

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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Sophie rendition of Crying At The Discotheque is brilliant! Over a decade after she performed this song live, she gives us a studio recording of it - I hoped she would give us a studio recording of it some day - so I’m glad we finally have it! @sophie-e-b‘s cover fits right into her list of sparkly disco numbers.

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Crying At The Discotheque #Alcazar #Songs From The Kitchen Disco #single

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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And finally, here’s the tracklist. Pretty great set of songs for a Greatest Hits album, must say. The new single, Crying At The Discotheque, is fabulous. I’ve always said that song was made in disco heaven for @sophie-e-b, but landed up with Alcazar just by chance.

There’s a new version of Groovejet produced by Sophie’s long time collaborators, the Freemasons. Sophie’s brilliant live cover of Do You Remember The First Time is included on this album as well - shame though that we’re not getting a proper studio version of it. She nailed it live - the studio version would have been a fantastic addition to her catalogue. Someday, I hope she gets the rights to record a cover of this brilliant tune.

Sophie has also included a cover of My Favourite Things, produced by David Arnold. This was expected, wasn’t it. She’s long been a Julie Andrews fan!

Ahead of tomorrow’s release of my new single, Crying At The Discotheque, very excited to reveal the full tracklisting for the album it’s taken from, my Songs From The Kitchen disco greatest hits! You can pre-order the album on vinyl, CD and cassette now from https://sophieellisbextor.tmstor.es/ xx

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Songs From The Kitchen Disco #Crying At The Discotheque #Greatest Hits #British #singer-songwriter

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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Listen to the podcast episode here on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6D5pZqJhlZrZCpgqt3CHkr

youtube

Wow it’s the 9th episode of Spinning Plates (https://smarturl.it/spinningplates) already! This week I spoke to chef and founder of Wahaca, Thomasina Miers. Tommi has built her life around her love of food and cooking and she is keen to make a healthy, sustainable diet achievable for all. Her 3 little girls are 4, 7 and 9 and they eat a broad range of homemade food where kids meals aren’t infantilised and everyone eats better as a result. Have a listen to hear Tommi and I talk food as a political issue, bad moods in lockdown and the eternal joy of tequila. Make mine a margarita please! 🍸

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Spinning Plates #Podcast #Spotify #Thomasina Miers

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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Listen to the podcast episode here on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/17RxTFheEyxGmWVEZoQoI9

youtube

This week for Spinning Plates (https://smarturl.it/spinningplates) I talk to the founder of the Cambridge Satchel Company, Julie Deane. Julie started her company in 2008 when she didn’t have enough money for school fees so she sat down with a spreadsheet and a load of ideas and worked out the most profitable. The company was started with just £600 and is now worth well over £10,000,000! Not long after she started the website, I discovered the satchels after my friend showed them to me as I was looking for a proper old school satchel. I loved them from the start and I’ve been a fan for ages. I’ve got an impressive collection! Julie is a lovely warm woman who is a firm supporter of entrepreneurs. She’s also continued to grow and evolve the company. The story of how she started her business is quite the tale! Have a listen and let me know what you think. Xx

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Spotify #Spinning Plates #podcast #Julie Deane

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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Listen to the podcast episode here on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4mUtFVjT4yxOdn95rwHppZ

youtube

I’d never met Jacqueline before but I approached her for Spinning Plates (listen: https://smarturl.it/spinningplates) as I think she’s awesome. She is CEO of Ann Summers and through her role in the company has fundamentally shifted the emphasis of the uk sex shop from being the solely the ‘men in raincoats’ brigade to being a place on the high street where women can buy themselves sexy stuff without shame.

She is passionate about women being their full 360 degree sexual selves and her gentle voice doesn’t always illuminate quite how radical she is. I loved talking to her and hearing her speak about being a mother to Scarlett who is now 10 and Scarlett’s twin Alfie who sadly died at only a few months old. I’m so lucky I get to spend time with amazing women like her for the podcast. It’s a privilege and a treat. Hope you enjoy our chat. X

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Spotify #Spinning Plates #podcast #Ann Summers

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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A quick update on the upcoming album

In her weekly mail on Spinning plates, @sophie-e-b updated her fans about the upcoming album:

In other news, just realised that my Songs From The Kitchen Disco album is out next month! October 23rd to be exact. It's essentially a greatest hits, with the original studio versions of my biggest songs, plus some newly-recorded covers and previously unreleased material.

We’re hoping the upcoming album is a 2CD affair - packed with her original hits + the newly recorded version of Groovejet with the Freemasons + a new single on the first CD; and, her versions of Crying At The Discotheque, Don't Leave Me This Way, Over And Over, Do You Remember The First Time, Kids In America and Like A Prayer + at least 2 unreleased songs from her first 4 albums and that 1 unreleased song from Wanderlust. Do you think we’ll finally get to hear that Pet Shop Boys song submitted for Shoot From The Hip? Or those sampler versions of Party In My Head and Love It Is Love? Or that B-52′s collaboration - Dontcha Wanna (Get Crazy), which was primed to be the first single from Trip The Light Fantastic? Or that Richard X produced Immune To Love - we’ve all heard the live snippet and it sounds FANTASTIC! Will we ever get a proper unmixed version of Dear Jimmy?

While we hope and wait for some treasures from Sophie’s vault, here are some demos that leaked over the years:

youtube

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Songs From The Kitchen Disco #unreleased songs #covers #greatest hits #new single #Freemasons #Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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Sophie was the first guest on Chatting With Chorley (the Podcast)

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Diane Chorley #podcast #Chatting With Chorley

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/6D98UYa6aKgfcnuiWSMYJr

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My podcast guest this week is Yvonne Telford and I have been so looking forward to sharing our chat (listen at https://smarturl.it/spinningplates) because I truly think some folk will find her story life changing. Yvonne is mother to two girls whilst running her gorgeous clothing company Kemi Telford, and it’s the tale of how she discovered exactly who she was after having a baby which will resonate with so many. It’s so easy to become a parent and feel like you don’t know who ‘you’ are anymore. Let me know if our conversation inspires you! I love reading your comments. Xx

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Yvonne Telford #Kemi Telford #podcast #Spinning Plates #British #Nigerian

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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Photos by Alvaro Villarrubia

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #Alvaro Villarrubia #photoshoot

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

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Sequins, songs, kids... dance! This is what saved SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR’s sanity during lockdown

‘I think I’m doing this for me.’ But for now, we need to head back to her house, where Sonny has appeared, and Mickey is delighted to see his mum. Plates are waiting to be spun, and as I let myself out, Jesse is putting on a show in the kitchen, with Sophie as the audience, sitting under the disco ball. ....and her wonderfully joyous discos filmed in the family kitchen helped lift the nation’s spirits too. She tells Hattie Crisell why Friday nights round at hers became so precious

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-8549299/Sequins-songs-kids-dance-saved-SOPHIE-ELLIS-BEXTORs-sanity-lockdown.html

Sophie Ellis-Bextor opens the door to me with a toddler in her arms – smiley 18-month-old Mickey – and her four-year-old son Jesse behind her, his hair a deep shade of copper. ‘You have the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen,’ I tell him, genuinely quite dazzled, and he replies bashfully, ‘Well, I’ve just had it cut.’

Welcome to Sophie’s world: a large and glittering house in West London, packed to the rafters with kitsch, toys, cats and boys. I don’t know how many cats are around, but the boys number five: Mickey, Jesse, eight-year-old Ray, 11-year-old Kit and 16-year-old Sonny. Managing the lot are the singer, her husband Richard Jones (bass guitar player with The Feeling and the supergroup Loup GarouX), and a nanny, who joins them Monday to Friday during the working day. ‘I used to have a nanny who was with us all the time, and to be honest I felt like it was too much,’ says Sophie. ‘It’s fine if it’s my thing that I think about 24 hours a day, but I think it’s healthy for other people to have their own life away from it all. It’s five kids – it’s a lot.’

It certainly is, and it’s hard to imagine how demanding it must have been during lockdown, when the only one missing was the nanny. The public got a glimpse of this when Sophie performed a weekly series of ‘kitchen discos’, broadcasting them live via Instagram, her husband filming on his phone. They launched these shows during the bleakest part of the pandemic, and the good will that emanated from them was enormously cheering. She would appear in a sequined jumpsuit or rainbow-striped dress, a pair of platforms at the end of her mile-long legs, and would serenade the camera while children wandered casually in and out of view. Sometimes her teenage son would jump in to rescue the baby from a trailing wire, or one of the boys would need a cuddle, and their mother would pull them in close, keeping her other hand on the mic.

It was charming chaos. The music encompassed hits from Sophie’s back catalogue such as ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ and ‘Take Me Home’ – or ‘Stay at Home’, as she rechristened it – but also crowd-pleasing covers and theatrical numbers from shows such as Grease. For the audience, it offered uplifting relief from the frightening reality of the time: climbing death rates and isolation. It was comfort music, I say. ‘Exactly,’ she agrees. ‘And disco’s always had that for me anyway. It’s so euphoric and joyful, and it’s complex. In disco you can have the most painful, heartbreaking scenarios, but they’re in among something that makes you want to put your hands in the air and sing along. I think music can allow you the space to feel joy and anxiety at once.’

I am delighted to find that one end of their large kitchen still looks very much as it did, with the disco ball and a half-deflated helium balloon in place over the sofa. She confirms that it’s more or less always like this, perhaps minus the tinsel curtain. Colour and fun are everywhere in the house, from the framed retro artworks filling every wall, to the pinball machine in pride of place. At the other end of the kitchen, a diner-style menu-board for the kids bears the words, ‘Be polite or no service.’

Leaving the children with the nanny, Sophie and I head out to chat on a bench in the park. She’s wearing an embroidered navy dress and a red fluffy cardigan, with red lipstick that has mostly worn off; at 41, she’s truly beautiful, with very pale green eyes. Despite what we’ve seen from her on Instagram, it hasn’t been an easy time. For one thing, there was the fall from her bike in June that left her in hospital with a gory head wound. When I mention it, though, she brushes it off with, ‘I cannot dine out on that any more.’ Then she adds, ‘I mean, I don’t recommend cycling off a towpath – it did hurt.’

‘I knew that this was something that was happening in millions of households. I do worry about all my parents – I say “all” because I’ve got step-parents as well – but I think really it was focused on John, because he’s so vulnerable. It’s such a weird, torturous thing isn’t it for human beings, if you say that hanging out with someone you love is the one thing that might actually endanger them? How can you wrap your head around that?’

She hasn’t been thrilled with the government messaging around the virus. ‘“Stay at home” is clear and concise and all ages get it. “Stay alert”? I hardly ever feel alert. I don’t feel alert now.

And we’ve all shown we’re good at following guidelines that make sense, but you can’t keep bending it for people. Look at the effect when the rules were made flexible.’ She seems to be referring obliquely to the Dominic Cummings/Barnard Castle debacle. ‘We all thought, “Oh well, if we could have been going off and having day trips all this time, why was I staying at home and not seeing my mum, who lives ten minutes away?” I found that really tough.’

The kitchen discos were as much for her and the family as they were for the audience. ‘It was Richard’s idea. One day we were making plans and doing stuff, and the next day it was like, boomph, everything shut down. Suddenly we were just home all the time, all work cancelled, all the festivals… I was supposed to be going to Australia, New Zealand, I had gigs all round Europe. And Richard was, like, “Well, why don’t we do a gig here, and it gives us something to do and a bit of fun?” I think we missed everybody.’

Performing during that time, even via Instagram, gave her a huge sense of connection, she says. ‘I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had that, and I don’t know how it would have been for our family, because it became really precious.’ She’s now planning a Kitchen Disco Tour next May (there will also be an album, out this October), and hopes it will offer audiences a cathartic experience. ‘I want to provide a place where people can get lost in the moment. I want them to walk out of there and go, “Oh my goodness, I didn’t know how much I needed that.”’

It was no surprise to her boys to see her dressed up and performing; Mickey sleeps in the room where she keeps her fantastic stage wardrobe, and they’ve all been with her to festivals, gigs and recording studios. It was clear from their low-key presence in the kitchen discos (she left it up to them whether they wanted to be there or not) that they’re not fazed by it. ‘The older I’ve got, the more the me at home and the me on stage is the same person anyway,’ she says. Her first solo album came out almost 20 years ago; this one will be her eighth.

She’s also just celebrated her 15th wedding anniversary with Richard. Theirs was a whirlwind romance that stuck: ‘I found out I was having a baby after only about six weeks,’ she says with a smile. ‘We’d known each other for a while – he’d been in my band – but we’d literally just started dating and I hadn’t even really told anybody.’ Sonny was born two months prematurely, thus arriving only eight months after they’d got together.

And they’ve now got him almost to adulthood, I say. ‘Yeah, and he’s lovely; he’s his own person. You know, parenthood is so much more reactive than I ever thought,’ she says. ‘I thought it was all about what you put in. It’s not. I realised it the day I had him: I looked at this tiny baby and I thought, “Oh my goodness, you’re Sonny, and now I’ve got to help you show me who you are and what you need from me.”’

To raise five children while continually working is no mean feat, and she mentions that there were tense moments during lockdown. But she and Richard clearly make a good team. ‘I guess the thing that’s often not celebrated as much in long-term relationships – and I think this goes for family members, friends, all sorts of relationships where there’s love – is that we actually really like each other,’ she says. ‘I really like who Richard is, and I respect him and I like spending time with him.’

She took an extended break after Sonny came along, following a difficult birth. ‘But to be honest, the more babies I’ve had and the older I’ve got, the more confident I’ve become about what I can do around being pregnant and having kids,’ she says. ‘I’ve been better with the last couple at just keeping going with the work either side of it. I have a job where I can basically call the shots a bit. I’m very lucky with that and I totally exploit it. Also I like it if I do a big gig and I’m six months pregnant – I feel quite clever,’ she laughs.

The challenges of this complicated life have inspired Sophie’s new project – the podcast Spinning Plates, on which she chats to other working mums, including Caitlin Moran, Fearne Cotton, the mummy blogger Candice Brathwaite, and her own mother Janet. ‘I’ve got such a brilliant array of women, and honestly it feels like a privilege to sit there for an hour and ask them loads of nosy stuff,’ she says. ‘Obviously the springboard is the idea of the working mother, but actually what really unites us is we’re all women, and there are so many things about being a modern woman… It’s a rich pot of stuff to go through, really.’

She loved having the chance to interview her mum. ‘In my head she’s always been this real trailblazer and very confident. She never seemed to have any guilt with any of her work, and I’m glad, because it gave me a good role model of “It’s OK for me to be selfish enough to have my work and keep it separate if I want to, and do the things I want to do.” I don’t think I would have been confident enough if I hadn’t had a mum like that; I’ve struggled a bit to give myself permission sometimes even with that.’

Another chat, with Yvonne Telford, founder of the fashion brand Kemi Telford, made her realise that at times she’s too self-critical. ‘She said she hates it when she hears women say, “Oh, I’m such an idiot,” and I was, like, “God, I do that all the time.” Even with the podcast, when I first started writing to people I wanted as guests, I’d say, “Don’t worry, I know how it goes – you’re probably too busy to reply.” Then I was, like, what am I doing? I’m saying to them, “Ignore me!”’ She bursts out laughing. It sounds as though making the podcast might be rather empowering. ‘Yes,’ she agrees.

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #British #singer-songwriter #kitchen disco #Richard Jones #The Feeling #Loup Garoux #photoshoot

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