Inside Sophie-Ellis Bextor's dramatic rise to pop stardom and mid-life career renaissance as an LGBTQ icon after establishing herself as global lockdown's greatest entertainer
Share:
Her career may well be defined by Murder On The Dancefloor, but Sophie Ellis-Bextor's chart topping career trajectory began some years before the release of her biggest single. The singer returned to the spotlight on Tuesday with her BBC New Year's Eve Disco, during which she was joined by a host of special guests for a medley of her greatest hits.
![[Ellis-Bextor's solo career began 25 years earlier, after her guest vocals on Spiller's iconic Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) propelled her to number one on the UK singles chart in 2000]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/01/13/93644213-14241329-image-a-30_1735738539691.jpg)
Ellis-Bextor, 45, was rounding off the year in style following sold-out tours across Europe, the United States, and Australia as well as numerous festival appearances - among them a memorable performance with Peggy Gou at Glastonbury Festival. But as she ushered in 2025, the singer had cause to celebrate for rather different reasons as she approaches a milestone quarter century of solo stardom.
![[As lead singer of indie band Theaudience, the singer had enjoyed moderate fame with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1998 before going solo]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/01/12/93642773-14241329-image-a-24_1735734135597.jpg)
Ellis-Bextor had already enjoyed moderate success before her guest vocals on Spiller's iconic Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) propelled her to number one on the UK singles chart in 2000. A continental hit, Groovejet turned the little known singer into a household name - but it all began several years earlier, amid the hedonism of nineties Britpop.
![[In 2001 her hit single Murder On The Dancefloor became a top-10 hit across the globe]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/01/13/93644357-14241329-image-a-34_1735738935462.jpg)
Sophie Ellis-Bextor returned to the spotlight on Tuesday with her BBC New Year's Eve Disco, during which she was joined by a host of special guests for a medley of her greatest hits. Ellis-Bextor's solo career began 25 years earlier, after her guest vocals on Spiller's iconic Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) propelled her to number one on the UK singles chart in 2000.
![[Twenty-two years after its initial release, filmmaker Emerald Fennell breathed new life into the track by using it for the one-shot finale of her award-winning 2023 movie Saltburn (pictured)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/01/13/93644265-14241329-image-a-35_1735738989104.jpg)
