“Playing live to crowds has always been my favourite,” Sophie Ellis-Bextor tells me while travelling between festivals. The Murder On The Dancefloor singer is currently playing summer festivals before going on tour and is loving every second of it. “I’m so lucky to be doing this.”

As Ellis-Bextor became famous for hosting her ‘kitchen discos’ during lockdown, she knows all too well how much people love to dance in her kitchen. And the kitchen is now beginning to rival the living room as the heart of the home for hosting and socialising. “For me, the kitchen is the communal space of the home. It’s where everybody heads to when they wake up. It’s where we start and end our days – catching up with each other and checking in with each other. It’s the heart of the home,” says the singer.

She also shares that during the Covid-19 lockdown, the kitchen became even more important as there was nowhere else to go to dance and let off steam – so the kitchen became that place. Ellis-Bextor’s kitchen discos exploded in popularity over the pandemic, which she said was “pretty bonkers”. She explains that the whole thing is hard for her to get her head around and it was a strange chapter of her life. “It felt like everyone was coming round to my house when I couldn’t even go to my mum’s house. I’m so glad we had that community because I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through that period without it.”

For the singer, it wasn’t just joyful; it was also cathartic – a way to let go of the stress and tension of an uncertain world. “Music has always been that tonic for me.”

Ellis-Bextor is now working with LG to help launch its new MoodUP refrigerator. This home appliance is made to any kitchen style and mood with LED panels that can create over 1,800 colour combinations and built-in speakers that can be connected to play music via Bluetooth.

Finding personality and character in your home is important. “The refrigerators are really beautiful and elevate everyday life. They have so much functionality but also look stylish. You can set whatever tone you like and it becomes part of the room and interiors feel. It makes your kitchen that much more fun!” Ellis-Bextor tells me.

Quickfire questions with Sophie Ellis-Bextor

The last song I played is… “Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan. Love her.”

A song that’s had the biggest impact on me is… “So many songs. The one that pops into my head is Mickey by Toni Basil, because I watched the music video when I was around three or four years old and it just had so much energy and she was so mesmerising in the video. I would watch it over and over again. And I’m sure all these little seeds were sown about how I might approach my own day job one day.”

The one thing I couldn’t go a day without is… “Oh, tea.”

Something I would tell my younger self is… “There’s nothing I would’ve listened to, that’s the problem! You’ve got to make those mistakes. I’m happy with where I am now. So, I’d say let it all roll but just don’t let me rewatch any of it please.”

The nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me is… “It’s all the stuff that comes from my kids. It’s any time that they tell me they love me or that they’re happy or say something sweet. I think that ultimately everything else can fall away, so long as I’m raising happy people.”

The thing that I’m most looking forward to in 2024 is… “I’m quite looking forward to going on holiday. I want some family time, so that’s going to be lovely – kicking back, jumping in the pool and eating lots of pasta.”

Images: LG