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Posted by: liamk97 13th March 2019, 12:34 PM

Sophie Ellis-Bextor's biggest singles revealed
13 March 2019 | By Rob Copsey

After more than 20 years in pop, we count down Sophie's biggest hits and reveal her career sales to date.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has been bringing a touch of class of the charts for more than 20 years; as the lead singer of indie rock band Theaudience in the late '90s, to anonymous dance vocalist and a solo star in her own right.

Under all her various guises, she's notched up 14 Top 40 singles, with one song going all the way to the top. Combined sales of her tracks total 2.1 million in the UK and 1.07 million across her six studio albums. Look through Sophie's solo chart history here.

Sophie's new album, The Song Diaries, sees her re-work her best known songs with an orchestra - now a popular move for acts looking for a way to celebrate their legacy in the streaming era. To mark the occasion, we're revealing her Official Top 20 biggest songs.

Most people remember Sophie’s first big hit as her uncredited collaboration with Italian DJ Spiller on huge Number 1 single Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) in 2000. Hardcore Sophie fans, however, would be quick to tell you that the Bextor’s first dalliance with chart success was actually as part of indie pop band Theaudience (no we haven’t missed a space between the words). They had two Top 40 hits in 1998, A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed peaking at Number 27 and the biggest, I Know Enough (I Don’t Get Enough), reaching Number 25 on the Official Singles Chart and place 15th and 16th overall.

The big one, of course, was that first solo outing as lyricist and vocalist on Spiller’s Groovejet. It’s racked up 642,000 combined sales was the seventh best-selling single of 2000. The track was involved in an infamous chart battle with Victoria Beckham, who was also having her first shot at solo success post-Spice Girls, featuring on True Steppers’ Out Of Your Mind with Dane Bowers. It was Spiller and Sophie who won out, leaving Victoria to settle for second place. A live version of the song from her debut album Read My Lips, credited to Sophie, places at 11.

Sophie’s very first single with a solo artist credit was Take Me Home, a cover of a 1970s Cher track that was a hit in the US but failed to do the business in the UK. It reached Number 2 on the Official Singles Chart, but it comes in third on Sophie’s sales countdown with 252,000 combined sales.

Take Me Home’s follow-up, Murder On The Dancefloor, also topped out at Number 2, shifting 492,000 combined sales to date and taking its place as Sophie’s second biggest seller. The track - accompanied by it's brilliantly dark music video - reached Number 2 on two separate occasions, losing out both times to Daniel Bedingfield's Gotta Get Thru This.

In 2008, Sophie teamed up with house-disco production duo Freemasons on Heartbreak Make Me A Dancer, peaking at Number 13 in the summer of 2009 and placing fourth on her all-time list. Their follow-up collab Bittersweet from her 2011 album Make A Scene ranks 14th, just behind her 2010 hook-up with legendary dance producer Armin van Buuren Not Giving Up On Love at 13.

Making a surprise appearance in 18th place is Sophie’s cover of disco classic Yes Sir I Can Boogie, originally a Number 1 hit for Baccara in 1977. Sophie recorded the track as a B-side to 2004’s I Won’t Change You.

When it comes to albums, 2001's Read My Lips is her biggest with 839,000 combined sales, followed by 2003's follow-up Shoot From The Hip.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Official Top 20 biggest singles on the Official Chart

POS TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR
1 GROOVEJET (IF THIS AINT LOVE) SPILLER 1 2000 642k
2 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 2 2001 492k
3 TAKE ME HOME SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 2 2001 252k
4 HEARTBREAK (MAKE ME A DANCER) FREEMASONS/SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 13 2009
5 GET OVER YOU/MOVE THIS MOUNTAIN SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 3 2002
6 CATCH YOU SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 8 2007
7 YOUNG BLOOD SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 34 2014
8 MUSIC GETS THE BEST OF ME SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 14 2002
9 MIXED UP WORLD SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 7 2003
10 I WON'T CHANGE YOU SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 9 2004
11 GROOVEJET (IF THIS AINT LOVE) SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 2001
12 ME AND MY IMAGINATION SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 23 2007
13 NOT GIVING UP ON LOVE ARMIN VAN BUUREN VS ELLIS-BEXTOR NA 2010
14 BITTERSWEET SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 25 2010
15 I KNOW ENOUGH (I DON'T GET ENOUGH) THEAUDIENCE 25 1998
16 A PESSIMIST IS NEVER DISAPPOINTED THEAUDIENCE 27 1998
17 IF I CANT DANCE SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR NA 2007
18 YES SIR I CAN BOOGIE SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR NA 2004
19 IF YOU CAN'T DO IT WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG THEAUDIENCE 48 1998
20 TODAY THE SUN'S ON US SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 64 2007

©2019 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Posted by: liamk97 13th March 2019, 12:44 PM

'Murder on the Dancefloor' was certified Gold in February 2017 so seems to be selling around 800/900 copies a week. 'Groovejet' was automatically updated to Platinum in July 2013 as part of their big update, meaning it was already over 600k by this point. There's only a live version available on Spotify which is probably why it's selling so little now.

Posted by: SKOB 13th March 2019, 12:45 PM

20 TODAY THE SUN'S ON US SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 64 2007

LMAO at this getting a top 20 placement.

Posted by: sammy01 13th March 2019, 12:45 PM

That would explain the live version being so high on the list.

Posted by: davidas 13th March 2019, 12:46 PM

SEB is so underrated. Her last 2 albums have been incredible!

Gutted she never achieved a number 1 with Take Me Home or MOTD

Posted by: ThePensmith 13th March 2019, 12:55 PM

Wow, some surprises in that list. I didn't expect to see 'Catch You' or 'Me and My Imagination' up quite so high - I loved the 'Trip The Light Fantastic' album, one of her best for me.

Posted by: danG 13th March 2019, 12:57 PM

The 7:30 version of Groovejet is also available on Spotify, but it doesn't credit SEB. If the radio version was also available it'd probably be selling a lot more.

Surprised her AvB feature is higher than Bittersweet considering they were released around the same time and it didn't make the chart.

Posted by: SKOB 13th March 2019, 12:59 PM

Trip the Light Fantastic is one of my fave albums of 00s

Posted by: Nimbus 13th March 2019, 01:04 PM

One of the most underrated pop stars out there, one of my favorites. If you like British pop early 00's, Sophie discography is a classic you should visit.

If I Can't Dance was the single that got away, such a fun pop song from an almost perfect album. Trip The Light Fantastic is her best album, with Make A Scene being an honorable 2nd.

Posted by: tommie 13th March 2019, 01:46 PM

It also explains how the live version is at #11 on her best-selling list. It would probably be at least at 700k if it was on streaming.

Posted by: tommie 13th March 2019, 01:55 PM

I'm not that surprised to be honest - dance releases might not always make big splashes in the top 40, they do tend to have a low-key longevity that pop releases just don't have.

I do believe the AvB track did make the top 200 though.

I'm slightly more surprised Can't Fight This Feeling didn't make it but If I Can't Dance did.

Posted by: liamk97 13th March 2019, 02:22 PM

'Get Over You' and 'Heartbreak' are both over 100k (they sold 113k and 115k in their respective year's End of Year Charts). 'Catch You' had sold 58k by the end of 2007.

Peak Position Weekly Sales:
74,500 Take Me Home
55,500 Murder on the Dancefloor
45,000 Get Over You
18,000 Music Gets the Best of Me *
19,000 Mixed Up World
10,705 I Won't Change You
12,780 Catch You
6,000 Me & My Imagination *
2,000 Today the Sun's On Us *
20,750 Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)
9,491 Bittersweet
8,784 Young Blood

* estimate

This is what her Top 20 looked like back in January 2014:

'Young Blood' moves 15-7, the live version of 'Groovejet' debuts at 11 and 'Bittersweet' sadly falls 10-14. Minor changes elsewhere.

Posted by: tommie 13th March 2019, 02:47 PM

Here's how the same list looked in 2014 (this was before Young Blood peaked at #34):

1 GROOVEJET (IF THIS AIN'T LOVE) SPILLER 1 2000
2 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 2 2001
3 TAKE ME HOME SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 2 2001
4 HEARTBREAK (MAKE ME A DANCER) FREEMASONS/SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 13 2009
5 GET OVER YOU/MOVE THIS MOUNTAIN SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 3 2002
6 CATCH YOU SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 8 2007
7 MUSIC GETS THE BEST OF ME SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 14 2002
8 MIXED UP WORLD SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 7 2003
9 I WON'T CHANGE YOU SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 9 2004
10 BITTERSWEET SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 25 2010
11 ME AND MY IMAGINATION SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 23 2007
12 I KNOW ENOUGH (I DON'T GET ENOUGH) THEAUDIENCE 25 1998
13 A PESSIMIST IS NEVER DISAPPOINTED THEAUDIENCE 27 1998
14 NOT GIVING UP ON LOVE ARMIN VAN BUUREN/SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 165 2010
15 YOUNG BLOOD SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 55 2014
16 IF I CANT DANCE SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR N/A 2007
17 IF YOU CAN'T DO IT WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG THEAUDIENCE 48 1998
18 TODAY THE SUN'S ON US SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 64 2007
19 YES SIR I CAN BOOGIE SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR N/A 2003
20 LEAVE ME OUT OF IT THE FEELING FT SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR N/A 2011

Bittersweet fell four positions in five years

And yeah, the absense of Groovejet not being on streaming is down to it appearing twice on the list if there was any doubt about it.

Posted by: pippa 13th March 2019, 03:44 PM

I thought the following had sold much greater:

1 GROOVEJET (IF THIS AINT LOVE) SPILLER 1 2000 642k
2 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 2 2001 492k
3 TAKE ME HOME SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR 2 2001 252k

I remember them as huge hits.

Posted by: GTH 13th March 2019, 08:20 PM

Was there a Read My Lips sales figure given in 2014 as well?

Posted by: tommie 13th March 2019, 09:29 PM

From when Wanderlust charted:
Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Read My Lips - 833,968
Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Make A Scene - 13,716

Posted by: Tawdry Hepburn 14th March 2019, 10:38 AM

It is ridiculous how underrated she really is, she deserves to be a widely celebrated pop icon! I think 'If You Go' was really the single from that album that got away, it still bothers me.

'Murder on the Dancefloor' has proved to be an enduring classic, that sells well consistently over time. I find it quite bad how nearly all of her 1.07m total of album sales comes from her debut alone, ooops.

Posted by: Gambo 14th March 2019, 04:51 PM

A genuine best-of-British talent, and despite having a fair number of hits, underrated indeed, especially her more recent less-dance-orientated material. I seldom find a female vocal truly sexy but she manages it; so refreshing to hear someone who doesn't just try to ape the usual urban histrionics of your Mariahs and Beyonces, and actively eschews any falsely-American sound at all, in both vocals and production values. 'Read My Lips' remains an enduring album which carried many songs that could've passed for potential lesser singles and I'm pleased it is still her best-seller album-wise. In a way it was a shame the focus was on presenting her as a disco queen for singles - obviously far-more commercially-relevant and marketable at that time - but this meant her initial more thought-provoking and sophisticated electronic tracks were inevitably put in the shade. Touches of genuine class in pop were rare even in 2001; sadly now they're almost impossible to find, so it's nice to remember the contribution Ms Ellis-Bextor made on that front (and still does, just less-commercially).

Posted by: GTH 14th March 2019, 09:13 PM

Thanks for this. So we’re looking at around 1,000 sales per year in the streaming era. Make A Scene’s sales always upset me.

Looking at the difference in both run downs, MOTD has been quite a decent seller/streamer! Should be platinum within a few years!

Posted by: tommie 14th March 2019, 09:29 PM

I assume her album run down (from best to worst seller) goes like this:

Read My List 839k
Shoot From The Hip ~70k
Wanderlust ~60k+
Trip The Light Fantastic
Familia
Make A Scene ~14k

It would be nice to see some more complete figures come the greatest hits release.

Posted by: Tawdry Hepburn 14th March 2019, 09:44 PM

Shoot From The Hip 80,000
Wanderlust 70,000 (possibly more, it finished 2014 on 67k)
Trip The Light Fantastic 45,000
Familia... probably between 10-15,000?

(Adding all of what I estimate together I actually get 1.063m. Not too far off!)

Posted by: tommie 14th March 2019, 09:44 PM

Just for the sake of it - when Trip The Light Fantastic was released in June 2007:

ETA: Make a Scene debuted with 6k and Familia with 5k, so they're definitively fighting for the bottom position; I'm assuming though that Familia might have sold slightly more in the UK considering she kept touring and pushing out further singles post-album (even if none were successful).

Posted by: Martyn 14th March 2019, 10:05 PM

I've seen Sophie saying that Groovejet will be available once her Greatest Hits is.

I think it will do well on streaming as it is always getting plays on the radio.