Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The fact that my mother was on television every week while I was young was occasionally awkward, and often frustrating.
Getting up to dance to your own stuff looks pretty pretentious. And leaving the dancefloor when it comes on is just awkward.
The X Factor' is great entertainment, but it doesn't prepare people for getting chewed up and spat out by the music industry.
I'm someone who has always been quite clear about what I like. In the studio, I'm not a control freak but I know what I want.
'The X Factor' is great entertainment, but it doesn't prepare people for getting chewed up and spat out by the music industry.
Writing songs about fancying people in dance clubs is all very well but it's not the be-all and end-all. There are other topics.
I never manage to get to bed early on Sunday night but this doesn't matter, as I don't know one level of exhaustion from another.
Someone had my number and they started text-stalking me. I've never replied to them. It was tempting to write back, but I resisted.
Turning the thermostat down is something that I do pretty reluctantly. I like to be able to walk around in whatever I fancy at home.
I used to be hung up on my figure, but it's a waste of time. I don't believe in diets. Have four pints one night, be healthy the next.
I'm a little bit allergic to the whole brand thing to be honest but maybe it's just happening around me and I'm not really aware of it.
I must confess I knew very little about the trance scene, I'm more house and commercial dance but it was really interesting and different.
My rule for the corporate stuff is the same as with my music - I do whatever means I can sleep at night and whatever means I can be dignified.
I'd never really thought about it before, but now you ask I can see that how my parents handled money definitely affected my relationship with it.
I don't think writing or co-writing my songs makes me a better singer, but I haven't really got an excuse not to do it as I've got too many opinions!
When I first started out, I got criticism for the way I looked. I think, now, it's a good thing because, why would you want to look like everyone else?
You should make an effort on stage because it's a performance. The stage should be glittery and camp, but I don't go down the shops in full stage gear.
I'm a sucker for good black skirts and pretty little shirts and kooky tops. I have to admit that shopping satisfies my craving for immediate gratification.
There's so many singers, you watch them and a lot of it is waving around. You don't get this feeling that they're really thinking about what they're saying.
There are a lot of people out there who lie about their age and I think it does us all a disservice. It can't all be over when you hit 30. That would be rubbish.
Some people can get away with being very sexy to men and not looking like a complete cow, but I didn't think I was in a position where people knew me well enough
Some people can get away with being very sexy to men and not looking like a complete cow, but I didn't think I was in a position where people knew me well enough.
A lot of what inspired many musicians is celebrating differences, and people relate to that - more people feel like the unpopular, freaky one than the one in the in-crowd.
Yes, being educated is definitely an advantage. But having said that, I've met so many people in life who haven't done very well at school but who are still really bright.
The NHS is a bit iffy when you sprain an ankle, but when it's a high-priority issue, it's fantastic. They don't mess about. They're incredibly efficient when things go wrong.
Now when I say Sophie Ellis-Bextor I feel that's not really me because that's become this entity from doing the gigs and the shows and the make-up contracts and whatever else.
My parents separated when I was four. It wasn't the smoothest of divorces, but then as my mother always says, you can't have a passionate marriage without a passionate divorce.
I can definitely tell when mum has got money because then she likes to go shopping to spend it, whereas dad is steadier and avoids splurges. I like to think I've inherited both sides.
I tasted huge success with my first album, and when it's happening it feels like a roller coaster you can't get off. You should be very careful about wishing for success on that scale.
I don't want to sound like an old grandmother but actually it's quite nice when you get up early and then, by the time it gets to 10am, you're quite perky and already quite switched on.
Not all my shoes are designer. In terms of clothes, everything is on the same level for me. If I like it, it doesn't matter if it cost £200 or £2. I'm attracted to things rather than labels.
But I quite like that the public has a very short attention span. If I haven't been on telly for a little bit, I can sense it. People don't take as much notice of you, it's really quite palpable.
You have to apply yourself because you'll never get a better opportunity than the one you have right now. Having said that, people know by now if they like me or not. I don't need to prove anything.
I'm really interested in fashion but at the same time I find it quite competitive. Second-hand stuff leaves you more open to whatever your own personal style is rather than feeling dictated to by shops.
I don't think anyone doubts my motives, really. I do what I do and it's not very complicated. Of course, you might hate the music that I make, but I don't think people feel threatened by me just getting on with what I'm up to.
On my wedding day. I didn't want a natural, blushing-bride look - I had a full-on hairdo and red lips. I thought it would be disingenuous to do the whole virginal look, so even though I had the white dress, I had pink net underneath.
I try not to wear anything I have to fidget with - there's nothing worse than wearing something and pulling down the hem and re-adjusting the top. My pet hate is when girls wear those strapless dresses and spend the whole night yanking them up.
I love getting dressed up. Being a pop star is the most brilliant job for that. A lot of girls love shopping, but they might see the most amazing outfit and think, 'When am I going to wear that?', so it's my duty to exploit the fact I do have events I can wear these things to.
I think I'm fairly good with money, but I've developed some strange tics - in shops I don't like to go to the counter unless I've got at least two things to buy. If I'm walking around with just one thing in my hand I'll put it back and wait a few weeks because that doesn't seem like a proper purchase.
In terms of influence, my style icons have been a mixture of Julie Andrews and Olivia Newton-John. When I was little I used to watch 'Grease,' 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music' a lot. If you put all those things together you do kind of get my outfits. A slightly tarty nanny in a second-hand outfit. That is pretty much what I wear.
Philately is normally a boys' hobby but for some reason it was in vogue at my junior school. Between the ages of eight and ten I collected avidly. I'd pore over my Stanley Gibbons book, obsessively checking my collection's value. I always hoped I'd stumble across a really valuable one, a Penny Black or an Inverted Jenny, but it wasn't to be.