Sophie Ellis-Bextor's biggest singles revealed

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

©2019 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Listen to Sophie's Top 20 on Spotify below (Theaudience's music is available so we've added her next two biggest tracks):