Sophie Ellis-Bextor, 46, Calls New Album Perimenopop a Witty Take on Aging and Embracing Authenticity

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has revealed her new album Perimenopop pokes fun at the narrative that women should become ‘invisible’ with age.

The singer, 46, was just 21 when she first soared to fame with her first number one hit, Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) with Spiller in 2000, going on to become a household name.

25 years later, the chart-topper is set to release her latest offering which she, in a new interview with Good Housekeeping UK, claims dispels the notion that pop music is for ‘young people’ and instead mocks that apparent ‘gloomy chapter’ women face in their later years. 

Perimonpop is being touted as a ‘a playful celebration of where Sophie is at in her life, knowing exactly who she is and embracing the joy and empowerment that brings’.

And speaking to the publication about her album inspiration, Sophie echoed those sentiments as she shared: ‘There’s still this idea that only young people make pop music. As soon as I had the new album title, I felt like, “Now I can literally be myself.”

‘This album is about poking fun at this gloomy chapter and the narrative around it that women should be quietening down and becoming invisible… I don’t feel like that at all.’

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has revealed her new album Perimenopop pokes fun at the narrative that women should become ‘invisible’ with age

She is set to release her latest offering which she claims dispels the notion that pop music is for ‘young people’ and instead mocks that apparent ‘gloomy chapter’ women face in their later years

The singer, 46, was just 21 when she first soared to fame with her first number one hit, Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) with Spiller in 2000 [pictured], going on to become a household name 

Sophie has had somewhat of a career resurgence of late, with her 2001 track Murder On The Dancefloor gaining new popularity after it was used by filmmaker Emerald Fennell for the one-shot finale of her award-winning 2023 movie Saltburn.

A single camera tracks actor Barry Keoghan as he dances to the track in the nude while walking the corridors of his newly inherited stately home – a memorable scene that introduced Sophie to a younger fanbase and helped push it back into the charts with a number two placement, her first top ten hit since 2007.

She said of the track going viral: ‘I was at home over Christmas when things started escalating online. The whole thing was glorious. And it wasn’t just great for me, but for my whole team. We’d had a busy 2023, so we were match-fit. We could just pick up the pace.’

It was a far cry from her thoughts three years earlier when she started her famous kitchen discos during the COVID-19 lockdown, with Sophie admitting that she believed it was the ‘end of my career’ following her first live broadcast. 

The kitchen discos proved to be hugely popular and gave fans a glimpse of Sophie’s family life as it featured her guitarist husband Richard Jones and their five sons; Sonny, 21, Kit, 16, Ray, 13, Jesse, nine, and Mickey, six. 

It comes after Sophie revealed earlier this year that her children are being bullied at school for a heartbreaking reason. 

She admitted her youngest children are being picked on for their red hair as they aren’t ‘blending in’ with their classmates.

She told Andreas Wild on her Salon Confidential podcast in April: ‘It’s [bullying] definitely been something they’ve experienced, which is really harsh. 

‘There’s still this idea that only young people make pop music. As soon as I had the new album title, I felt like, “Now I can literally be myself”

‘This album is about poking fun at this gloomy chapter and the narrative around it that women should be quietening down and becoming invisible… I don’t feel like that at all’

The full interview can be read now in the August issue of Good Housekeeping UK

‘You get to secondary school and anything that marks you out becomes the thing you will be teased about. 

‘It’s extraordinary how you have this desire at that age group just to blend in, to be part of the pack. It’s a really strong instinct.

‘But rather than letting it make you feel down, hopefully by having conversations, you can actually keep an eye on it and keep it on the right side of things.’

She added: ‘And then you get a bit older and you’re like “Actually, all those things about me that set me apart are the things I’ll now give space to and invest in and enjoy myself”.

Sophie and her guitarist husband Richard Jones share five sons; Sonny, 21, Kit, 16, Ray, 13, Jesse, nine, and Mickey, six

‘My kids have got some different shades of red, but it’s so gorgeous – and I can always find them so easily in a playground.’ 

Sophie fell pregnant with her eldest Sonny just six weeks after she started dating musician husband Richard. 

The couple went on to go from strength to strength, marrying in 2005 and welcoming four more children.

The secret to her 20-year marriage, she told Good Housekeeping UK, was down to sound advice from her mum Janet Ellis who told them to ‘choose each other over anything else’ – even their children.