Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Scouting for Girls, Deco, and Lois

Born the daughter of Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis and film producer and director Robin Bextor, Sophie’s earliest live performance came with the children's, “W11 Opera”, when she was 13. Ellis-Bextor subsequently made forays into indie music in 1997 by becoming Theaudience’s lead vocalist. Following the release of a debut, self-titled album, which spawned the singles “I Got the Wherewithal”, “If You Can’t Do It When You’re Young; When Can You Do It?”, and the No. 25 charting “I Know Enough (I Don’t Get Enough)”, the band were dropped by Mercury Records and Ellis-Bextor went solo.

Before releasing any original material, in 2000 the singer contributed vocals to the DJ Spiller instrumental track “Groovejet”, which subsequently topped the UK Singles Chart and earned regular rotation in clubs across the UK. A year later Ellis-Bextor issued her debut solo album “Read My Lips”. Rising to No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart, the record produced four Top 20 singles: Cher’s “Take Me Home”, the No. 2 “Murder on the Dancefloor”, “Get Over You / Move This Mountain”, and “Music Gets the Best of Me”. The record turned the singer into a national household name, however she also enjoyed success internationally with the album selling 2 million worldwide.

Following a supporting tour of the UK and Europe, Ellis-Bextor returned in 2003 to release her sophomore full-length “Shoot from the Hip”. Two tracks from the album were released as singles, “Mixed Up World” and “I Won’t Change You”, with the third and fourth being scrapped due to the singer giving birth to her first child. Debuting at No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart, Ellis-Bextor’s third studio album “Trip the Light Fantastic” was issued in May 2007. The disco-pop record, produced by Greg Kurstin, earned rave reviews and featured the likes of Fred Schneider, Richard Barone, Shelly Poole, and Cathy Dennis. In support of the record the singer toured opening for Geoge Michael and Take That, however had to cancel her own headlining tour.

In October 2008 Ellis-Bextor recorded a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, which appeared on the soundtrack for the BBC2 sitcom “Beautiful People”. After which the singer contributed vocals to French DJ Junior Caldera’s track “Can’t Fight This Feeling” that later peaked in the French Top 20, and appeared on the Freemasons single “Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)”. In June 2011 Eliis-Bextor issued her fourth full-length “Make a Scene”, which was marked by more dance elements and influences than previous albums. Featuring collaborations with Calvin Harris, Richard X, Armin van Buuren, and Metronomy, the album was led by the single “Bittersweet”, and peaked at No. 33 on the UK Albums Chart.

Upon the announcement of a fifth studio album in May 2011, Ellis-Bextor began touring again, playing dates in Australia and Jakarta. Led by the single “Young Blood”, the album “Wanderlust” was released in January 2014, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart. Representing her most ambitious album to date, “Wanderlust” incorporated folk, baroque and chamber pop elements and spawned the subsequent singles “Runaway Daydreamer” and “Love Is a Camera”.

Formed of longstanding childhood friends Roy Stride (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Greg Churchouse (bass, backing vocals), and Pete Ellard (drums, backing vocals), Stride and Churchouse began playing gigs together at the age of 15. During their time at university, the pair formed the band Cape, before playing shows as Scouting for Girls in a room above a pub in Harrow, London. Scouting for Girls significantly raised their local profile during this time, later utilising MySpace and Pulse Rated to appeal to a national audience.

After hearing the group’s demo CD featuring the single “Heartbeat”, Epic Records signed Scouting for Girls in 2007. Soon after inking the deal the band headed to East Sussex to record their debut. Prior to a full-length LP Scouting for Girls released the EP “It’s Not About You” in June 2007, which became the highest-charting limited edition EP in chart history. Subsequently released in September 2007, the group’s debut, self-titled album topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, selling close to a million copies. The record’s success was strongly aided by the radio-friendly singles “It’s Not About You”, “She’s so Lovely”, “Elvis Ain’t Dead”, and “Heartbeat”, all of which charted within the UK Top 20.

In support of the record, Scouting for Girls embarked on an extensive UK tour, including a host of sold-out shows, and ending with two sold-out nights at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. In 2008 the band performed shows in Europe, Japan, and Australia, before heading to the U.S. to play the year’s SXSW Festival and New York’s CMJ Festival.

The band released their sophomore album “Everybody Wants To Be On TV” in April 2010, led by the No. 1 single “This Ain’t a Love Song”. The singles “Famous”, “Don’t Want To Leave You”, and “Take a Chance On Us” were subsequently release, following which the band undertook a full UK tour in April. Scouting for Girls’ third full-length “The Light Between Us” arrived in August 2012. Spawning the singles “Summertime in the City”, “Rains in La”, “Without You”, “The Light Between Us”, and “Snakes and Ladders”, the record peaked at No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart.