The English musician is in New Zealand next week, holding shows in Hamilton and Christchurch. Video / Ryan Bridge TODAY
An English pop star poised to land in New Zealand says she is “desperate to get back” to visit the country.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, a London-born musician best known for 2000s hits Murder on the Dancefloor and Groovejet, is preparing for her first-ever headline tour Downunder.
Beginning next Tuesday, Ellis-Bextor willopen the tour at Hamilton’s new Waikato Regional Theatre and play the James Hay Theatre in Christchurch the next day, before hopping the ditch for gigs in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
The singer, having already started packing her bags, told Ryan Bridge TODAY she wants to “go and see as much as I can” once she touches down.
“I haven’t been to NZ since my first album came out, and I am not just saying this because I’m talking to you, but honestly, since then, I have just been desperate to get back,” she said.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and this time I’m lucky enough to be bringing my entire band and crew.”
Ellis-Bextor, a mother of five, says she is looking forward to rare solo travel time while on tour. Photo / Getty Images
Having five kids of her own, the Starlight hitmaker is also looking to capitalise on the opportunity for some alone time while on tour.
“That’s just for me to get really in the zone with what I’m doing, and then they’ll come and meet me at the end of our tour and we’ll have a week’s holiday somewhere.”
Murder on the Dancefloor is undoubtedly one of the crowd-pullers, and its resurgence within the zeitgeist - owed partly to its prominent feature in dark comedy film Saltburn (2023) - has exposed Ellis-Bextor to a new generation of fans for her to connect with.
“I make pop music. Pop music is playful. It wants people to engage with it,” she said.
“So seeing it unfold on such a scale has just put fresh energy into the veins of Murder on the Dancefloor, which is just so special."
In November, Ellis-Bextor invited former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on to her podcast Spinning Plates to discuss her experience working at the intersection between leadership and motherhood.
The singer had former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern appear as a guest on her Spinning Plates podcast in November. Photo / Getty Images
Having given birth to daughter Neve while in office and led NZ through several crises, Ellis-Bextor asked Ardern about the tools and strategies she’d adopted over her term to support a healthy balance between both roles.
“I felt like I needed to prove I could be a competent prime minister, first and foremost, and that motherhood wouldn’t get in the way of that, so to speak,” Ardern said.
“But on the flip side, I felt pressure to show that I was a mother because, you know, there was some expectation in that regard as well ... to model motherhood and leadership.”
Ardern gave kudos to her support network, noting she wouldn’t have been able to make it work without the support from people such as partner Clarke Gayford, who became a stay-at-home dad, and her mother Laurell.
“Yes, we can be Wonder Woman… but even Wonder Woman deserves a sidekick.’
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