Sophie Ellis-Bextor wows fans with kitchen disco anthems show
The icon Sophie Ellis-Bextor brought her ‘kitchen disco’ themed show to the Armadillo in Glasgow and wowed the packed audience with a selection of hit pop tunes and covers from throughout her career. The return of dreary, rainy weather after a long sunny spell in Glasgow couldn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd, eager to see the pop diva strut her stuff, and she did not disappoint.
Glitter and sparkly decorated clothing were the outfits of choice for many in the Armadillo tonight with Sophie also adhering to that remit, storming the stage with shiny purple coat and sequined mini dress underneath, looking every part the pop star she is. The stage was set with her backing band just behind her main stage area with a huge video backdrop behind them constantly displaying images synced to the music.
Opening number Relentless Love kicked things off perfectly but her cover of Take Me Home, a cover of a Cher original ramped things up immediately. ‘I love Glasgow’ proclaims Sophie in between numbers, reminiscing on previous gigs in King Tuts and Kelvingrove Bandstand to name a few.
Now in her mid-forties, the songstress showed no signs of slowing the party down, not standing still on stage for a second, constantly dancing and kicking her heels, and always with a glowing smile on her face. The energy was electric as she ran thru a setlist including Young Blood, Ready for Your Love, Get Over You and a mid-list medley of top tunes Lady (Hear Me Tonight), her first number 1 hit Groovejet (If This Aint Love) in which she collaborated with DJ Spiller, Can’t Fight This Feeling and the Abba classic Gimme! Gimme! Gimme (A Man After Midnight) which obviously went down a storm with her Glasgow fans, who don’t need any excuse to party!
With every member of the audience on their feet throughout, the singing and dancing carried on with Sophie using a remote control to randomly select the next song from a list of choices on the video screen at the rear. Covers of the Donna Summer classic I Feel Love, Not Giving Up on Love originally by Armin van Buuren, the Alcazar track Crying at the Discoteque and Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer) kept the crowd in the palm of her hand before the anthem everyone was waiting for, Murder on the Dancefloor, which ended the first set and nearly lifted the roof off the Armadillo arena.
With a number of costume changes throughout the concert, Sophie returned to the stage for one last song Bittersweet and one last surprise A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed which she sang from the balcony seated area, and the evening was over.
An hour and a half of classic pop tunes, the audience were enthralled and left the venue perfectly entertained. Sophie Ellis Bextor has a unique voice and sounds as great as she did when first breaking thru in the late 90s. She always gives 100%, it’s a great show and tonight’s was no exception.
“It’s always a pleasure to come back.”, she earlier declared between songs. On this form Sophie Ellis-Bextor, you are welcome back anytime!
Review & Photographs by Stephen Wilson
