Happy 20th Anniversary to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s debut album Read My Lips, originally released August 27, 2001.
Having featured in the rosters of Blow Up, The Grooveyard and Congregation, instrumentalist-songwriter Billy Reeves sought to reintroduce himself within the larger English rock scene of the mid-to-late 1990s via theaudience. His brainchild was fronted by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The magnetizing vocalist with a strikingly fashion forward image of her own making is the only daughter of Janet Ellis and Robin Bextor—a children’s television presenter and film producer, respectively.
Sanctioned by the eLLeFFe imprint, a boutique arm of Mercury Records, the sextet released their self-titled debut on August 17, 1998. The long player was a crisp raft of Britpop tunes that spun off four singles during its commercial lifespan—two of them cracked the U.K. Top 30. And while theaudience attracted considerable critical attention, that did not translate into sales.
Reeves departed the fold that December, which reduced the band to a quintet. Undaunted, the remaining members began assembling a sophomore follow-up. Mercury opted to pass on the record in its demo stage and dissolved the group’s contract; by 1999, the five had gone their separate ways. Ellis-Bextor, then 20, was moonlighting with the likes of Manic Street Preachers and Departure Lounge; this undoubtedly led to her eventual intersection with disc jockey Cristiano Spiller.
Repurposed from Carol Williams and the Salsoul Orchestra’s 1977 sparkler “Love Is You,” Spiller built “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love),” a compelling piece of disco exotica. Sensing platinum potential in the instrumental, Spiller’s label Positiva Records reached out to Ellis-Bextor and ex-Mud rocker Rob Davis to gauge interest in them contributing to the track—they were game. Outside of Davis’ slight retouch on the chorus, it was Ellis-Bextor’s words and vocals that brought new life to “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love).” The result? The single not only catapulted to number-one in the United Kingdom in the summer of 2000, but it also conquered every European chart too. Subsequently, Polydor Records extended an onboarding invitation to Ellis-Bextor; she wasted no time signing on the dotted line.
No longer bound by having to operate on anyone else’s creative clock, Ellis-Bextor took advantage of the opportunity to plot a coeval pop affair on her terms. Read My Lips, as it was to be christened, was going to introduce her back into the public view with a bang.
Sessions for the album saw Ellis-Bextor seek collaborative counsel with a varied coterie of writers, producers and musicians. Several notables included Gregg Alexander (formerly of New Radicals), Andy Boyd, Rob Davis, Alex James (of Blur renown), Mathias Johansson, Henri Korpi, Ben Hillier, Damian LeGassick, Marko Rakascan, Matt Rowe, Gary Wilkinson, and Jeremy Wheatley. Amid this pack of friendly strangers were two familiar faces: Davis and Boyd. Davis had history with Ellis-Bextor having witnessed her keen pen game in action on “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love),” but she and Boyd’s connection went deeper: the two were romantically linked.
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Despite the collective pedigree of this talented crew, Ellis-Bextor did not shrink. She either led the writing charge or co-wrote on every composition drafted for Read My Lips—a necessary exercise in artistic agency. Even the lone cover on the LP—Cher’s 1979 classic “Take Me Home”—was daringly reworked by Ellis-Bextor. That its original tunesmiths Michelle Aller and the late Bob Esty approved of her revision was a bonus.
The original material on Read My Lips showcases Ellis-Bextor’s thematic fascination with modern life and love; “Final Move,” “The Universe Is You” and “Is It Any Wonder?” emerge as standouts in this regard. Although it is never revealed how much or how little of the stock is rooted in fact or fiction, that coyness lends an air of mystique to the proceedings. In tandem with that persuasive songwriting tactic are the sonic canvases Ellis-Bextor sketches her stories on.
Post-”Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love),” dance remained one of the essential sound tenets for the album as its launchpad “Take Me Home” made abundantly clear. Ellis-Bextor and Polydor were in mutual agreement that the clubby thrum of that side was a solid introduction for Read My Lips; the single impacted two weeks prior to its parent record entering retailers on August 27, 2001. Also ensconced on this set were even more swaggering synth-funk and nu-disco excursions such as “Lover” and “Murder on the Dancefloor.” The latter jam was soon-to-become Ellis-Bextor’s signature song once enacted as the successor to “Take Me Home.”
“Get Over You” and “Music Gets the Best of Me”—two additional toe-tappers slotted onto an international repack of Read My Lips issued in the summer of 2002—saw Ellis-Bextor lean further into this floorfiller aesthetic. It came as no surprise when the pair were earmarked as the collection’s third and fourth singles. But the robust grooves of those cited charters belied a broader pop stylism active on the album’s non-single fare. Ellis-Bextor’s utilization of trip-hop (“I Believe”), new wave (“Everything Falls into Place”), adult contemporary (“By Chance”) and a host of other genres proved that her output had eclectic, alternative teeth.
That art-pop grin of hers also flashes brightly on the winsome electronica of “Never Let Me Down” and the feverish acoustica of “Live It Up,” outtakes later turned into Read My Lips era B-sides. However, “Move This Mountain” is what has held fast as the experimental apex of this overall project; a crepuscular parcel of chamber music finery, it best frames Ellis-Bextor’s rich, sophisticated vocal approach that propelled her to initial notice with theaudience. While criminally forgotten by all but Ellis-Bextor’s most passionate devotees, “Move This Mountain” did pull single duty alongside “Get Over You,” albeit in a double A-side format.
What was a natural balancing act (tonally) for Ellis-Bextor’s established avant-garde inclinations and newly acquired dance-pop skills, seemingly intrigued and repelled pundits in equal measure. Reviews swung drastically from favorable to mixed, but audiences looked to be vibing with what Ellis-Bextor was putting down. Not only would Read My Lips certify platinum twice over in Britain, all four of its singles landed safely within the confines of the U.K. Top 20.
Two decades parted from Read My Lips, Ellis-Bextor has not only met her own standard of excellence laid out with this album, she exceeded it with five other magnetizing efforts. Each of these long players has had varying degrees of commercial influence, but their superlative content unquestionably solidified Ellis-Bextor as a definitive figure in contemporary British pop music. Yet for everything she has done since, Read My Lips remains a thrilling snapshot of a young woman at the outset of a very promising career.
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