Sophie Ellis Bextor quotes:

On my wedding day. I didn't want a natural, blushing-bride look - I had a full-on hairdo and red lips. I thought it would be disingenuous to do the whole virginal look, so even though I had the white dress, I had pink net underneath.

In terms of influence, my style icons have been a mixture of Julie Andrews and Olivia Newton-John. When I was little I used to watch 'Grease,' 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music' a lot. If you put all those things together you do kind of get my outfits. A slightly tarty nanny in a second-hand outfit. That is pretty much what I wear.

The X Factor' is great entertainment, but it doesn't prepare people for getting chewed up and spat out by the music industry.

For every person that says I'm the new Audrey Hepburn, someone else says that I look like an alien.

Yeah, I'm not really a morning person.

I would love to record something with PJ Harvey or Alison Goldfrapp.

I'm all for consumer rights. I get very aggravated if I don't get a good service.

But I don't like working on lyrics publicly in the studio - I prefer to take them away and work on them in my bedroom.

A lot of what inspired many musicians is celebrating differences, and people relate to that - more people feel like the unpopular, freaky one than the one in the in-crowd.

I like the influence of the macabre, but I don't believe in ghosts.

I don't want to sound like an old grandmother but actually it's quite nice when you get up early and then, by the time it gets to 10am, you're quite perky and already quite switched on.

I'm a sucker for good black skirts and pretty little shirts and kooky tops. I have to admit that shopping satisfies my craving for immediate gratification.

But I quite like that the public has a very short attention span. If I haven't been on telly for a little bit, I can sense it. People don't take as much notice of you, it's really quite palpable.

Two premature babies was not a genetic thing; we were just unlucky.

I tasted huge success with my first album, and when it's happening it feels like a roller coaster you can't get off. You should be very careful about wishing for success on that scale.

Some people can get away with being very sexy to men and not looking like a complete cow, but I didn't think I was in a position where people knew me well enough

A good song is a good song whatever your age.

Everybody remembers Robbie Williams said I had a face like a satellite dish.

Getting up to dance to your own stuff looks pretty pretentious. And leaving the dancefloor when it comes on is just awkward.

I love getting dressed up. Being a pop star is the most brilliant job for that. A lot of girls love shopping, but they might see the most amazing outfit and think, 'When am I going to wear that?', so it's my duty to exploit the fact I do have events I can wear these things to.

The NHS is a bit iffy when you sprain an ankle, but when it's a high-priority issue, it's fantastic. They don't mess about. They're incredibly efficient when things go wrong.

Some people are really good at packaging themselves, but that's not really me.

Come rain or shine I walk short distances rather than taking my car.

A career in entertainment has a lifespan, like one in sport.

Also, I think women really come into their own in their 30s.

Being a chef would be too much hard work.

Dance music is great, but it's not a time to be reflective or particularly wistful.

Having a successful first album is one thing, but a successful third is another.

I can definitely tell when mum has got money because then she likes to go shopping to spend it, whereas dad is steadier and avoids splurges. I like to think I've inherited both sides.

I didn't feel so great when I was a teenager, but who does?

I do find it a bit disconcerting when your name becomes a brand.

I don't know why people think I'm polished - I often leave the house with buttons missing and ladders in my tights.

I don't think anyone doubts my motives, really. I do what I do and it's not very complicated. Of course, you might hate the music that I make, but I don't think people feel threatened by me just getting on with what I'm up to.

I don't think that old-fashioned idea of record companies exists any more.

I don't think writing or co-writing my songs makes me a better singer, but I haven't really got an excuse not to do it as I've got too many opinions!

I get really frustrated if people don't smile.

I had my autograph down by the age of 13. I used to sign it everywhere.

I learned to stand up for myself at school where I was never too popular.

I must confess I knew very little about the trance scene, I'm more house and commercial dance but it was really interesting and different.

I never manage to get to bed early on Sunday night but this doesn't matter, as I don't know one level of exhaustion from another.

I really love being in London at weekends - there's always so much to do.

I started my music career at 18 and for a long while I let other people handle my affairs.

I think there's quite a lot of cowardice in music. I don't mind if it goes wrong, I just want to go for it.

I try my hardest not to read reviews.

I try not to wear anything I have to fidget with - there's nothing worse than wearing something and pulling down the hem and re-adjusting the top. My pet hate is when girls wear those strapless dresses and spend the whole night yanking them up.

I used to be hung up on my figure, but it's a waste of time. I don't believe in diets. Have four pints one night, be healthy the next.

I was an only child, but then my parents resettled with different partners, and I am now one of six.

I'd never really thought about it before, but now you ask I can see that how my parents handled money definitely affected my relationship with it.

I'm a little bit allergic to the whole brand thing to be honest but maybe it's just happening around me and I'm not really aware of it.

I'm a sucker for sad disco pop.

I'm always sticking up for other people.

I'm big in Russia, but no one's quite sure why.

I'm happy that I have a look, but I don't over-analyse whether or not it's beautiful or ugly.

I'm really interested in fashion but at the same time I find it quite competitive. Second-hand stuff leaves you more open to whatever your own personal style is rather than feeling dictated to by shops.

I'm someone who has always been quite clear about what I like. In the studio, I'm not a control freak but I know what I want.

I'm the messiest person I know.

I'm too frightened of confrontation, so I will always tip - even if the service has been really shoddy.

In real life, I'm not super-posh but if that's the stereotype, I really don't care. It could be worse.

It's funny how intimate it feels to get a text.

It's hard to feel comfortable in your own skin when you're younger.

I've been DJing a little bit, so you get used to the fact that music sounds brilliant when it's loud.

I've got a thing for footwear; I have about 200 pairs of shoes from all over the world.

I've got quite a curvy shape so I try to wear stuff that's tailored.

Like my mum, I sometimes buy things I shouldn't and fill my house with rubbish.

My little boy Sonny makes me laugh all the time. He has good comedic timing.

My parents are good role models because they've worked hard and gave me a happy childhood.

My parents separated when I was four. It wasn't the smoothest of divorces, but then as my mother always says, you can't have a passionate marriage without a passionate divorce.

Not all my shoes are designer. In terms of clothes, everything is on the same level for me. If I like it, it doesn't matter if it cost £200 or £2. I'm attracted to things rather than labels.

Now when I say Sophie Ellis-Bextor I feel that's not really me because that's become this entity from doing the gigs and the shows and the make-up contracts and whatever else.

Philately is normally a boys' hobby but for some reason it was in vogue at my junior school. Between the ages of eight and ten I collected avidly. I'd pore over my Stanley Gibbons book, obsessively checking my collection's value. I always hoped I'd stumble across a really valuable one, a Penny Black or an Inverted Jenny, but it wasn't to be.

Someone had my number and they started text-stalking me. I've never replied to them. It was tempting to write back, but I resisted.

That's part of the reason I called the album 'Shoot From The Hip.' I did feel it was time to open up more.

The fact that my mother was on television every week while I was young was occasionally awkward, and often frustrating.

There are a lot of people out there who lie about their age and I think it does us all a disservice. It can't all be over when you hit 30. That would be rubbish.

There are a lots of clowns in our family - our house is a fun house.

There's so many singers, you watch them and a lot of it is waving around. You don't get this feeling that they're really thinking about what they're saying.

Trust your instincts: they tend to see you right. By listening to them, at least you can sleep at night.

Turning the thermostat down is something that I do pretty reluctantly. I like to be able to walk around in whatever I fancy at home.

When I first started out, I got criticism for the way I looked. I think, now, it's a good thing because, why would you want to look like everyone else?

When it comes to my family I never quite know how protective I have to be, or what I should or shouldn't say.

Writing songs about fancying people in dance clubs is all very well but it's not the be-all and end-all. There are other topics.

Yes, being educated is definitely an advantage. But having said that, I've met so many people in life who haven't done very well at school but who are still really bright.

You have to apply yourself because you'll never get a better opportunity than the one you have right now. Having said that, people know by now if they like me or not. I don't need to prove anything.

You learn that, when your children are all right, everything is right in the world.

You need to have a life outside your career.

You should make an effort on stage because it's a performance. The stage should be glittery and camp, but I don't go down the shops in full stage gear.