Sophie Ellis-Bextor was joined by Jessie Ware and Scissor Sisters‘ Jake Shears for her New Year’s Eve Disco BBC special. Check it out below.
- READ MORE: Sophie Ellis-Bextor on the return of ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ – and watching ‘Saltburn’ with her mum
The pop star brought in 2025 with a huge headline set on BBC One and iPlayer. Upon the show’s announcement, it was hinted that some “very special guests” would be joining – revealed to be Ware and Shears on the night.
Ware was the first to join for a cover of ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’, the 1977 hit from Spanish vocal duo Baccara. Later, Shears took to the stage and the two performed the Scissor Sisters track ‘Filthy/Gorgeous’.
Elsewhere, Emily Roberts – The Last Dinner Party‘s guitarist – also joined. Reflecting on her guests in a post on Twitter/X following the performance, Ellis-Bextor wrote that it was “an absolute privilege”, adding: “What a treat to have them on stage with me! Happy new year indeed!” Check out all the clips below.
So so proud and happy that I got to host a NYE disco on BBC 1. What an absolute privilege – huge thank you to my guests @JessieWare @Jakeshears Emily Roberts and MDL Singers who really brought the party – what a treat to have them on stage with me! Happy new year indeed! Xxx 🥳 pic.twitter.com/fwt4vp41DC
— Sophie Ellis-Bextor (@SophieEB) January 1, 2025
Later, Ellis-Bextor entertained the crowd with some New Year’s trivia, telling fans how people in Denmark jump from a stool or a year when the clock strikes midnight “to leap into the New Year for good luck”, and the Spanish tradition is to eat 12 grapes for each second counting down to the New Year.
Then, she revealed her “favourite fact”, which is that astronauts on the International Space Station experience the New Year 16 times because of how often they cross different date lines. “But right here on planet Earth we only have one right here and now,” she added. “So let’s make it a good one my darlings.”
As the BBC special was pre-filmed, the singer was also able to ring in the new year from New York City, where she performed at New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show in Times Square, alongside Carrie Underwood, the Jonas Brothers and TLC.
In other news, Ellis-Bextor recently released a new single called ‘Freedom Of The Night’ and announced a UK headline tour for next year. Find any remaining tickets here.
Back in April, ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ came in at Number Three on a list of the UK’s biggest songs of 2024 so far.
The 2001 track enjoyed a huge spike in popularity after it soundtracked a now-infamous nude scene in Emerald Fennell’s 2023 film Saltburn. ‘Murder…’ matched its original Number Two chart placing in January, and spent five non-consecutive weeks in that spot.
Speaking to NME at the beginning of 2024, Ellis-Bextor said she had “nothing at all” in terms of awareness or success in America until Saltburn. “That’s what’s been quite extraordinary,” she explained. “To them it’s a new song, and that’s bonkers. It didn’t do anything there the first time around, and I’m fine with that. If I’ve learned anything along the way it’s that you’ve got to go where the momentum is.”
She continued: “The glamour of being big in America would have meant a lot of time away, and I’d rather go where there are already things happening. I had an absolute ball with the first record in Latin America, South East Asia and all these places – but if this ends up being something that takes me there now then let’s see what happens.”
Elsewhere, Shears’ appearance at the NYE show comes ahead of Scissor Sisters’ recently-announced reunion, which will see Shears, Babydaddy and Del Marquis play a 2025 UK arena tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut album. Find the full list of shows here and find remaining tickets here.
Ana Matronic will not be joining the tour due to her podcasting commitments.
NME recently spoke to the band about being labelled a “gay band”, about which Marquis said, “I don’t think it was meant as a compliment. At that time I think it was rooted in homophobia.”
