Sophie Ellis-Bextor to headline music festival

Pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor has been announced as the headline act for a music festival in Essex.

Ellis-Bextor, who recently played the BBC's New Year's Eve concert, will perform at the ALB Festival in Colchester, Essex, on 13 September.

The booking comes after her 2001 song Murder On The Dancefloor enjoyed an unexpected resurgence, after featuring in the film Saltburn last year.

"Sophie is just incredible and is going to completely fit into our ethos of fun and partying and dancing," Peter Dutch, the festival's organiser, said.

Ellis-Bextor, 45, has enjoyed a career renaissance in recent years, after her Kitchen Disco series took off during the first Covid-19 lockdown.

Streamed live from her home in west London every Friday night, the series saw the star perform her favourite feel-good pop anthems.

It led to a regular show on BBC Radio 2 and a slot on Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage, which she called "a very special day".

In 2024 she toured Europe, the US and Australia, supporting Nile Rodgers and Take That, and returned to Glastonbury to join the DJ Peggy Gou's headlining set on stage.

The two-day ALB Festival is organised by Colchester Anti Loo Roll Brigade, an organisation that was set up in 2020 to support vulnerable people during the pandemic.

Singer Pixie Lott will also be performing at the festival in the city's Castle Park.

The 34-year-old told BBC Essex last year she would love to see a revival of the annual V Festival in Chelmsford, which she played in 2014.

"It's the first festival I ever went to with my school friends," she said. "We thought it was the best thing ever."

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