Official Catch-up, July 2011 - Part Two

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.sophieellisbextor.net/news?id=357&msg=1#comments

Did you meet the Erasure chaps on that tour?
Yeah, they were very nice. They've got such diehard fans. There was one gig where it was raining and hailing - it was just horrendous - but the crowd just stayed there and watched. I felt a bit bad actually, cos it was totally dry for my bit and then the heavens just opened shortly after I finished my last song.

Were they responsive to your sets?
Yeah, they really were. Without wanting to sound smug, I think me and the band feel quite confident in the set now. It does a lot of the work for you, really. And I think if you're performing at a show like that, you just have to be sympathetic to the fact that people haven't come to see you. As long as you're aware of that and you keep your role very clear in your mind, I think you can't help but enjoy it. You have to remember you're a support act who's there to get everybody worked up before the main act comes on.

And you've supported some big 'uns. Take That and George Michael spring to mind.
Exactly. I'm like a professional support act! Hahaha! But I actually think it's been the making of me live, in many ways. It just forces you to go out there in front of people who maybe don't want to be listening to you at that precise moment and try to win them over. I think it's made me improve a lot.

What have you got coming up in the next couple of months?
There's talk of doing Off And On as the next single from my album. And then I've got some club shows in August and I'm still looking at some dates in September and October in South America and Australia. That's still coming together.

What do you do with the kids if you have to go somewhere as far as Australia?
It's not something I've really had to deal with yet, but I don't think it would be very fair to take them. Big time difference, long flights and all that. So I'd probably leave them here and only be away for a maximum of maybe 10 days. Actually, at the end of the month I'm going to Moscow and I'm going to take my eldest boy with me.

Oh, cool.
Yeah, I always thought in my mind that when he was 7 he could come somewhere with me. I thought then he would actually take it in properly and remember it when he was older. The Russians are quite sticklers on paperwork, so I had to get copies of his birth certificate to prove I'm his mother, because we've got different surnames - cos he's Jones. And then I had to get a letter from Richard saying, "Yes, I know that my wife is taking our son out of the country and I give permission".

What are you actually out there for?
It's just a 20 minute outdoor show for radio, rather than a whole gig. So we'll leave on the Saturday morning, get there for Saturday afternoon and do the show. Then the next day we're not getting a flight until about 9 o'clock at night, so we'll be able to go and have a wander around Red Square and that kind of thing. It should be really fun.

Is he excited?
I think so, yeah. Although he really just wants to know whether he can play on my iPhone on the way!

Have you been going out much?
I'm actually going out on Wednesday to see Adam Buxton do his thing at the BFI about music videos. It's really funny, so I'm looking forward to that. But I haven't really had much time off. I still haven't seen Bridesmaids, which I'd really like to see.

Is there any more press coming up?
Well, I did a photoshoot for the Sunday Times Style Magazine which was an at-home thing. And now a German magazine called Brigitte - which is apparently the biggest women's monthly in Germany - is coming here next week to take some pictures. So I need to get the house tidied up and organised for that!

It looked very tidy in the Sunday Times one.
Yeah, but they were really sweet, with moving stuff about and angling things the right way. I bought about three copies because it said something on the front cover like "Inside the coolest house in Britain".

Wow. You should put a sign on the front door.
Exactly! "Are you aware you're entering the coolest house in Britain?!" Hahaha!