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Read My Lips is the debut studio album by English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. It was released on 27 August 2001 by Polydor Records. After the disbandment of the Britpop group Theaudience, in which Ellis-Bextor served as vocalist, she was signed to Polydor. Prior to the LP's completion, the singer collaborated with several musicians, including band Blur's bassist Alex James, Moby and New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander. The record was described as a collection of 1980s electronica and 1970s disco music.

Read My Lips
Studio album by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Released	27 August 2001 (2001-08-27)
Recorded	2000–2001
Studio	Strongroom, London[lower-alpha 1] Nomis, London[lower-alpha 2] Mayfair, London[lower-alpha 3] Alma St.[lower-alpha 4]
Genre	Dance-pop disco electropop
Length	50:04
Label	Polydor
Producer	Gregg Alexander Richard Hall Ben Hillier Alex James Korpi & Blackcell Damian LeGassick Steve Osborne Marco Rakascan Matt Rowe Spiller TommyD Jeremy Wheatley Gary Wilkinson
Sophie Ellis-Bextor chronology
Read My Lips (2001) Shoot from the Hip (2003)
Singles from Read My Lips
"Take Me Home" Released: 13 August 2001 "Murder on the Dancefloor" Released: 3 December 2001 "Get Over You"/"Move This Mountain" Released: 10 June 2002 "Music Gets the Best of Me" Released: 4 November 2002

Critical response to Read My Lips was polarised, with music critics denouncing its content that was, according to one magazine, Q, of lesser quality than "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)"—the singer's collaboration with Italian DJ Spiller and according to others, inherently malign simply on account of being chart pop. The album reached number two on the UK Albums Chart, and has since been certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It spawned four singles: "Take Me Home", "Murder on the Dancefloor", double A-side single "Get Over You"/"Move This Mountain" and "Music Gets the Best of Me".

Background

Following the disbandment of Britpop group Theaudience, Ellis-Bextor provided vocals for the song "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Italian DJ Spiller.[2] The song was a commercial success,[3] and Ellis-Bextor signed to Polydor. She was contacted by director Baz Luhrmann, who offered her a role in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, but the singer refused in order to focus on her career as a recording artist.[4] The success of "Groovejet" also prompted American musician Moby to notice Ellis-Bextor, and revealed interest in working with her due to her "amazing" voice, as he described it.[1] He instructed his record company to "track" Ellis-Bextor "down" so they could start working as soon as Moby finished his tour.[1] The two ultimately wrote five songs in New York City, which did not make the final cut of Read My Lips.[4][5] Furthermore, she also recorded with Blur bassist Alex James, as well as former frontman of the New Radicals, Gregg Alexander, while Damian LeGassick was recruited for his programming and keyboard work.[5]

The album's title was chosen due to the strong lipstick Ellis-Bextor used for the album artwork, the "Take Me Home" music video and “Read My Lips” is sung in the opening verse of the album track “The Universe Is You”. [6] The album photography was shot by Mert Alas.[7]

Composition

An "eclectic" album, Read My Lips, is a collection of 1980s electronica and 1970s disco.[4] The album opener and first single is a cover version of Cher's 1979 song "Take Me Home", described as a "disco groove".[8] Betty Clarke from The Guardian observed that her voice in the song is reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolittle (in the movie My Fair Lady).[9] "Move This Mountain", co-written by Alex James, is a "vibrant" ballad with a trip hop-influenced sound.[8] Following track and second single, "Murder on the Dancefloor", is a dance-pop and disco record, that utilises bass guitar and piano in its instrumental.[9][10][11] "Sparkle" has "speeding beats and equally speeding keyboards",[9] while "Final Move" contains "tinny beats" and "electro swirls".[9] The latter was deemed a "subdued version" of "Murder on the Dancefloor" with "similar kaleidoscope synth".[12] "I Believe" was described as "funky" and "live-sounding",[9] while "Leave the Others Alone" involves "cold beats" and "big, full-throttle keyboards".[9] "By Chance" was particularly noted for showcasing Ellis-Bextor's accent.[12] Re-release new song "Get Over You" is a "polite" Euro disco take on "I Will Survive".[13]

Singles and promotion

Promotion for Read My Lips launched with the release of "Take Me Home", a cover of the song by singer Cher, which was released on 13 August 2001.[14] Although its production and Ellis-Bextor's vocal performance in the song were heavily criticised,[15] the single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart.[16] After the release of the album, "Murder on the Dancefloor" was serviced as its second single on 3 December 2001.[17] It peaked in the top 10 of the charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.[18][19] A double A-side single including new re-release song "Get Over You" and original album track "Move This Mountain" was released on 10 June 2002, in a set of two CD singles.[20][21]

Ellis-Bextor, who had previously felt uncomfortable with the idea of touring, confirmed a UK-only tour in January 2002, which took place from April to May.[22] Later, in July 2002, other dates of the tour were revealed for 2003.[23]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Blue Coupe	Positive[8]
Entertainment.ie	[24]
The Guardian	Negative[9]
The Independent	Mixed[25]
Q	[26]
Yahoo! Music	[27]

Toby Manning from Q cited "Take Me Home" and "Move This Mountain" as the album's highlights, but, overall, he thought that the record failed to live up to the standard set by the previous collaboration with Spiller.[26] He also found that the album's music and the distinctive pronunciation of Ellis-Bextor's vocal delivery did not work to complimentary effect.[26] Betty Clarke from The Guardian described the album as a "sophisticated package" but said "there's little to love and even less fun to be had".[9] Kelvin Hayes from AllMusic dubbed it "a disappointing debut from Ellis-Bextor, fusing Human League synth with beats and cinematic strings", but described "Murder on the Dancefloor" as the "shimmering highlight" from the album.[12] A critic from entertainment.ie said "the material on her debut solo album only rarely does justice to her distinctive upper-crust voice", and said that "most of the songs sound laboured and plod where they should swing".[24]

In contrast to the previous reviews, Andrew Arora from Blue Coupe had a more positive response to the record. Arora said "it lands somewhere between Pet Shop Boys' synth-pop faculty and Blondie's Parallel Lines album", although he claimed that fans of "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" "should not expect much from this album, but it does deliver a dynamic electro disco sound that is sometimes analogous to her breakthrough-hit single".[8]

Commercial performance

Read My Lips debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 23,023 copies. Although the original ten track edition dropped down and out of the charts over the next few weeks, a twelve track UK edition, released December 2001, peaked at number three in January 2002 following the singles chart success of Murder on the Dancefloor. Finally a fifteen-track edition with a considerably revised running order was released in summer 2002 and peaked at number two - 41 weeks after the original edition first charted.[28] On 21 June 2002, it was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[29] The album had sold 833,968 copies as of January 2014.[28]

Track listing

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[59]	Platinum	70,000^
France (SNEP)[60]	Gold	100,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[61]	Platinum	15,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[62]	Gold	20,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[63]	Platinum	842,000[64]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[65]	Platinum	1,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Tour

Read My Lips Tour

Tour by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Cover of the rare tour programme.
Associated album	Read My Lips
Legs	2
No. of shows	45 in Europe
Sophie Ellis-Bextor concert chronology
Read My Lips Tour (2002-03) Straight to the Heart Tour (2009-10)

The Read My Lips Tour was the debut concert tour by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, in support of her debut studio album. Beginning January 2003, the tour visited the European continent.[66] As of 2013, it is the biggest tour Ellis-Bextor has ever headlined.[9]

Background

The Read My Lips tour is the biggest tour Ellis-Bextor has ever gone on, having 38 dates and two legs.[67] The Shepherd's Bush Empire gig was recorded, later being released in Ellis-Bextor's first video album, Watch My Lips.

Setlist

This setlist was obtained from the concert held 3 May 2002 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, England. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

1. "Sparkle"
2. "The Universe Is You"
3. "Lover"
4. "A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed"
5. "By Chance"
6. "Final Move"
7. "Is It Any Wonder"
8. "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)"
9. "Everything Falls into Place"
10. "Murder on the Dancefloor"
11. "Move This Mountain"

Encore

12. "Get Over You"
13. "Take Me Home (A Girl Like Me)"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Europe—Leg 1[68]
17 April 2002	Middlesbrough	England	Middlesbrough Town Hall
18 April 2002	Carlisle		Sands Centre
19 April 2002	Northampton		Derngate
21 April 2002	York		Barbican
22 April 2002	Edinburgh	Scotland	Queen's Hall
23 April 2002	Warrington	England	Parr Hall
25 April 2002	Ipswich		Regent Theatre
26 April 2002	Norwich		The Waterfront
27 April 2002	Folkestone		Leas Cliff Hall
29 April 2002	Basingstoke		The Anvil
30 April 2002	Leicester		Richard Attenborough Centre
1 May 2002	Bristol		Colston Hall
3 May 2002	London		Shepherd's Bush Empire
4 May 2002
Europe—Leg 2[69]
16 January 2003	Grimsby	England	Grimsby Auditorium
17 January 2003	Preston		Preston Guild Hall
19 January 2003	Glasgow	Scotland	Clyde Auditorium
23 January 2003	Newcastle	England	Newcastle City Hall
24 January 2003	Nottingham		Theatre Royal
25 January 2003	Sheffield		Sheffield City Hall
27 January 2003	Liverpool		Royal Court Theatre
28 January 2003	Wolverhampton		Wolverhampton Civic Hall
29 January 2003	Cambridge		Cambridge Corn Exchange
31 January 2003	Cardiff	Wales	Cardiff International Arena
1 February 2003	Manchester	England	Manchester Apollo
2 February 2003	Plymouth		Plymouth Pavilions
4 February 2003	Brighton		Brighton Centre
5 February 2003	London		Hammersmith Apollo
9 February 2003	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Melkweg
11 February 2003	Stockholm	Sweden	Nalen
12 February 2003	Oslo	Norway	Rockefeller Music Hall
13 February 2003	Gdynia	Poland	Klubie Muzycznym „Ucho"
14 February 2003	Aarhus	Denmark	Train
15 February 2003	Copenhagen		Amager Bio
17 February 2003	Brussels	Belgium	Ancienne Belgique
18 February 2003	Cologne	Germany	Live Music Hall
21 February 2003	Hamburg		Große Freiheit 36
22 February 2003	Berlin		Universal Hall
24 February 2003	Darmstadt		Centralstation
25 February 2003	Munich		Kleine Elserhalle
26 February 2003	Zürich	Switzerland	Volkshaus
28 February 2003	Milan	Italy	Propaganda
1 March 2003	Marseille	France	Théâtre du Moulin
2 March 2003	Lyon		Le Transbordeur
3 March 2003	Paris		Élysée Montmartre

Notes

References

External links

• Read My Lips at MusicBrainz
• Review + Details
• Watch My Lips at IMDb
• Read My Lips Tour dates

На других языках

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- [en] Read My Lips (Sophie Ellis-Bextor album)

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[es] Read My Lips

«Read My Lips» (en español, Lee mis labios) es el álbum debut de la cantante británica pop Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Fue lanzado en agosto de 2001 en Europa y Australia y en septiembre del año siguiente en los Estados Unidos. La placa tuvo gran éxito comercial y buena repercusión crítica. Contiene el sencillo "Murder on the Dancefloor", que se convirtió en la canción más exitosa de Ellis-Bextor, así como uno de los hits más representativos de comienzos del 2000.

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[it] Read My Lips (Sophie Ellis-Bextor)

Read My Lips è l'album di debutto della cantante pop britannica Sophie Ellis-Bextor, pubblicato nel 2001 dall'etichetta discografica Polydor e successivamente ristampato l'anno seguente con l'aggiunta di due canzoni nuove ed una traccia live.

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[ru] Read My Lips

Read My Lips — дебютный студийный альбом английской певицы Софи Эллис-Бекстор, выпущенный 27 августа 2001 на лейбле Polydor Records.

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