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Baker's Dozen

Time Portals: Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Favourite Albums
Fergal Kinney , January 27th, 2021 10:25

After cheering up the nation with her lockdown kitchen discos, Sophie Ellis-Bextor takes Fergal Kinney through her 13 favourite albums, from Blur to Madonna, Paul Simon and Fleetwood Mac and musicals

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Madonna – Like A Prayer
I liked Madonna since being a kid, if you grew up in the 80s it was so much part of culture to discuss Madonna, but people do forget what a good songwriter she is. I personally think 'Like A Prayer' is one of the best songs ever written – it encapsulates love, lust and religion in a few minutes. The thing about Madonna I always liked growing up was the fact she was quite challenging, you never knew what she was going to do next. A lot of pop stars are brilliant at being pop stars but they aren't necessarily doing something unexpected. As a fan you didn't ever predict Madonna's next move.

You played the title track during the Kitchen Discos, I really enjoyed looking forward to a different cover each week which became quite a big part of those – 'True Faith', 'Like A Prayer', 'Do You Remember The First Time'

I would plan the covers just as and when I had the inspiration, sometimes really close to the wire. When we did the Halloween one I only decided to do 'Wuthering Heights' in the morning – and that's the joy of it, I find that a really enjoyable way to spend time. Once I discovered the joy of downloading karaoke backing tracks off iTunes you only have to think it to find it. Prince through to Julie Andrews! That's the inside of my mind.