Sophie Ellis Bextor
Not all my shoes are designer. In terms of clothes, everything is on the same level for me. If I like it, it doesn't matter if it cost £200 or £2. I'm attracted to things rather than labels.
Also, I think women really come into their own in their 30s.
A lot of what inspired many musicians is celebrating differences, and people relate to that - more people feel like the unpopular, freaky one than the one in the in-crowd.
I don't think that old-fashioned idea of record companies exists any more.
There are a lot of people out there who lie about their age and I think it does us all a disservice. It can't all be over when you hit 30. That would be rubbish.
I've been DJing a little bit, so you get used to the fact that music sounds brilliant when it's loud.
Getting up to dance to your own stuff looks pretty pretentious. And leaving the dancefloor when it comes on is just awkward.
But I quite like that the public has a very short attention span. If I haven't been on telly for a little bit, I can sense it. People don't take as much notice of you, it's really quite palpable.
I don't think anyone doubts my motives, really. I do what I do and it's not very complicated. Of course, you might hate the music that I make, but I don't think people feel threatened by me just getting on with what I'm up to.
I learned to stand up for myself at school where I was never too popular.
I wrote the worst novel ever.
Philately is normally a boys' hobby but for some reason it was in vogue at my junior school. Between the ages of eight and ten I collected avidly. I'd pore over my Stanley Gibbons book, obsessively checking my collection's value. I always hoped I'd stumble across a really valuable one, a Penny Black or an Inverted Jenny, but it wasn't to be.
Now when I say Sophie Ellis-Bextor I feel that's not really me because that's become this entity from doing the gigs and the shows and the make-up contracts and whatever else.
I'm a little bit allergic to the whole brand thing to be honest but maybe it's just happening around me and I'm not really aware of it.
My rule for the corporate stuff is the same as with my music - I do whatever means I can sleep at night and whatever means I can be dignified.
I must confess I knew very little about the trance scene, I'm more house and commercial dance but it was really interesting and different.
I'm someone who has always been quite clear about what I like. In the studio, I'm not a control freak but I know what I want.
Someone had my number and they started text-stalking me. I've never replied to them. It was tempting to write back, but I resisted.
It's funny how intimate it feels to get a text.
My parents separated when I was four. It wasn't the smoothest of divorces, but then as my mother always says, you can't have a passionate marriage without a passionate divorce.
I was an only child, but then my parents resettled with different partners, and I am now one of six.
Two premature babies was not a genetic thing; we were just unlucky.
The fact that my mother was on television every week while I was young was occasionally awkward, and often frustrating.
I'd never really thought about it before, but now you ask I can see that how my parents handled money definitely affected my relationship with it.
Like my mum, I sometimes buy things I shouldn't and fill my house with rubbish.
I think I'm fairly good with money, but I've developed some strange tics - in shops I don't like to go to the counter unless I've got at least two things to buy. If I'm walking around with just one thing in my hand I'll put it back and wait a few weeks because that doesn't seem like a proper purchase.
I started my music career at 18 and for a long while I let other people handle my affairs.
That's part of the reason I called the album 'Shoot From The Hip.' I did feel it was time to open up more.
But I don't like working on lyrics publicly in the studio - I prefer to take them away and work on them in my bedroom.
I would love to record something with PJ Harvey or Alison Goldfrapp.
I don't think writing or co-writing my songs makes me a better singer, but I haven't really got an excuse not to do it as I've got too many opinions!
Dance music is great, but it's not a time to be reflective or particularly wistful.
I really love being in London at weekends - there's always so much to do.
I try my hardest not to read reviews.
I like the influence of the macabre, but I don't believe in ghosts.
My little boy Sonny makes me laugh all the time. He has good comedic timing.
In terms of clothes, everything is on the same level for me. If I like it, it doesn't matter if it cost £200 or £2.
I'm happy that I have a look, but I don't over-analyse whether or not it's beautiful or ugly.
I didn't feel so great when I was a teenager, but who does?
The X Factor' is great entertainment, but it doesn't prepare people for getting chewed up and spat out by the music industry.Collection: People
Some people can get away with being very sexy to men and not looking like a complete cow, but I didn't think I was in a position where people knew me well enoughCollection: Sexy
I tasted huge success with my first album, and when it’s happening it feels like a roller coaster you can’t get off. You should be very careful about wishing for success on that scale.Collection: Firsts
There are a lots of clowns in our family – our house is a fun house.Collection: Fun