There is big excitement at news that Sophie Ellis-Bextor is to headline this summer’s Mouth of the Tyne Festival in North Tyneside..
The Murder on the Dancefloor star will take top slot on the Sunday finale of the July 7-10 event which is making a return to Tynemouth following last year's postponement due to Covid. Tickets will go on sale this Thursday for her outdoor gig where she will be joined by singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner who shot to prominence following the release of his debut album Hand Built by Robots - a double platinum success - in 2007.
Ellis-Bextor meanwhile has been at the top of her game since her own solo debut album Read My Lips in 2001 which sold more than two million copies worldwide. It was her performance as a vocalist on Spiller's number one mega-hit Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) followed by Murder on the Dancefloor that made her name and she has continued to keep fans happy, including during lockdown when she produced videos, recorded by her husband, showing her performing Kitchen Discos at home with her five sons, which were viewed by an international audience of around 40 million.
Read more: Guide to 2022's music festivals across the North East
And local fans no doubt will be eager to see her up close and personal at her coastal gig which will see her perform against the backdrop of Tynemouth Priory and Castle. Reaction to the news on Facebook included people making immediate plans to bag tickets, with comments including "def up for this"; "should be a good afternoon" and "yes yes yes". For this year's return, Mouth of the Tyne managed to secure postponed headliners Keane for its Friday slot as well as Newcastle's own Lighthouse Family whose show on the Saturday has already sold out.
The festival, an annual celebration of outdoor concerts and street entertainment hosted by North Tyneside Council, attracts crowds of more than 100,000 people to the coast. This time around there are more intimate shows too, including John Cale - a founder member of the The Velvet Underground - appearing at The Playhouse Whitley Bay.
For tickets to the Sunday Afternoon in the Priory concert featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor, which will go on sale on March 31 at 9am, see ticketmaster here or SeeTickets here.
