Sophie Ellis-Bextor says she lost her virginity when she was raped aged 17

Singer recounts ordeal in new memoir

Sophie Ellis-Bextor (Dan Reid/Shutterstock)

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has spoken out about being raped at the age of 17 by an older musician.

Writing in her new memoir, Spinning Plates, the singer said she lost her virginity in the incident at the apartment of a 29-year-old guitarist. She did not name the alleged culprit.

“If anyone else has been through something similar, it might help us all talk about it,” Ellis-Bextor wrote in the book, which is being serialised in the Mail on Sunday.

She said she met the man at a gig when she was studying her A-levels, and went back to his flat to see his history books. Recalling what happened next, Ellis-Bextor said: “[The man] and I started kissing and before I knew it we were on his bed and he took off my knickers.

“I heard myself saying ‘No’ and ‘I don’t want to’, but it didn’t make any difference.

“He didn’t listen to me and he had sex with me and I felt so ashamed. It was how I lost my virginity and I felt stupid.

“I remember staring at [the man’s] bookcases and thinking: I just have to let this happen now.”

Ellis-Bextor said that consent was viewed differently at the time, and she didn’t think she would have a case against the man.

The “Murder on the Dance Floor” singer, who now shares five sons with her husband Richard Jones, went on to say that she does not want to “name and shame” the man, but to help other women by sharing her story.

Spinning Plates by Ellis-Bextor is out on 7 October.

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here.