Ellis-Bextor began her career in 1997, with an indie band called theaudience. She sang the lead vocal in the band. While she was a band member, readers of Melody Maker elected her to the Number 1 position among the 'most sexy people in rock'. She recorded a duet with Manic Street Preachers—Black Holes for the Young—as a B-side for their 1998 single The Everlasting. Some songs released by theaudience are I Got the Wherewithal, If You Can't Do It When You're Young; When Can You Do It?, I Know Enough (I Don't Get Enough), and A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed (perhaps their best-known single). The band split in December 1998.
Albums Read My Lips · Shoot from the Hip · Trip the Light Fantastic
Singles "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" · "Take Me Home" · "Murder on the Dancefloor" · "Get Over You"/"Move This Mountain" · "Music Gets the Best of Me" · "Mixed Up World" · "I Won't Change You" · "Circles (Just My Good Time)" · "Catch You" · "Me and My Imagination" · "Today the Sun's on Us" · "If I Can't Dance"
