Sophie Ellis Bextor proved she was a refreshingly different singer during her first major concert in Sussex last night - but she was no queen of the dancefloor.

The 23-year-old who has stormed the charts with the catchy pop-disco sounds of Groovejet and Murder On The Dancefloor, was a strange act on stage.

She did not dance, choosing to strut around looking gorgeous instead, and she had a distinctive and interesting full-range voice.

However, the show proved she was desperately in need of more material.

Those standing in the moderately full hall loved it when Sophie sang her better-known songs but were slightly mystified by her slower cabaret-style numbers.

She started the show posed behind a plain, white curtain, her silhouette in a distinctive stance with arms raised.

When the curtain rose, the former model looked better on stage than in many of her photos.

She wore a black, laced, Fifties-style dress, changing into a lilac-and-black dress, showing off a black slip, before finishing up in a colourful short dress with a ra-ra-style skirt for the finale.

We had more than 80 minutes of Sophie, during which time we were treated to her repertoire, mostly from her top-selling album Read My Lips.

The singer promised to have everyone dancing, including a block of people sitting in the balcony, by the end of her show.

It was not the murder on the dancefloor she would have liked, although there was a bit of arm swaying and movement among the audience standing in the main hall.

Sophie has had Top Ten chart success with what are regarded as some the best pop-dance anthems in recent years.

Her recordings may get them dancing at discos throughout Europe but she failed to ignite the audience despite her references to the city during visits as a child and a clubbing teenager.

Judging by the audience, she seemed to attract a stylish set of fans in their late teens and early 20s with a few really young ones of primary-school age.

Sophie was not Kylie or Britney and this was part of her charm.

She was an independent woman surrounded by a band of talented musicians, with Angie Pollock on keyboard, the extremely talented Martin Waugh on guitar, Richard Jones on bass and Paul Stewart on drums.

Sophie is beginning to build up a fan base and she is obviously popular in Sussex, judging by the amount of airplay she gets on radio stations.

On stage, however, she probably needs a more intimate atmosphere than the Brighton Centre to show off her talent to the full.