Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 hit Murder on the Dancefloor is back in the UK charts and has cracked the Top 10, taking up the number eight spot on this week’s charts.
The songs revival in thanks to the gothic thriller Saltburn which features the track is its very memorable final scenes.
Speaking to the BBC Ellis-Bextor shared her thoughts on the song’s new lease of life.
“I think it’s kind of magical.” the musician said. “It’s quite hard to get my head around, because usually when you’ve got a song in the charts you’ve been doing lots of promos – so you’re caught up in the buzz of that, but I’ve been having Christmas and New Year here with my family, and my song has been doing its thing, and I think it’s pretty glorious.
Ellis-Bextor said she had a lot of thanks for people who been discovering the song again.
Asked if she knew the song would be used in the dramatic scene where Barry Keoghan’s character dancers around naked, Ellis-Bextor conformed she was fully aware of the context the song would be used in.
“I did, it’s a big part of the reason I said yes.” she confirmed breaking into a laugh.
Sophie Ellis Bextor first caught the world’s attention with the massive club hit Groovejet (If This Aint Love). She quickly followed it up with more hits including a reworking of Cher’s 70’s disco tune Take Me Home and the massive Murder on the Dance Floor.
Her career didn’t start in the realms of disco though, she first gained attention as the lead singer of indie band Theaudience, who made their mark on the UK charts in the era of Britpop. Over the last two and half decades the singer has released seven albums that have covered a range of different styles.
Murder on the Dancefloor was written by Ellis-Bextor and collaborator Gregg Alexander.
Alexander first found success with his band the New Radicals who had a massive hit with You Get What You Give in 1998. Since then he’s largely worked behind the scenes penning hits for everyone from Geri Halliwell to Santana and Michelle Branch, Melanie C, Texas, Ronan Keating and Hanson.
Revisit the video for Murder on the Dancefloor.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s most recent album in 2023’s Hana, the final installment in a trio of albums that saw her working with producer and songwriter Ed Harcourt. It followed on from Wanderlust (2014) and Familia (2016).
When Ellis-Bextor chatted to OUTinPerth back in 2020 she said Harcourt had been her favourite collaborator.
“My favourite collaborator has been Ed Harcourt who I did my last couple of albums with, we just found it so easy to write songs together, and we get excited about the same things and have lots of fun. It’s a joy to work with him, and we have a laugh, and great conversations. It shouldn’t feel like work.” Ellis-Bextor said.
The phenomena of the ‘Bring Back’ hit
Chart analyst Chris Molanphy recently delved into the phenomena of songs hitting the charts years after their initial release in his podcast Hit Parade.
He notes that in the age of streaming and TikTok hits finding success years after their initial release is becoming more common.
Ellis-Bextor’s tune is just one of a number of songs to find a second lease on life. Taylor Swift is also currently having success with her song Cruel Summer which featured on her 2019 album Lover. Swift has released three more albums of material since the record came out, and also re-recorded four of her earlier albums.
Inclusion in a film or television series is often the trigger for a song to be back in the charts. Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill was included in the TV series Stanger Things, The Righteous Brothers hit the charts with Unchained Melody in the early 90s when it was featured in the film Ghost, and Harry Nilsson’s 1971 tune Gotta Get Up probably found more fans in 2019 after it was prominently featured in the television show Russian Doll.
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