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It’s official. Disco-Pop is COOL again.
When Sophie Ellis-Bextor released iconic pop gem ‘Murder on the Dancefloor‘ in the early noughties, would she have thought it would be a smash again 22 years later? Probably not. Yet, whilst always being a Pop staple in the midst of many Spotify playlists and still being played on radio from time to time, the song naturally faded somewhat from the public’s conciousness. That was until the release of black comedy psychological thriller ‘Saltburn’ at the tail end of 2023.
Written by Sophie Ellis-Bextor along with Gregg Alexander and co-produced by Alexander alongside Matt Rowe, ‘Murder...’ was released on 3rd December 2001 as the second single from Ellis-Bextor’s debut album ‘Read My Lips‘. Ellis-Bextor was already on the way to becoming a Pop Princess, having experienced success with the infectious ‘Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)‘ with Italian DJ Spiller in 2000 and a slightly modified version of Cher’s ‘Take Me Home‘, which peaked at Number 2 in August 2001.
An immaculate personnel of musicians, songwriters and producers were involved with the making of ‘Murder…’ Co-writer and co-producer, the elusive Gregg Alexander was previously frontman of Alternative-Rock band ‘The New Radicals’ who had had a smash hit with ‘You Get What You Give‘ in 1998 before Alexander turned his back on fame and turned to songwriting and production instead. He is responsible for some of the most memorable Pop triumphs from the early noughties – think ‘Life Is a Rollercoaster‘ and ‘Lovin’ Each Day‘ by Ronan Keating, ‘Inner Smile‘ by Texas and ‘The Game of Love‘ by Santana and Michelle Branch’. Alexander initially wrote ‘Murder on the Dancefloor‘ alone, intending it to be the first single of The New Radicals, before ‘You Get What You Give‘ took precendence. Ellis-Bextor then tweaked and re-wrote some of the lyrics and the rest is history.
“I wrote the music in my old Mustang in the ’90s, pissed my car broke down. It was gonna be New Radicals’ bawdy first single until I came up with ‘You Get What You Give.’ I dug both equally but spent so much producing this ‘music in you’ idea I worried I’d go broke finishing ‘Murder,’ too. Once Sophie got on mic, her magic owned it. I’m an artist at heart, but moonlighting, I’ve produced Tina Turner to the Strokes and trust me — Sophie’s that uniquely talented.”
Gregg Alexander in an email to Variety – 2024
Matt Rowe on the other hand, made a name for himself crafting much of the early discography of The Spice Girls, co-writing the likes of ‘Wannabe‘, ‘2 Become 1‘ and ‘Spice Up Your Life‘, along with Richard Stannard. Add to that the genius of Guy Pratt on bass duties (having worked with the likes of Madonna, Michael Jackson, Tears for Fears and All Saints), Yoad Nevo on guitars, percussion and programming and the wonderful John Themis on guitars, ‘Murder…‘ really was created and perfected by a dream team of musicians.
Everything about the execution of (pun possibly intended…) ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ is perfect, from its warm, shimmering, swirling synths in its opening to its fade out over three minutes later. It utilises all the elements from classic 70’s disco, with a Studio 54 glamour but gives it a camp, contemporary touch which still sounds fresh over twenty years later. A gorgeous mesh of funk guitars, an infectiously-good bass line provided by Guy Pratt and timeless strings paired with perfect melodies and Ellis-Bextor’s distinctive vocals, ‘Murder...’ captured the hearts of the public and was a Top 10 hit in 17 countries, peaking at Number 2 in the UK charts.
So what’s made ‘Murder on the Dancefloor‘ have a second lease of life over two decades later? Well of course, the biggest factor is that it’s been hugely propelled by that scene in ‘Saltburn’. It was a stellar choice from director Emerald Fennell, with ‘Murder…‘ not only perfectly capturing the dark nature and euphoria of the film but also concluding the film with, depending on your music knowledge, either a reminder of a timeless pop classic or introducing a new anthem to a new generation. Such was the power of the film and the popularity of the track, the song received 1.5 million streams on New Years Eve 2023 alone on Spotify.
Ellis-Bextor, having become something of the nation’s sweetheart in recent years thanks in part to her uplifting, hilariously chaotic and real Kitchen Disco live streams during the Covid pandemic and her grounded, unassuming nature, experienced yet another surge in popularity. She has popped up everywhere since zooming back into the charts, performing on talent shows with contestants and providing interviews for many media outlets. New versions of ‘Murder…‘ were promptly added to streaming services and the song was pressed again on vinyl, capitalising on success (well done, SEB management!) Ellis-Bextor’s geninely flattered and humble response to her resurgence reflects this. She told Radio 1’s Newsbeat:
“It actually feels really magical. And if I’m honest, I don’t think I’ve completely processed it really.
Sophie Ellis Bextor speaking to Newsbeat
“It’s extraordinary. It’s a song I’ve been singing for over 20 years, I still love singing it.
“I love the way people react when I do it live.
“But for new people to be discovering it, for it to be making new memories with people is kind of beautiful.”
There’s also the unavoidable fact that disco is currently experiencing a renaissance (think of the success of Kylie, Beyonce and Dua Lipa in the last five years). Disco is IN.
But above all, we cannot overlook the fact that ‘Murder...’ is a timeless and genius piece of pop perfection in the first place. It sparkles with the optimism of early ’00’s Pop but maintains a timelessness of 70’s disco and still holds its own in 2024. Quite some feat.
You can watch the gloriously camp and tongue-in-cheek music video for ‘Murder on the Dancefloor‘ below:
Sources:
The Music Box. 
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