How Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ Helped Saltburn Climax
When Emerald Fennell invited Sophie Ellis-Bextor to an early morning preview of Saltburn, the singer spent a good portion of the screening with her face in her hands. Situated between her mom and 19-year-old son, Ellis-Bextor watched as Barry Keoghan slurped sperm out of a bathtub and humped a grave, knowing that her 2002 single “Murder on the Dancefloor” would appear during the film’s climax. When it arrived, she stared up at the screen, soaking in every inch.
Released in December 2002, “Murder” was an undeniable hit everywhere but the United States, hitting the top in at least a dozen countries. But Ellis-Bextor never quite reached the heights of that breakout single — that is until Keoghan danced to it, cock and balls out, in one of the year’s most talked about scenes. “It wasn’t so far off from my own interpretation of the song,” she says.
Since the Saltburn’s release, “Murder of the Dancefloor” has become a viral phenomenon on TikTok, soundtracking clips of rich kids dancing around their own stately homes; Ellis-Bextor’s own reinterpretation reached almost a million likes (quite a feat for someone whose account had previously been run by their 15 year-old son). The song, which hadn’t previously touched the U.S. charts, has since entered the Hot 100 and topped Spotify’s viral hits playlist. Ellis-Bextor now joins Kate Bush in the league of criminally underrated British singers who have received a late-career reappraisal thanks to a felicitous TV or film sync. Yet for Ellis-Bextor, life is still largely as it was before. She tends to her five sons in West London, while trying, but largely failing, to process life after virality. “It’s all pretty funny, isn’t it?”
When “Murder on the Dancefloor” first came out, it hit the Top 10 pretty much everywhere in the world except the U.S. How does it feel for it not only to reach a new generation of listeners, but to pop off in the States for the first time?
If you could go back to 22-year-old me and tell her “The song’s going to break in the U.S., you just have to wait a couple of decades…” But you know what? One of the things I’ve always adored about what I do, and it’s not for the faint-hearted, is the fact that at any point, you might get a phone call or an email and it just changes the course of what you’re up to. It’s happened to me a few times over the years. As creative folk, we don’t have that much autonomy over what happens next, actually. So you also have to spend time going with momentum and reacting to stuff. So for this to happen is like a really magnified, glorious example of that. I think you’ve just got to be open to things. And obviously this whole thing happened because of Saltburn.
When exactly did Emerald Fennell ask to use your song in her film?
I think it was probably the beginning of last year that I was asked for my permission. At that time, all I knew was that it was called Saltburn, that Emerald had written and directed it, and that they wanted to use the entirety of the song for someone to dance to with no clothes on. That was literally all I knew. I said yes, because that sounded like fun and I wanted to see it. I kind of didn’t really think about it for a while. Then in the summer I started hearing a little bit of a buzz about the movie, and then I went to see a screening of it with my mom and my husband and my eldest boy. It was a weekday morning, we were all sat in a little row. My mom and son were fine but I think I was worrying about them and I had my head in my hands for some of it. But I also really enjoyed it. I thought it was dark and funny and had a great atmosphere. And I love how Emerald uses music throughout the movie. I want to see it again.
This week you made the Hot 100 for the very first time. Have you had a chance to celebrate?
Oh, no. But I’ll find a way. It’s just an extraordinary thing and it’s quite hard to get my head around. I was touring the U.K. just before Christmas, so from the weekend before Christmas through to the beginning of this week, I was just having some family time. So I was getting all this information about what’s happening with the song, but I was just like, at home. It’s that really weird feeling where it feels incredibly abstract. It’s feeling a bit more real now, but I’m trying my best to actually just enjoy it, because I think when you normally have a new song that’s doing well on the charts, you’re so caught up in the promotion. To have something where the song is actually providing all the momentum and I can just sit back and be like, wow, this is special, is really unique.
Does this song becoming a hit again actually change anything in your day-to-day life?
Radio One played it when I had it on in the kitchen and I hadn’t been played on Radio One in ages. And then my 11-year-old was listening to “Murder on the Dancefloor” and he said, “I think it’s kind of overrated.” But that being said, it feels really special. I can feel the love it’s receiving.
Does it also give you the authority to say to your kids, “Look, mum really likes doing this and mum’s really good at this.”
Yes, but I suppose I also had an amazing 2023 in general. I released my seventh album. It charted well. I did a European tour for the first time in 20 years, and I played Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage for the first time in my whole life. It was just incredible, like magic. So I think for a little while, as a working parent, I’ve had to find ways to make sure I give space to what I do anyway. I really love what I do. And happily for me, I’m on very good terms with, you know, all the songs I’ve sung so much on the dancefloor, they’ve become very good friends.
Saltburn is essentially a mid-2000s period piece. How did you feel hearing “Murder” amongst other gems from that era, like the Cheeky Girls’ Christmas song?
There were a few standout moments. I really loved the party scene with Tomcraft’s “Loneliness.” She picked out quite a few songs I hadn’t heard in a while. It’s such a clever way of time traveling, isn’t it, music?
What about the song being used so literally? I felt it was quite in keeping with the spirit of the music video for the song, too.
That only occurred to me this week. The video was me being evil and getting rid of people and then winning. I think also there’s something in the track that’s slightly hedonistic, celebratory, hands in the air. So what a thing to have someone dance in a movie through a stately home, naked, celebrating. I think that’s actually not so dissimilar to my own interpretation. Maybe.
What made you want to have your own villain moment when you made the video?
Well, firstly, I think it’s quite fun. But secondly, I was new to the pop scene. A lot of people were being introduced to me and nobody knew much about me. I just thought, maybe I won’t tell them everything about me. I thought it felt like a good juxtaposition to a lot of the smiley pop videos that were around in that era to actually just be really horrible. It was a lot of fun. And I do think with pop music, if you’re not having fun, something’s going wrong.
What’s your taste in film like?
I have to say Saltburn was right up my street. I absolutely loved it and so did my family. I also like a lot of horror. I love Jaws. I love Don’t Look Now. I love Rosemary’s Baby. I love Midsommar. I love The Witch. I think it’s always about good storytelling, isn’t it? If someone can tell a good story, then you’re pretty hooked, I reckon.
Do you have any other plans in place to capitalize on this moment?
Oh, I don’t know if that’s quite the way I would think of it. But I think I have learned very well through this twisty career that the best friend of making music is always momentum. So, luckily for me, I was already starting work on the new album and I was already going to make a dance pop album, so it feels like a nice bit of serendipity. I just want to have fun, really, and enjoy what I’m doing.
For people who are new to you, what song or album of yours would you recommend?
Oh, bloody hell. There are quite a few ways you could go. I’d say I’m probably not your average pop star because I started out in an indie band and then did a dance track and then ended up at pop. So sometimes I have flirtations and go to other places. So, you know, if you want more pop, then I think the first four albums, that’s very much where they sit. If you want a bit of Eastern European inspired folk, album five. Six is a kind of slightly trippy proggy pop album. There’s also an orchestral greatest hits album if you want it. But if you want more pop music, then stay tuned.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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