REWIND back to the 2000’s | Written by: Angela N.
It is hard to talk about Sophie Ellis’ biggest single, Murder on the Dancefloor, without first beginning with the music video. After all, it forms the premise for the entire song. Alexander and Matt Rowe produced it. The video might only be available in 480 pixels, but it tells the story of pop in the 2000s. It’s in the gold stilettos forming the first frame, the heavily embellished satin costumes the contestants wear, and the striking green smoky eye with glitter.
Like any other groundbreaking song of the early 2000s, there was an intricate plot to exactly how the murder was going to happen. Not a single person who was young in the 2000s didn’t practice the song’s choreography in the bedroom. In a bid to win the dance competition, Sophie Ellis employed all kinds of tactics to eliminate her competition. She poisons some, slides some butter underneath another’ feet, and even suffocates a judge. This level of theatrics is something we all miss in today’s music videos; we can only see so much flashy jewelry and club scenes.
Sophie Ellis Bextor is a British singer-songwriter and model. She grew up with parents who were already into the arts; her mother was a children’s TV presenter, while her father was a film producer and director. Prior to releasing Murder on the Dancefloor, Sophie came into the scene in the 90s as the lead vocalist in the underground indie-rock band Theaudience. Read My Lips, the album from which came Murder on the Dancefloor was her debut album. With it, she was out to prove her strength, skill, and creativity as a solo artist.
An iconic song with Groove
Gregg Alexander and Sophie Ellis wrote murder on the Dancefloor. It wasn’t just the video that made the song iconic, but the genius in how it was created. The lyrics are simple, but catchy: “It’s Murder on the Dancefloor, you better not kill the groove…I know I know I know about your kind.” The song also took inspiration from the 80s and 90s electronic groove and disco, which was not so popular in this genre of music at the time and put a modern twist on it. The irresistible guitar riff leaves you playing the song over and over again.
At the top of the charts
The song topped the charts in over twenty countries and in 2002, it was the most-played track in Europe. In Australia, it reached #2 in the ARIA Charts while it topped the UK Charts for more than twenty weeks! IMPRESSIVE much!
But still not awarded…
Although Murder on the Dancefloor hasn’t bagged any awards yet, it remains a classic more than twenty years later. On Spotify alone, the song has clocked more than 100M streams. It is a fan favorite for karaoke nights and late-night office parties.
Sophie Ellis has also released other albums, with the most recent being Make a Scene (2011), Wanderlust (2014), and Familia (2016). She is also busy raising her five adorable children with her husband, Richard Jones, and entertaining us with family karaoke on Instagram.
