Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Murder On The Dancefloor

“Murder on the Dancefloor” – Single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor from the album Read My Lips. B-side “Never Let Me Down”. Released 3 December 2001.

“Murder on the Dancefloor” is a song written by Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Gregg Alexander, produced by Alexander and Matt Rowe for Ellis-Bextor’s first album, Read My Lips (2001). Released on 3 December 2001, the song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-10 hit worldwide, charting within the top three in Australia, New Zealand, and four European countries. In the United States, the single reached number nine on the Billboard Maxi-Singles Sales chart. “Murder on the Dancefloor” is reported to have been the most played song in Europe in 2002.

The music video was directed by Sophie Muller, and it centres around a dance competition that spoofs the gym dance sequence in Grease (1978). The winner’s prize consists of a pair of golden high-heel shoes and a substantial amount of money. Desperate to win and sizing up the competition, Ellis-Bextor proceeds to sneakily injure and disqualify the majority of the other dancers. She trips one then unties another’s dress and snatches it off her, causing her to run off. Next she slyly poisons a trio of potential rivals by spiking the punch during a refreshment period. Then she causes another to slip on a pat of butter and finally frames a dancer for cheating on his partner by planting a G-string on his person; this results in his partner slapping him and exiting the dance floor.

Ellis-Bextor also turns her attention to the trio of judges. By using what seems to be chloroform, she incapacitates the only female judge on the panel. Noticing that the lead judge (played by Colin Stinton) has a weak spot for beautiful women, Ellis-Bextor approaches him when he is alone and beguiles him. Lovestruck, the lead judge succeeds in persuading the remaining judge to have Ellis-Bextor declared the winner, much to her fellow dancers’ disapproval.

The video concludes with the other dancers grudgingly applauding (before promptly deserting) Ellis-Bextor and her dance partner, as she happily clutches her cash prize and the golden shoes on the winner’s podium.

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor (as featured in Saltburn)03:53

About the first video on the top, Sophie Ellis-Bextor wrote:

Wow.. what better way to celebrate and pay tribute to Saltburn and Murder on the Dancefloor than a performance at the BAFTA

✨ Such a cherry-on-top moment 🍒 Thanks to Paul Roberts who choreographed such a dream – he also helped Richard and I with our wedding dance so I know how brilliant he is! The dancers were awesome, the lights and staging and cameras so perfect… huge thanks to BAFTA for giving me the opportunity. Pop stars don’t usually get to go to film awards and I got around the ever so slightly intimidating crowd by pretending I was performing at a lookalikes convention 😎 In all honestly I just wanted this moment to be real party and a thank you to all who are a part of my story and this song.. dancing The Altogether so happily since 2001. Xx

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