Sophie Ellis-Bextor rates Murder on the Dancefloor and other hits in this classic Attitude interview
SEB goes through her favourite tracks in this 2014 feature to mark the release of album Wanderlust
By Sam Rigby
With ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ returning to the Top 10 thanks to Saltburn, Sophie Ellis-Bextor is getting some more well-deserved attention for one of her greatest tracks.
Here, in this classic Attitude interview from 2014 to mark the release of album Wanderlust, everyone’s favourite ‘darncer’ looks back at her biggest hits up until that moment.
This is just one of the countless classic interviews you can read in full on the shiny new Attitude app.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor is back. The girl who gave us ‘Groovejet’ almost 14 years ago is about to release her fifth album Wanderlust, her first since 2011, and it’s certainly a change of direction for the singer. Featuring her new single ‘Young Blood’, the album slows the tempo after 2011’s dance-centric Make A Scene, ditching the synths in favour of ‘proper instruments’ and an unexpected exploration of Eastern European folklore. Fans of Sophie’s bangers need not worry the album is boring, though: Wanderlust may be a curveball but it’s an utterly charming listen. The singer took time out of rehearsals for her imminent album launch gig to reminisce about 10 of her biggest hits and share the stories behind some of her new songs.
Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)
“’Groovejet‘ is a funny one actually, because when I first heard it I was sent the instrumental on CD and stopped it halfway through and thought ‘Why have they sent me this? This is a dance record and I make indie music’. I took it out of the CD player and chucked it on my big pile of CDs. Two weeks later I was tidying up and I found it again and I thought ‘What is this?’, so I put it on again and I actually quite liked it. Spiller was looking for a vocalist and a topline melody and I thought there was something about it I quite liked, so I decided to do it.”
Murder on the Dancefloor
“After the success of ‘Groovejet’ I started work on my solo album and ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ became the biggest hit from the album, but I always think of it as the one all my girlfriends liked. When I played them all the demos it was the one they got most excited about. Whenever I played it they would jump up and down, and ever since I always play my friends everything I do before it comes out. I hold their opinion in quite high regard; I think they’ve got quite good ears!”
Get Over You
“I think ‘Get Over You’ was a continuation of the pop/dance thing that became the sound of the first album, and I suppose the sound I’m most known for. ‘Get Over You’ was a bit tongue-in-cheek really; it’s about a bloke who is really full of himself. I think I’ve written quite a few songs about men like that actually! In my live shows, I do a medley where I sing ‘Get Over You’ and go into a bit of Modjo ‘Lady (Hear Me Tonight)’ and Moloko ‘Sing It Back’, which is really fun.”
Music Gets the Best of Me
“It’s one of the favourites tracks I’ve done. I think it sounds really summery and I like the sentiment. It’s a playful love song, but it’s a love song to music really. I might have boyfriends but music was my first love and it will be there for the duration. I had this idea for the music video where I went from one world to another, which was quite ambitious. When we made it, it was all a bit weird so I ended up working with Sophie Muller (who has directed a lot of my other music videos) and we took ourselves and a very small crew over to Torremolinos. We had fun for three days and filmed a lot of it. It’s one of my favourite videos actually. I have a lot of fun doing music videos – they should be fun!”
Mixed Up World
“’Mixed Up World’ has a bit of a Pet Shop Boys sound, because I grew up listening to them and I love what they do. The second album still had the same feel as the first, but it was maybe a little bit darker. During that record I was going through a bit of a break-up so there are a few break-up songs on there. I wasn’t feeling quite as funny and breezy as I was on the first album, but I got it back on album three.”
Catch You
“’Catch You‘ was the first single off my third album Trip The Light Fantastic and it had another video by Sophie Muller. We went to Venice and it was inspired by the film Don’t Look Now. I played this creepy person running around Venice in a red dress. The song was written by Cathy Dennis, who is probably one of the best pop writers – she is wonderful.”
If I Can’t Dance
“I think Trip The Light Fantastic was a very important album for me as it was a pop record, but I was in a happier place. I wanted to write a predominantly happy album, which can be quite difficult but that album was full of them. ‘If I Can’t Dance’ was quite a bombastic, spirited song about how you have to dance to be part of the revolution and if the other person doesn’t want to join you, then they’re not part of your gang. I really like that song. I used to do it live all the time, but I’ve not performed it for a little while. I should put it back in because it was always really fun to do.”
Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)
“It came about in quite a similar way to ‘Groovejet’ actually. It was inspired by tracks like ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’. It was also inspired by the restorative powers of music. Whenever I hear songs they affect my mood hugely so ‘Heartbreak’ is really that euphoric moment of wanting to dance through the pain.”
Bittersweet
“The fourth album was unashamedly dance and electro and working with people like the Freemasons was great because they do that sound so well. I think they’re phenomenal. There was a lot of quite full-on electro moments on that album and it has been really fun to perform tracks like ‘Under Your Touch’ and ‘Bittersweet’ live.”
Starlight
“’Starlight’ is lovely to sing live, especially at festivals – when you’re outside and the sun is setting, it’s really special. If you’re going to have a snog at one of my gigs, ‘Starlight’ would probably be a good moment. I’ve always been a big fan of that wistful, melancholy feel you get in pop music. It’s something I keep coming back to.”
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