It was just shy of two years ago on this here corner of the web that I was writing and enthusing about the 2020s renaissance that Kate Bush was enjoying at the hands of her song, “Running Up That Hill“, being used in the Netflix supernatural drama series, Stranger Things.
Little could I have foreseen then, that such a situation would arise again with a vintage pop classic, this time from the slightly more recent past, and one that I actually wrote about on The Story of Pop: 2002 series exactly two years ago to the month to boot. And for the artist behind it, it could not be more richly deserved.
For as I write this, Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s much loved floorfiller from 2001, “Murder On The Dancefloor“, has, thanks to its use in a provocative dance scene on the soundtrack of Emerald Fennell’s dark psychological thriller film Saltburn for Amazon Prime, re-entered the UK charts, and has now reclaimed the #2 peak it achieved first time out on its original release over 22 years ago.
As someone who has been a fan of Sophie’s since she made her solo debut on Spiller’s classic “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” back in 2000, this is something of a joy to behold, seeing her be discovered by an audience who – largely – hadn’t even been born when she first hit the charts. I’d even go so far as to say that Sophie is one of the best female solo artists the UK has ever produced.
For me, she exemplifies all the best qualities that our finest female musicians in the UK have always possessed; namely, a quirkiness and sensibility that you would struggle to find anyone from over the pond or anywhere else in the world replicating in quite the same way, or indeed following the unusual trajectory her career has taken.
From starting out as frontwoman with the modestly successful late Britpop band Theaudience at 17, onto Spiller and then her own solo work, which has traversed disco pop, electro, trance, orchestral, folk stylings, indie and synth pop, her career has been anything but predictable or ordinary.
What’s more, the use of “Murder On The Dancefloor” in Saltburn is more apt than one who has just discovered it from the film may realise. For Barry Keoghan’s intense character in the film – who dances to the song naked at its climax, having successfully manipulated his way to inheriting a wealthy family estate – perfectly mirrors the song’s own visual interpretation, in the form of its music video, recently restored to 4K on Sophie’s YouTube channel.
In case you need reminding, it sees Sophie take part in a dance contest in a video treatment from her long time collaborator and acclaimed director Sophie Muller, that pays homage to a famous scene from the Jane Fonda film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, where, with her iconic cutaway boots and glittery emerald green eyeshadow, she humorously sees off her fellow competitors – and even judges – by tripping them up, poisoning their drinks, smothering them with chloroform and causing them to have wardrobe malfunctions mid-routine – all with the aim of winning the trophy and cash prize, which she eventually does.
In fact, the dark references mixed with showgirl glitz are something that have continued apace in much of Sophie’s career – see the video for her 2007 comeback single “Catch You”, which paid visual tribute to the 70s big screen version of the Daphne Du Maurier novel, Don’t Look Now, or “Love Is A Camera”, a single from her 2014 album Wanderlust, which told the spooky story of a witch who captures her victims’ souls by taking their photo.
It is this, combined with her love of sparkle and showwomanship, that has seen her find a steady and growing reputation for a great night out with her live shows and tours. Indeed, since becoming a 21st century Dame Vera Lynn, with her weekly Kitchen Discos on her Instagram every Friday night during lockdown in the pandemic, which she has now toured twice around the UK and Europe, she was arguably on the way back to a moment such as the one she is experiencing now, with a number of people recreating the “Saltburn dance” to the song on social media platforms.
True, it is unquantifiable as to how things could progress from here for Sophie, once the general buzz and madness around such a moment as the one “Murder…” is enjoying at present eventually recedes. At time of writing, she is believed to be working on a new album, with names such as Richard X and Cathy Dennis already on board, but as anyone who is a Sophie fan will tell you, she is known for taking substantive gaps between writing, recording and releasing albums.
Sophie, who has always had a way with words and approaching the world, had this to say about it to Forbes in an interview with them last week: “There was a bit over Christmas where I was seeing the numbers picking up and I said to my manager like, ‘This is all amazing but what does it really mean?’ But I think now, I feel like it’s kind of starting to turn into something, where it might mean I go places I haven’t been for a while, or maybe new people are introduced to what I am up to. Mainly, I think it’s just a really good example of what I’ve always loved about what I do, which is that you have to be open to the unexpected.”
Indeed, Sophie is not the only popstar of a certain vintage presently enjoying a new generation revival. Further down this week’s chart, for instance, you will find Natasha Bedingfield, whose 2004 top 10 smash “Unwritten” has made a similar renewed impact, thanks to its use in the Netflix romantic comedy film Anyone But You, that has also turned it into a viral social media hit.
Similarly, another 00s cut, in the form of Mason vs Princess Superstar’s 2007 floorfiller “Perfect (Exceeder)” is once again a top 40 hit thanks to its use in – yep, you guessed it – Saltburn. And in light of both Kylie Minogue and Cher enjoying their respective biggest hits in some decades last year, it seems to point to a new turn of events.
Namely, that streaming incorporated into the charts, and the use of music from older decades in films or TV shows for Netflix or other services is finally bringing a bit of equilibrium to proceedings. For the longest time since streams from services such as Spotify have begun counting towards the chart, it has undoubtedly weighted and favoured more whatever is at the top of these services “Today’s Hot Hits” and encouraged passive streams. Anyone who has not achieved a top 10 hit in at least the past 10 years is considered “niche” or “heritage” (both thinly veiled ways of displaying ageism) and thus less than by an industry that still by and large favours the young and fresh.
Sophie’s Saltburn inspired renaissance therefore, is the most promising sign yet that, for the first time in years, investment and ownership in music and getting behind a song or an artist means more than it has done in a very long while, and that such ridiculous deep set notions about the “relevance” of them are indeed nonsense. A good song and a good artist will always find an audience – just as “Murder On The Dancefloor” has proved.
“Murder On The Dancefloor” will be re-released on a special limited edition CD single and red 7″ vinyl on 16th February via Polydor Records, and can be pre-ordered now on Sophie’s website. Are you a fan of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s? Are you happy to see her make a return to the charts thanks to Saltburn? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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