Sophie Ellis-Bextor responds to ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ resurgence for featuring in NSFW ‘Saltburn’ scene

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has hailed the resurgence of her hit ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ after it featured in Saltburn.

• READ MORE: The sound of ‘Saltburn’: five perfect noughties indie bangers in the film

In the movie, actor Barry Keoghan is seen dancing in the nude to her 2001 single in a memorable final scene.

As a result, the track has now enjoyed a resurgence and entered Spotify‘s global chart for the first time after it clocked up over 1.43million streams.

Reacting to the news, Ellis-Bextor wrote on X: “Wow.. thank you for all the Murder love. Happy new year! Xx.”

Wow.. thank you for all the Murder love. Happy new year! Xx https://t.co/8D6Z8G0kcf

— Sophie Ellis-Bextor (@SophieEB) January 1, 2024

Speaking previously about the scene itself, the singer said she “wasn’t quite prepared for the visual”.

“I didn’t really know exactly how it would play in terms of the role it was in the movie until I saw it at the screening, but I absolutely loved it,” she added. “I think it’s such a clever, funny, smart film. I really enjoyed it.”

Ellis-Bextor added that she was happy for director Emerald Fennell to use her song, because they “didn’t really have a plan B” for the film.

“She just felt like it tied everything together in terms of the tone of the film and the juxtaposition of the sort of sweetness of the pop song, but also a little sting in the tail with the lyrics as well,” she said. “I think it works. But how lovely for me, I mean, look, I’ve been singing ‘Murder’ for over 20 years and it’s so nice that it still has the power to surprise me.”

She has since responded to a user on X who asked when she wrote the song, whether she envisaged it being used in such a way. “Yes, absolutely,” Ellis-Bextor replied.

Yes, absolutely. https://t.co/d2ZOclx7cU

— Sophie Ellis-Bextor (@SophieEB) December 30, 2023

Meanwhile, Keoghan has also revealed how he had some reservations about filming the final scene in Saltburn.

The film, set in 2006, is full of hit noughties tracks like Girls Aloud‘s ‘Sound Of The Underground’, Bloc Party‘s ‘This Modern Love’ and The Killers‘ ‘Mr. Brightside’.

In a four-star review of Saltburn, NME described the film as an “intoxicating new satire”, adding: “Saltburn isn’t the most talked-about party of the year, but you shouldn’t miss it all the same.”