Sophie Ellis-Bextor gave the green light for Murder on the Dancefloor to be used in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn when she found out Barry Keoghan would be dancing naked to her hit single.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor was convinced to let Murder on the Dancefloor be used in the final scene of Saltburn when she discovered Barry Keoghan would be dancing naked to her hit single.
The 2001 disco pop track soundtracks Keoghan’s nude dance as his character Oliver Quick through the Saltburn estate in Emerald Fennell’s Golden Globe nominated 2023 movie.
Sophie, 46, was thrilled when she found out the filmmaker wanted to license her song and had no hesitation saying yes when she found out it would be the music to such a memorable moment.
Speaking to Instagram and TikTok creator Luke Hamnett on episode 4 of BRITs podcast The Red Carpet Treatment – On The Road presented by Mastercard, she said: “I knew about Emerald. I never met her, but I was thinking, what a treat you want to use my song. And then I could see this little synopsis that’d be someone naked. I was like, count me in, got to see that.”
Sophie also loves the fact that Saltburn villain Oliver ultimately comes out on top in the comedy thriller.
She added: “I think there is a little dark triumph in the baddie coming out on top, that’s obviously baked into the veins of Murder on the Dancefloor.”
Thanks to the film’s release in 2023, the Groovejet hitmaker has enjoyed a massive career renaissance and is riding the wave of Murder on the Dancefloor’s revival with new music and renewed momentum.
In September, Sophie released her eighth album Perimenopop and she says the sound of the album goes right back to the style of Murder on the Dancefloor.
She said: “It’s disco pop. It’s optimistic. It sums up my relationship with pop music, actually. It’s like a little audio tonic to make you feel a bit better. Because I had this resurgence with Murder on the Dancefloor, it was the first time I was thinking back to when I started with it and seeing the video and the artwork and all that kind of thing. And calling the album Perimenopop was a really amazing way to liberate me from any kind of comparison with that because it kind of put front and centre the fact that that’s not me anymore. And I didn’t really realise that’s what I was doing with the title until I was nearly releasing it. And I felt like, God, I feel really free. I feel like I’m exactly who I am right now.”
New episodes drop weekly via the BRITs’ YouTube @BRITs and social channels @BRITs.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s episode is available to watch in full on @BRITs YouTube or on @BRITs social channels.
‘I could see this little synopsis that’d be someone naked…’ Sophie Ellis-Bextor reveals why she said yes to Saltburn
