Sophie Ellis-Bextor paid tribute to the victims of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks before performing ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ at Le Bataclan this week. See the footage below.
The singer-songwriter played at the 1,500-capacity venue on Tuesday night (March 5) as part of her current 2024 European headline tour.
- READ MORE: Sophie Ellis-Bextor on the return of ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ – and watching Saltburn with her mum
Back in November 2015, 90 concertgoers were killed and hundreds were wounded in a terrorist attack that occurred during a sold-out Eagles Of Death Metal show at Le Bataclan.
The three attackers, who were wearing suicide belts, stormed the concert hall and fired Kalashnikov-type assault rifles into the audience (via BBC News). It came as part of a series of attacks around the French capital that evening.
EODM’s merchandise manager Nick Alexander, 35, was among the victims.
Ahead of singing her 2001 hit at Le Bataclan, Ellis-Bextor acknowledged the unfortunate resonance of the single’s title and lyrics.
“It didn’t feel right to me to just waltz into a song called ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ without noting and paying tribute to the history,” the singer told the crowd. “All I want to say is that ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ is not a song with any evil in its heart.”
Sophie Ellis-Bextor dice due parole prima di cantare “Murder on the Dancefloor” sul palco del Bataclan di Parigi pic.twitter.com/BfwSgpbewL
— Bianca Chiriatti 🎙 (@BiancaBerry88) March 5, 2024
Recommended
She continued: “The whole intention of that song, like this venue, is to bring joy and music onto the dancefloor.
“So in tribute to that spirit, and in tribute to everybody who has ever danced right here at the Bataclan, this is ‘Murder On The Dancefloor'”. Watch a fan-shot clip of the moment above.
Ellis-Bextor has enjoyed a huge resurgence recently after ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ soundtracked an already-infamous nude scene in Emerald Fennell’s 2023 film Saltburn.
Back in January, the track reached its original position of Number Two on the UK singles chart (it is currently at Number 20), and broke into the Billboard 100 in the US for the very first time.
Ellis-Bextor has since made her US TV debut, announced a run of North American headline shows and performed live at the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards off the back of this surge in popularity.
In other news, New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander – who co-wrote ‘Murder…’ – has revealed that the song was originally intended to be the band’s debut single instead of ‘You Get What You Give’. He also shared a rough demo of the single, which features a line about ripping a bong.
Speaking to NME at the start of this year, Ellis-Bextor talked about the unexpected experience of achieving success in America this late into her career.
“That’s what’s been quite extraordinary,” she said. “To them, [‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ is] a new song, and that’s bonkers. It didn’t do anything there the first time around, and I’m fine with that. If I’ve learned anything along the way it’s that you’ve got to go where the momentum is.”
The singer continued: “The glamour of being big in America would have meant a lot of time away, and I’d rather go where there are already things happening. I had an absolute ball with the first record in Latin America, South East Asia and all these places – but if this ends up being something that takes me there now then let’s see what happens.”
Last November, Eagles Of Death Metal honoured the eighth anniversary of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. Frontman Jesse Hughes opened up about living with the memory of the shooting in 2017.