Sophie Ellis-Bextor addressed the Bataclan attacks before her song(Picture: Cat Morley/SOPA Images/Shutterst)
Pop icon Sophie Ellis-Bextor began her performance of hit song Murder on the Dancefloor on a sombre note as she addressed attacks at the venue.
While on her European tour off the back of her Saltburn success, the 44-year-old singer was scheduled for a gig at the Bataclan in Paris, France.
Sophie didn’t think it was appropriate to belt the unfortunately titled chart-topper without addressing the venue’s tragic and poignant history first.
‘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,’ she explained.
On November 13, 2015, the Bataclan was hit by terror attacks in which 500 people were injured and 130 people were killed, including 90 inside the theatre.
Attackers took hostages at the Eagles of Death Metal concert, attended by 1,500 people, and the tragedy is regarded as one of the worst in Paris’ history.
She said it was not an ‘evil’ song (Picture: Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)
Sophie continued: ‘All I want to say is that Murder on the Dancefloor is not a song with any evil in its heart. 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.’
Her hit tune was originally released in 2001 but has skyrocketed in popularity thanks to Emerald Fennell’s film Saltburn, in which Barry Keoghan dances to it naked.
When speaking to Metro.co.uk about the track previously, Sophie shared: ‘The song is triumphant, but it’s got a little bit of wickedness.
‘And that was the starting point for me … when I did the music video all those moons ago, I played a baddie. She’s trying to do anything she can to win a competition, killing people and hurting and poisoning them, and then I win.
‘Maybe over the years I’d kind of forgotten about its dark side, but [Saltburn] reminded me.’
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