Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s U.K. hit is seeing a resurgence in the U.S. and abroad after it was featured in the closing sequence of the movie Saltburn. However, it was once given up by New Radicals in favor of their actual 1998 debut single “You Get What You Give.” Ellis-Bextor picked it up, changed some lyrics, and made it her own hit single.
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Now, in a recent interview with The Guardian, Gregg Alexander of New Radicals opened up about why the band abandoned “Murder on the Dancefloor” in favor of “You Get What You Give.” Additionally, listen to the original demo of “Murder” by New Radicals below.
“I almost flipped a coin between [‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ and ‘You Get What You Give’],” Alexander told The Guardian. “The record company wanted something urgently and I didn’t have the time or the budget to finish both. I felt like ‘Murder’ was a monster but ‘You Get What You Give’ was a masterpiece. It was everything I’d always wanted to say inside five minutes.”
New Radicals’ Gregg Alexander Talks “Murder on the Dancefloor,” Working with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and Shares Snippet of Original Demo
Allegedly, New Radicals recorded a “master-quality demo” of “Murder,” however, “I was really excited and [‘You Get What You Give’] was newer,” Alexander recalled. He and Ellis-Bextor actually collaborated on “Murder” once New Radicals gave it up. It ended up being “the first of three or four Top 10 hits we had,” said Alexander.
The song was recorded in London at Mayfair Studios. “Every time I went down the hallway for a coffee I’d see people dancing to ‘Murder On The Dancefloor,” Alexander recalled. “I’d think ‘Wow, maybe this is tapping into something.’”
Alexander released a 41-second snippet of the New Radicals’ demo of “Murder on the Dancefloor” with a message. It reads, in part, “My bandmate Danielle [Brisebois] and I thought why not share a snippet of that cassette ruff track we sent Sophie containing New Radicals’ nearly ‘lost hit’?”
The message continues, “A song which may have gone unheard, and the world never known, were it not for Sophie’s belief in the song and her pop brilliance! Enjoy – and eternal thank you from New Radicals to Sophie Ellis-Bextor!” Listen to the demo below.
Featured Images by John Phillips/Getty Images; Mark Davis/Getty Images for The Santa Barbara International Film Festival
