U.K. singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor is coming off a year in which she felt “like after you have a glass of champagne and you’re a bit heady.” After her 2001 disco-pop classic, “Murder on the Dancefloor,” was revived by its use in 2023 black comedy Saltburn, the song once again became a global smash, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in the United States (peaking at No. 51) and matching its 25-year-old No. 2 peak in the United Kingdom.
After spending a year flaunting her new commercial appeal — including on her first-ever U.S. tour — Ellis-Bextor returns with Perimenopop. Out Sept. 12, the album features 12 sparkling dancefloor jams as intoxicating, clever and honest as its title, as well as collaborators such as disco legend Nile Rodgers.
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“Thanks to ‘Murder,’ I basically just wrote a wish list,” she says, “and I completely took advantage of the fact that I could then get in the studio with people who maybe might not have [otherwise] had time.”
What was the craziest moment from the entire “Murder” revival?
That’s easy: It’s definitely the fact that I’ve now done gigs in America. In the beginning of last year, I’d never done so much as a radio interview. I started those gigs thinking, “Is this going to be a room full of people waiting for me to sing one song?” But I was met with a lot of people who clearly had been supporting what I’m up to from far away.
I have to say, Perimenopop — album title of the year. How did you come up with it?
For me and all my girlfriends in our mid-40s, there’s a bit of a narrative about some aspects that might sound a bit gloomy. And I just wanted something that would flip the script on it a little bit — and also invite into the room the fact that I’m not the way I was when I was 20. I think it’s also quite a good indicator of how much more ballsy I’ve gotten as I’ve gotten older. But how lucky am I that I’ve been able to have a career long enough to feel that comfortable?
What was it like working with Nile Rodgers?
To hear all the stories and just be imbued with someone [who] direct-line influenced and inspired me so much was really cool. I think my favorite bit was Nile talking about Madonna, and I said, “Have you seen her recently?” He went, “Yeah, we went roller skating together.”
Are you liking what you’re seeing from the rest of the U.K. pop world these days?
What happened with Charli xcx and brat is obviously so brilliant. But also what I love about it is it really lets the mask fall. And I think teenage me would have completely resonated with that. We talked about a Brat Summer, and I think in my head I was like, “Well, maybe Perimenopop is your autumn?”
This story appears in the Aug. 16, 2025, issue of Billboard.
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