The frontman of New Radicals, Gregg Alexander, has revealed that Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s hit song ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ was almost their debut single. Alexander, who is credited as a co-writer and co-producer of the 2001 song, stated that he nearly flipped a coin between the two songs, but eventually selected ‘You Get What You Give’ as New Radicals’ first track.
‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ reached number two on the UK singles chart in January and broke into the Billboard 100 in the US for the 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. According to Alexander, the song was initially intended to be New Radicals’ debut single, stating that he felt like ‘Murder’ was a monster, but ‘You Get What You Give’ was a masterpiece.
Alexander went on to talk about a “master quality demo” he had recorded for ‘Murder…’. However, he turned his attention to ‘You Get What You Give.’ The demo made its way to Ellis-Bextor after New Radicals’ split, with the pair going on to finish the tune together.
New Radicals’ hit ‘You Get What You Give’ appeared on their sole studio album ‘Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too’ and hit number five in the UK. In 2021, the band reunited for the first time in 22 years to perform the song during a virtual event celebrating President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Ellis-Bextor discussed the unexpected experience of achieving success in America this late into her career, stating that “‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ is a new song [to Americans], and that’s bonkers. It didn’t do anything there the first time around.” She added, “If this ends up being something that takes me there now then let’s see what happens.”
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