POP star Sophie Ellis-Bextor has performed her song Murder on the Dancefloor in a venue where 90 people were killed by terrorists.
The 44-year-old, on a ten-date tour, made no apologies for Tuesday’s performance at the Bataclan in Paris, saying it was an important tribute.
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She told the sell-out crowd: “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.
“All I want to say is that Murder on the Dancefloor is not a song with any evil in its heart.
“The purpose of this song, like that of this theatre, is to bring joy, music and dance.”
Before performing the song, Ms Ellis-Bextor, wearing a pink sparkly bodysuit and a purple glitter cape, said: “I love you Paris.”
And she called it a tribute “to all who once danced here at the Bataclan”, including those caught up in the massacre in November 2015.
Three IS-linked gunmen stormed into a concert by the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal, opening fire on about 1,500 people.
Some 90 were dead by the end of the evening – and around 400 wounded, including the suicide attackers.
It was part of a wider attack on Paris where 130 died in total and hundreds were injured.
Murder on the Dancefloor, which was co-written by Ms Ellis-Bextor, is one of her greatest hits.
It was released in 2001, and peaked at Number Two in the UK Singles Chart, while also achieving huge success abroad, including in France and the USA.
Ms Ellis Bextor said she was delighted the song was used in the film Saltburn.
“What’s happened with this song and the fact that it’s being listened to by people who weren’t even born when it came out is just spectacular,” she said.
The Bataclan, which has hosted some of the biggest bands in the world over the years – from Echo and the Bunnymen to the Velvet Underground – reopened within a year of the 2015 attack, with a concert by Sting.
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