What a brilliant post on Trip The Light Fantastic @Nina West.

It's my favourite album from her too! It's just so brillitant.

I'm just listening to Love Is The Law on YouTube now and it's quite good. Was this a leak from around the time or did it get a release in some capacity?

No surprises with the top 2, but they’re such quality songs.

Hoping Murder On The Dancefloor wins, but honestly I’ll be happy either way.

9 hours ago, Paddington James said:

What a brilliant post on Trip The Light Fantastic @Nina West.

It's my favourite album from her too! It's just so brillitant.

I'm just listening to Love Is The Law on YouTube now and it's quite good. Was this a leak from around the time or did it get a release in some capacity?

She released it as a free download on her website in 2008 as an apology for cancelling the tour.

I forgot that song existed! Haven't listened to it in years.

10 minutes ago, Jessie Where said:

She released it as a free download on her website in 2008 as an apology for cancelling the tour.

I forgot that song existed! Haven't listened to it in years.

Thanks, was it a finished HQ version or a demo version?

9 minutes ago, Paddington James said:

Thanks, was it a finished HQ version or a demo version?

The quality of the download was fairly shoddy, so I think that's the best version of it that exists.

I think its time for the final results, they will be posted in 2 separate posts

So get ready

Take me one step at a time

#02. Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (with Spiller) - 9.562

Highest Scores: 11: (gooddelta, Jade, Jester), 10: (Nina West, Paddington James, Scene, HarryGarfield, Liam.k., dandy), Lowest Scores: 8: (Jessie Where, Viper, AllStarBySmashMouth)

At the runner up spot is the incredible gem that really started it all 'Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)', a song by Italian electronic music DJ and record producer Spiller with lead vocals performed by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Released in August 2000 and was involved in a highly publicised chart battle against "Out of Your Mind" by Victoria Beckham, where it was a close battle, but this song eventually overtook it sales by becoming Sophie's first and only UK chart topper. The track was originally created by Spiller in early 1999 as an instrumental, with no singing, and was included on the Mighty Miami EP. The song is built upon by samples from the Carol William's disco song 'Love Is You'. The origin of the song title is taken from the name of the nightclub 'Groovejet' in South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida, where the song was first played (as an instrumental) in 1999. In order to make it more palatable for airplay, Positiva Records asked Sophie to provide lyrics and vocals for the song, her lyric was partly reworked by Rob Davis. In addition to receiving critical acclaim, the track became a worldwide smash hit by topping the charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand & UK, top 10 peaks in Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Finland Portugal, Denmark, Hungary, Italy and Netherlands.

I think you all knew what the #1 song was gonna be, but for now let's talk about this quintessential, timeless dance-pop classic and a defining song of the 00s. Sleek grooves, soulful vocals, sophisticated melodies and incredible use of a relatively unknown disco song, and you've got a dance pop masterpiece on your hands. This perfectly captures that summer in Ibiza vibe perfectly as well as being the start of Sophie Ellis-Bextor's solo career and what a perfect starting point this was. I don't know what else to say about this, it's just perfect and looking back its hard to believe that this almost lost out on the #1 spot with Victoria Beckham's song, but thankfully the right song won out in the end.

Such a great song. I remember back in 2000 Pepsi here in Australia were running a promotion that if you collected six labels from there drinks and sent them in they’d send you back a CD with 6 songs of your choosing on it, from a list of about 50 songs.

I don’t quite remember what my first five songs were but I know for sure this was track 6 and I use to absolutely hammer it.

On the song itself though I did go off it for a while after about 2002, but then I really got back into it around 2020 and have loved it ever since.

Gonna burn this goddamn house right down

#01. Murder On The Dancefloor - 10.156

Highest Scores: 11: (Nina West, Mango, Scene,...ready for it, JosephStyles, Jester), 10: (gooddelta, Paddington James, Josh, Jessie Where, Jade, HarryGarfield, Liam.k., dandy), Lowest Scores: 8/8.5: (Viper, AllStarBySmashMouth)

Well there you have it guys, the winner of the Sophie Ellis-Bextor rate is none other than the incredible 'Murder On The Dancefloor'. Released in December 2001 as the second single from Sophie's debut album 'Read My Lips' and would go onto become Sophie's signature hit by reaching a #2 peak in the UK and becoming a worldwide sensation by hitting top 10 peaks in other 20 countries and is reported to have been the most played song in Europe in 2002. The song was written by Sophie and Greg Alexander with production by the former and Matt Rowe. Greg first wrote the hook and melody back in 1994. In 1998, he planned to record the song with his New Radicals band for their sole debut album 'Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too', but ultimately chose to record 'You Get What You Give' instead. The song came to attention once again in January 2024, following its use in the film Saltburn and popularity on TikTok. where again it became a worldwide smash hit by reaching #2 on the UK charts, as well as top 10 peaks in a further 11 countries, and even made a dent on the US Top 100 at #51, becoming her first appearance on that chart. The same year, Alexander's band New Radicals released their own version of the song.

Yes, this was a predictable winner, but who cares when a song is this good, it fully deserves all the praise and attention. This won the rate by 9.5 points, resulting in a perfect 10.00 average. Sophie's debut album may have had split opinions upon its release, but the consensus that this song was a highlight was pretty unanimous across the board. So, releasing it as the second single made total sense and went onto elevate it as a British disco pop masterpiece and would set the tone for the rest of her career. The shimmering beats, frantic string stabs, dramatic beats and awesome tongue in cheek lyrics is brimming with personality and joyus fun. This has rightfully been cemented as Sophie's magnum opus and never fails to entertain. Even after more than 20 years since its release it still sounds incredible and fresh, a timeless pop classic. The track may sit on the more commercial end of her debut album, but its still firmly committed to her emerging style and persona, therefore it fits cohesively within the context of the album even if there was nothing else on there that sounded like it (well on the original release anyway). To this day it stands as Sophie's most popular and enduring hits. its ever lasting legacy is there for a whole new generation to enjoy which is why it became a massive success the second time around.

Absolutely love this song and it was very close to getting my 11, I think I just wanted to give another song a little extra boost as I suspected this would get plenty of 11’s and 10’s.

I never bought the single, but this and Get Over You were enough to get me to buy the album.

I still love this song now and listen to it quite regularly.

A big thank to everybody who took part in this rate and the countdown and here's the final results in full =

1. Murder On The Dancefloor - 10.156

2. Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (with Spiller) - 9.562

3. Heartbreak (Made Me A Dancer) (ft Freemasons) - 9.343

4. Bittersweet - 9.25

5. Get Over You - 8.843

6. Catch You - 8.843

7. Me and My Imagination - 8.718

8. Freedom of the Night - 8.656

9. Take Me Home - 8.531

10. Hypnotized (ft Wuh Oh) - 8.375

11. Crying At The Discoteque - 8.281

12. Today The Sun's On Us - 8.093

13. If I Can't Dance - 8.062

14. Music Gets The Best of Me - 8.031

15. Mixed Up World - 7.937

16. Not Giving Up On Love (ft Armin van Buuren) - 7.933

17. Young Blood - 7.812

18. Come With Us - 7.7

19. I Won't Change You - 7.625

20. Wild Forever - 7.6

21. Relentless Love - 7.593

22. Off & On - 7.566

23. Starlight - 7.562

24. Vertigo - 7.562

25. Dolce Vita - 7.531

26. Breaking The Circle - 7.531

27. Runaway Daydreamer - 7.312

28. Stay On Me - 7.281

29. Can't Fight This Feeling (ft Junior Caldera) - 7.233

30. A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed (theaudience) - 7.178

31. Crystalise - 7.066

32. Move This Mountain - 7.031

33. Lost In The Sunshine - 7.0

34. Everything Is Sweet - 6.781

35. Immortal (ft Lufthaus) - 6.766

36. Love Is A Camera - 6.718

37. Taste - 6.687

38. Love Is You - 6.625

39. Death of Love - 6.6

40. Circles (Just My Good Time) (ft Busface) - 6.466

41. If You Can't Do It When You're Young (theaudience) - 6.428

42. The Deer & The Wolf - 6.406

43. I Know Enough (I Don't Get Enough) (theaudience) - 6.357

44. f*** With You (ft Bob Sinclair & Gibere Forte) - 6.1

45. I Got The Wherewithal (theaudience) - 5.821

Thank you for hosting this @Nina West, it’s been great participating and following along.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been this glued to a ‘Rate’, so thanks for doing such a great job.

'Groovejet' is a great song, although it's not why I like her as such and it's probably nowhere near my favourite. Although my Dad actually loved this song, and he hated 99% of modern music, and I appreciate it for setting the ball rolling.

'Murder' is a classic of classics, I loved living through its second wind - I'm still not sure I'll ever quite believe it actually happened! Whilst not my absolute personal fave, it's definitely up there in my top 5 for sure.

Expected but brilliant winner and a 10+ average is incredible!

As for my own 11... 2000 really delivered with its many U.K. #1s as I'd say 'Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)' is my second favourite hit of the entire year, only behind fellow chart-topper 'Pure Shores'. Love the house grooves, strings, percussion and of course Sophie's charming vocal performance. As you mention, 'Groovejet' of course started life as an instrumental, yet this mash-up feels like one of those combinations that was meant to be - a bit like 'Toca's Miracle' from the same year, with components that also fit together perfectly.

It has built a fun legacy for itself with the aforementioned chart battle and also being the first song ever played on an iPod.

Thank you for running this rate, Nina West! ❤️

13 minutes ago, Jade said:

Expected but brilliant winner and a 10+ average is incredible!

As for my own 11... 2000 really delivered with its many U.K. #1s as I'd say 'Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)' is my second favourite hit of the entire year, only behind fellow chart-topper 'Pure Shores'. Love the house grooves, strings, percussion and of course Sophie's charming vocal performance. As you mention, 'Groovejet' of course started life as an instrumental, yet this mash-up feels like one of those combinations that was meant to be - a bit like 'Toca's Miracle' from the same year, with components that also fit together perfectly.

It has built a fun legacy for itself with the aforementioned chart battle and also being the first song ever played on an iPod.

Thank you for running this rate, Nina West! ❤️

I need to remember this ‘first song to be played on an iPod’ bit of information. It’ll be good to know when it eventually comes up in pub trivia.

Will “Murder On The Dancefloor” win 2 rates in one day?

Thanks Nina for this… sorry I didn’t vote. Sophie does have a finer discography than I’d realised.

4 minutes ago, Julian_ said:

Will “Murder On The Dancefloor” win 2 rates in one day?

Thanks Nina for this… sorry I didn’t vote. Sophie does have a finer discography than I’d realised.

Oh yes, it could very well claim the Pop Princess Rate. That would be quite the feat.

To be fair it is a brilliant song.

Of course I come across as among the minority that rated the top 2 lower than the rest. 😆

Over 10 average for MOTD is insane though!

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by AllStarBySmashMouth

Wow I had no idea that Gregg had started writing MOTD as early as 1994 or that it was nearly recorded by The New Radicals!

Excellent winner, very well deserved, what an absolute classic it is! Thanks for running this @Nina West.

Here's the New Radicals version of it

Slightly different to Sophie's