'Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)' has officially turned 26 years old. Spiller and Sophie Ellis-Bextor's genre-defining crossover anthem first landed in the summer of 2000. Now, Ellis-Bextor has marked the anniversary with an emotional tribute post that captures just how much the record changed her career.
“Happy 26th birthday to Groovejet,” Sophie Ellis-Bextor wrote. “This is the song that changed my life. Not just because it became a hit and allowed me the chance to become a solo artist, but crucially because it took me out of the indie world and into dance, which gave me the confidence to enter the world of pop.” She added that she still adores singing it, and that hearing it on the radio always makes her smile.
The Italian producer Spiller crafted the original instrumental, drawing on Carol Williams’ 1978 disco cut ‘Love Is A Message’. Sophie Ellis-Bextor brought the vocal that turned it into a Number 1 anthem across Europe. As a result, ‘Groovejet’ beat Victoria Beckham’s ‘Out Of Your Mind’ to the top of the UK chart in one of the defining pop-versus-dance moments of the era.
Ellis-Bextor also shared a fun fact in her post. Notably, ‘Groovejet’ was the first record she ever received a songwriting credit on. She thanked her co-writer Rob Davis in the same post. Beyond that, the track carries another obscure claim to fame. It was reportedly the first song ever played on an iPod during the device’s development. ‘Groovejet’ remains a certified club classic to this day.
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