Theme from S'Express
Encyclopedia
"Theme from S-Express" is an acid house song by English dance music
band S'Express
from their album Original Soundtrack
. It is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in dance music history and is notable for introducing acid house culture to the UK's charts.
and late 1980s sampling culture
, the single became an instant hit upon its release in April 1988. Written and produced by Mark Moore
and Pascal Gabriel
the song samples liberally from many songs, including heavy sampling from Rose Royce
's "Is It Love You're After" and TZ's "I Got the Hots for You". The hi-hat
is sampled from an aerosol spray.
The track's "S express" refrain makes reference to the 42nd Street Shuttle, or, as it is sometimes known, the "S Express", a well-known line on the New York City Subway
.
The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
for two weeks in April 1988. It fared less well in the United States where it scraped into the Billboard Hot 100 at number 91, but it reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play
chart. It peaked at number 11 in Australia
and number two in West Germany
.
The song was featured in the film Arthur and the Invisibles
.
The Norwegian Broadcasting Company used parts of the song for the intro music of their weekly sports programme.
7" single
12" maxi
Cassette
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
band S'Express
S'Express
S'Express were a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre."Theme from S'Express", based on Rose Royce's "Is It Love You're After", was also one of the earliest recordings to capitalize on a resurgence of sampling culture...
from their album Original Soundtrack
Original Soundtrack (album)
Original Soundtrack is the debut album by English dance music act S'Express. It was predominantly written and produced by S'Express mastermind Mark Moore along with Mark McGuire...
. It is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in dance music history and is notable for introducing acid house culture to the UK's charts.
Song information
One of the landmarks of early acid houseAcid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
and late 1980s sampling culture
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, the single became an instant hit upon its release in April 1988. Written and produced by Mark Moore
Mark Moore
Mark Moore is a British dance music record producer and DJ. He was founder of the pop/sampling pioneers S'Express, and runs the London nightclubs, 'Electrogogo' and 'Can Can'.-Biography:...
and Pascal Gabriel
Pascal Gabriel
Pascal Richard Marcel Gabriel is a Belgian-born musician based in London. His musical career began in 1977 in the punk rock band The Razors...
the song samples liberally from many songs, including heavy sampling from Rose Royce
Rose Royce
Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...
's "Is It Love You're After" and TZ's "I Got the Hots for You". The hi-hat
Hi-hat
A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
is sampled from an aerosol spray.
The track's "S express" refrain makes reference to the 42nd Street Shuttle, or, as it is sometimes known, the "S Express", a well-known line on the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
.
The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
for two weeks in April 1988. It fared less well in the United States where it scraped into the Billboard Hot 100 at number 91, but it reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart. It peaked at number 11 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and number two in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
The song was featured in the film Arthur and the Invisibles
Arthur and the Invisibles
Arthur and the Invisibles is a French/American part-animated, part-live action feature film adaptation of the 2002 children's book Arthur et les minimoys / Arthur and the Minimoys, and the 2003 sequel Arthur et la cité interdite /...
.
The Norwegian Broadcasting Company used parts of the song for the intro music of their weekly sports programme.
Samples used
This is a list of samples used in "Theme from S-Express".- Alfredo de la FéAlfredo de la FéAlfredo De La Fé is a Cuban-born and New York-based violinist who lived in Colombia for more than 16 years and is responsible for transforming the violin into an important sound of Salsa and Latin music...
- "Hot to Trot" from Alfredo, 1979 (LP) - Crystal Grass - "Crystal World" from You're All I Ever Dreamed Of, 1974 (LP)
- Karen FinleyKaren FinleyKaren Finley is an American performance artist, whose theatrical pieces and recordings have often been labelled "obscene" due to their graphic depictions of sexuality, abuse, and disenfranchisement...
- "Tales of Taboo" from Tales of Taboo, 1986 (12") - Debbie HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
- "Feel the SpinFeel the Spin"Feel the Spin" is a song by the American vocalist Debbie Harry, featured on the soundtrack album for the film Krush Groove . The song was co-written by Harry and producers John "Jellybean" Benitez and Toni C....
" from Krush Groove soundtrack, 1985 (LP) - Vocal sample by Laura Olsher from "The Martian Monsters" from Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted HouseChilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted HouseChilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House was an LP album intended for "older children, teenagers, and adults", released by Disneyland Records . The album was mainly composed of sound effects that had been collected by the Sound Effects Department of Walt Disney Studios. The album was...
, 1964 (LP) - Gil Scott-HeronGil Scott-HeronGilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
and Brian Jackson - "The BottleThe Bottle"The Bottle" is a song by American soul artist Gil Scott-Heron and musician Brian Jackson, released in 1974 on Strata-East Records in the United States. It was later reissued during the mid-1980s on Champagne Records in the United Kingdom. "The Bottle" was written by Scott-Heron and produced by...
" from Winter in AmericaWinter in AmericaWinter in America is a studio album by American recording artist Gil Scott-Heron and musician Brian Jackson, released in May 1974 on Strata-East Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during September to October 1973 at D&B Sound Studio in Silver Spring, Maryland...
, 1974 (LP) - Ish - "Scream for Daddy" from I Could Love You, 1986 (12")
- Peech BoysPeech BoysThe Peech Boys, also known as the New York Citi Peech Boys or NYC Peech Boys, was a band that comprised Bernard Fowler, Steven Brown, Robert Kasper, Darryl Short, Larry Levan and Michael de Benedictus. The group formed at the Paradise Garage, being influenced by Larry Levan. They only released four...
- "Don't Make Me Wait" from Life Is Something Special, 1983 (LP) - Gene RoddenberryGene RoddenberryEugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
- "The Star Trek Dream" from The Star Trek Dream, 1976 (LP) - Rose RoyceRose RoyceRose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...
- "Is It Love You're After" from Rose Royce IV: Rainbow Connection, 1979 (LP) - Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs - "Oh That's Good, No That's Bad" from Oh That's Good, No That's Bad, 1967 (7")
- Stacey QStacey QStacey Q is a pop singer, dancer and actress. She is best known for her 1985 hit single "Two of Hearts".-Early life:Stacey Swain was born on November 30, 1958 in Fullerton, California. She is the youngest of three children...
- "Two of Hearts" from Better Than HeavenBetter Than HeavenBetter Than Heaven was singer Stacey Q's first album under Atlantic Records. This release was the first full-length album that the same lineup of musicians , released simply under the name Stacey Q. The artist continued to work with her SSQ bandmates in her solo albums such as Better Than Heaven,...
, 1986 (LP) - TZ - "I Got the Hots for You" from I Got the Hots for You, 1983 (12")
- YazooYazoo (band)Yazoo are a British synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of Top 10 hits in the UK charts in the early 1980s...
- "SituationSituation (song)"Situation" is the title of a 1982 single by the British synthpop band Yazoo. The song was originally released in the UK as the B-side to Yazoo's debut single, "Only You", which went to number two on the UK Singles Chart. Released as a single in its own right in the U.S., the song peaked at number...
" from Upstairs at Eric'sUpstairs at Eric'sUpstairs at Eric's is Yazoo's first album produced by the band and E.C. Radcliffe with assistance from Daniel Miller. It reached # 2 in UK and # 92 in US...
, 1982 (LP)
Track listings
CD maxi- "Theme from S-Express" (3:55)
- "The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) (5:41)
- "Theme from S-Express" (Herbal Tea Casualty Mix) (8:05)
7" single
- "Theme from S-Express" (3:55)
- "The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) (4:18)
12" maxi
- Europe 1
- "Theme from S-Express" (5
- 58)
- "The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) (5:40)
- "Theme from S-Express" (3:55)
NEWLIN
- Europe 2
- "Theme from S-Express" (Herbal Tea Casualty Mix)
- "The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) (5
- 40)
- "Theme from S'Express" (3:55)
NEWLIN
- Canada, UK
- "Theme from S-Express" (12" U.S.A. Mix) (5
- 53)
- "Theme from S-Express" (7" U.S.A. Mix) (3:53)
- "The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) (5:53)
NEWLIN
Cassette
- "Theme from S-Express" (7" U.S.A. Mix)
- "Theme from S-Express" (12" U.S.A. Mix)
- "The Trip"
- "Theme from S-Express" (7" U.S.A. Mix)
- "Theme from S-Express" (12" U.S.A. Mix)
- "The Trip"
Charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 11 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 9 |
| French Singles Chart | 2 |
| German Singles Chart | 2 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 9 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 91 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 1 |