"Theme from S-Express" is an

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

song by British

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

group

S'Express S'Express (pronounced ''ess-express''; sometimes spelled S'Xpress or S-Express) was 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", which contain ...

, from their debut studio album, ''

Original Soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

'' (1989), written and produced by

Mark Moore Mark Moore (born 12 January 1965) is a British dance music record producer and DJ. He was founder of dance/ sampling pioneers S'Express, and runs the London nightclubs Electrogogo, and Can Can. Biography Moore began his DJ career in 1983 play ...

and

Pascal Gabriel Pascal Gabriel (born 15 December 1956) is a Belgian-born musician based in London, England and Provence, France. Background Pascal Gabriel's musical career began in 1977 in the punk rock band The Razors (bass guitar). He left Belgium for Lo ...

. One of the landmarks of early

and late 1980s sampling culture, the single was released by

Rhythm King Rhythm King Records Ltd was a British independent record label, founded in the mid-1980s by Martin Heath, Adele Nozedar, DJ Jay Strongman and James Horrocks. It was based in Chiswick, London. History Beginnings Starting out as an offshoot of ...

and Capitol, and became an instant hit upon its release in April 1988, peaking at number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It fared less well in the United States, only reaching number 91 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 but reaching number one on the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart. It additionally peaked at number 11 in Australia and number two in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, France and the Netherlands.

Production

The song samples liberally from many other works, including heavy usage of

Rose Royce Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B group. They are best known for several hit singles during the 1970s including " Car Wash", " I Wanna Get Next to You", " I'm Going Down", " Wishing on a Star", and " Love Don't Live Here Anymore". Career ...

's " Is It Love You're After", and TZ's "I Got the Hots for You", which provided the song's

campy Camp is an aesthetic and sensibility that regards something as appealing or amusing because of its heightened level of artifice, affectation and exaggeration, especially when there is also a playful or ironic element. ''Camp'' is historically ...

hook. The song used the line "Drop that ghetto blaster" prominently from the song "Tales of Taboo" by

Karen Finley Karen Finley (born 1956) is an American performance artist, musician, poet, and educator. The case, '' National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley'' (1998), argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, was decided against Finley and the other artist ...

. The

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock music, rock, popular music, pop, jazz, an ...

is sampled from an aerosol spray. The track's "S express" refrain makes reference to the

42nd Street Shuttle The 42nd Street Shuttle is a New York City Subway shuttle train service that operates in Manhattan. The shuttle is sometimes referred to as the Grand Central/Times Square Shuttle, since these are the only two stations it serves. The shuttle op ...

, a line on the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

. The train sample used is of an

InterCity 125 The InterCity 125 (originally Inter-City 125) or High Speed Train (HST) is a diesel-powered High-speed rail, high-speed passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited between 1975 and 1982. A total of 95 sets were produced, each com ...

. The cover artwork features a

cutaway drawing A cutaway drawing, also called a cutaway diagram, is a 3D graphics, drawing, diagram and or illustration, in which surface elements of a three-dimensional model are selectively removed, to make internal features visible, but without sacrificing t ...

of a

British Rail Class 56 The British Rail Class 56 is a type of diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight work. It is a List of British Rail power classifications, Type 5 locomotive, with a Paxman (engines), Ruston-Paxman power unit developing 3,250 Horsepower, bhp ...

, a contemporary freight locomotive. For the North American release, some spoken word samples had to be removed due to licensing issues, and were recreated by unnamed voice artists. The female vocalist is

Michel'le Michel'le Denise Toussant ( ; born December 5, 1967), also spelled Toussaint, is an American R&B singer known for her songs from 1989 to the early 1990s. Her highest charting song is the top ten US Hot 100 hit "No More Lies". Between 2013 and ...

Samples used

This is a list of samples used in "Theme from S-Express". *

Paula Prentiss Paula Prentiss (née Ragusa; born March 4, 1938) is an American actress. She is best known for her film roles in '' Where the Boys Are'' (1960), '' Man's Favorite Sport?'' (1964), '' What's New Pussycat?'' (1965), '' Catch-22'' (1970), '' The Par ...

"Yes. Yes. This, it's wonderful." is taken from the 1975 film ''

The Stepford Wives ''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife, and young mother who suspects that something in the town of Stepford is changing the wives fro ...

'' * Alfredo de la Fé – "Hot to Trot" from ''Alfredo'', 1979 (LP) * Crystal Grass – "Crystal World" from ''You're All I Ever Dreamed Of'', 1974 (LP) *

– "Tales of Taboo" from ''Tales of Taboo'', 1986 (12") *

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

– " Feel the Spin" from ''Krush Groove'' soundtrack, 1985 (LP) emoved from U.S. version* Vocal sample by Laura Olsher from "The Martian Monsters" from '' Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House'', 1964 (LP) emoved from U.S. version*

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackso ...

and Brian Jackson – " The Bottle" from '' Winter in America'', 1974 (LP) emoved from U.S. version* Ish Ledesma – "Scream for Daddy" from ''I Could Love You'', 1986 (12") *

Peech Boys The Peech Boys, also known as the New York Citi Peech Boys or NYC Peech Boys, were 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, b ...

– "Don't Make Me Wait" from ''Life Is Something Special'', 1983 (LP) *

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...

– "The Star Trek Dream" from ''The Star Trek Dream'', 1976 (LP) emoved from U.S. version*

– " Is It Love You're After" from ''Rose Royce IV: Rainbow Connection'', 1979 (LP) * Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs – "Oh That's Bad, No That's Good" from ''Oh That's Good, No That's Bad'', 1967 (7") emoved from U.S. version*

Stacey Q Stacey Lynn Swain (born November 30, 1958), known by her stage name Stacey Q, is an American pop singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Her best-known single, " Two of Hearts", released in 1986, reached number one in Canada, number three on t ...

– " Two of Hearts" from '' Better Than Heaven'', 1986 (LP) emoved from U.S. version* TZ – "I Got the Hots for You" from ''I Got the Hots for You'', 1983 (12") * Yazoo – "

Situation Situation and its derivations may refer to: Situation Common uses *A concept similar to scenario, relating to a position (location) or a set of circumstances. *A job People * The Situation (TV personality), nickname of American reality TV perso ...

" from '' Upstairs at Eric's'', 1982 (LP)

Critical reception

Ben Thompson from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "A mad

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

travelogue hosted by a spaced-out

Michael Rodd Michael Rodd (born 29 November 1943 in North Shields, Northumberland, United Kingdom) is an English television presenter and businessman. Education Rodd was educated at the independent school Trinity College, Glenalmond (now Glenalmond Coll ...

, this is probably in the top five already. The cinematic horny bit from '' Shaft'' (I think), lots of train noises. 'Uno Dos Tres Quatros' and they're off. All stations to

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

via Woolwich Arsenal and

Slade Green Slade Green is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies northeast of Bexleyheath, northwest of Dartford and south of Erith, and east-southeast of Charing Cross. Historically Slade Green was part of th ...

and No Messing; a synthesiser thump catchy enough to be 'AE IOU' by Freeeze says this one cannot fail. If you were down and out and had only one leg this record wouldn't buy you a cup of tea, but I suppose that's not a factor in this day and age." Nancy Culp from ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' named "Theme from S-Express" Single of the Week, adding, "Coming on all Seventies and

Cerrone Marc CerroneDaryl Easlea, "Supernature Boy", ''Record Collector'', #502, February 2020, pp.60-63 (; born 24 May 1952) is a French disco drummer, composer, record producer and creator of concerts. Cerrone is a producer of 1970s and 1980s disco s ...

(who could forget ' Supernature'?)

's S'Express follows on in fine

tradition (can the label do no wrong, I ask myself?). You see, the reason these DJs are making such great dancefloor records is that they know what gets you in the groove, man! With this one, you can have a giggle while you dance, too! It has just the right amount of tack/trendy quota to make sure it follows ' Beat Dis' straight to the top." The magazine's

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

wrote in his dance column, "London DJ Mark Moore leads the Seventies flares fashion with a

/ BT Express-type buzzing bass synth and hissing

drive 117-0bpm semi-instrumental, full of samples, quotes and sound effects in current Eighties style, a likely hit."

Impact and legacy

In 1999, '' Spex'' included "Theme from S-Express" in their "The Best Singles of the Century" list. In 2020, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' ranked the song number 51 in their list of "The 100 greatest UK No 1s", writing, "To watch ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' as 1987 gives way to 1988 is to watch the freaks taking over the asylum: after

MARRS MARRS (stylised M, A, R, R, S) were a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit "Pump Up th ...

and

Bomb the Bass Bomb the Bass is an electronic music alias of English musician and producer Timothy Simenon (born June 1967). As a name, Bomb the Bass came from Simenon's approach to collaging and mixing sounds whilst DJing in the mid- to late 1980s; he says ...

's earlier acid house hits, S-Express's sample-heavy track affirmed the sound's chart coronation, making the

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW and also known as the Hit Factory) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s throug ...

stable look even more square, and stuck one in the eye of London's throttlingly cool club scene with its euphoric, queer collage." In 2024, ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

'' ranked "Theme from S-Express" number one in their list of "Top 20 80s House Hits".

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) * 12" maxi, Europe 2 # "Theme from S-Express" (Herbal Tea Casualty Mix) # "The Trip" (Microdot House Mix) – (5:40) # "Theme from S'Express" – (3:55) * 12" maxi, 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) * 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" * CD maxi - Theme From S-Express (The Return Trip) (1996 release) # "Theme from S-Express" (Tony De Vit 7" Mix) – (4:04) # "Theme from S-Express" (Aquarius 7" Mix) – (4:12) # "Theme from S-Express" (Original Theme 7" Mix Plus-8) – (3:36) # "Theme from S-Express" (Tony De Vit 12" Mix) – (8:51) # "Theme from S-Express" (Aquarius 'Party On The Orient Express' Mix) – (7:36) # "Theme from S-Express" (Carl Craig's Edited Birthday Surprise Mix) – (7:36)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theme From S-Express 1988 songs 1988 debut singles 1996 singles Capitol Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Switzerland S'Express songs Songs written by Pascal Gabriel UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles UK singles chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles