S'Express
S'Express (pronounced ess-express; sometimes spelled S'Xpress or S-Express) were an English dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre.
S'Express | |
---|---|
Origin | London, England |
Genres | House |
Years active | 1988–1994 |
Labels | |
Associated acts | Billie Ray Martin |
Past members |
|
"Theme from S'Express", which contained elements from Rose Royce's "Is It Love You're After", was one of the earliest recordings to capitalize on the emergence of sampling culture. The song went to number one in the UK for two weeks in April 1988. It made the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US (also scraping into the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number 91).
Biography
The main player in the act was disc jockey and producer Mark Moore. In 1989, the group released its debut album, Original Soundtrack, which featured a line-up of Moore, Pascal Gabriel, Jocasta, Mark D, Linda Love, and Michellé. The album consisted of slightly longer versions of S-Express's "Theme", its follow-up hits "Superfly Guy" (UK #5) and a cover version of Sly and the Family Stone's "Hey Music Lover" (UK #6; its b-side was remixed by minimalist composer Philip Glass[1])
By the release of the second album Intercourse, the act was reduced to a duo of Moore with new vocalist and DJ Sonique. Although not as successful as its debut, Intercourse spawned several mid-charting UK singles and club hits, including "Nothing to Lose", co-written with Martin Gordon, as were several other tunes on the record. Sonique, already a successful DJ, eventually embarked on a solo career and produced one of the biggest club hits of the late 1990s ("It Feels So Good"). Moore went on to release many singles, remixes and albums on his own and also formed the band Needledust.[2][3]
Discography
Albums
- 1989 Original Soundtrack - (Rhythm King, LEFT CD8)- UK #5,[4][5] AUS #69[6]
- 1991 Intercourse - (US, Sire, 9 26520-2) (UK, Rhythm King / Epic, 468567 2)
- 1998 Ultimate S'Express - (Camden / BMG, 74321 603402)
- 2004 Themes from S'Express – The Best Of - (BMG, 82876 581972)
- 2016 Enjoy This Trip - (Needle Boss Records, NBCD001)
Singles
Year | Title | UK [4][5] |
IRE | NLD | BEL (FLA) |
FRA | ITA | GER | AUT | SWI | SWE | NOR | AUS [6] |
NZ | US | US Dance | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | "Theme from S'Express" | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 91 | 1 | Original Soundtrack |
"Superfly Guy" | 5 | 8 | 15 | 12 | 24 | - | 13 | 21 | 11 | 19 | 8 | 35 | 12 | - | 2 | ||
1989 | "Hey Music Lover" | 6 | 6 | 33 | 31 | - | - | 29 | 28 | 25 | - | - | 53 | 31 | - | 6 | |
"Mantra for a State of Mind" | 21 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 141 | - | - | - | Intercourse | |
1990 | "Nothing to Lose" | 32 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | |
1991 | "Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget 'Em" | 83 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
1992 | "Find 'Em, Fool 'Em / Let It All Out EP" | 43 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
1996 | "Theme from S'Express - The Return Trip"1 | 14 | - | 24 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 42 | - | - | - | — |
2008 | "Stupid Little Girls"2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | — |
- 1 remixes by Tony De Vit, Aquarius and Carl Craig available in Australia through Central Station Records (also released in the UK and Europe), and accredited to Mark Moore presents S'Express.[4]
- 2 released on download and 12" vinyl only.
References
- "But Is it Music?". In Their Own Words; 20th Century Composers. Episode 2. 21 March 2014. BBC.
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requires|url=
(help) - "Mark Moore". Discogs. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- "Mark Moore". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 477. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- "Official Charts > S-Express". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
- Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
- Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > S-Express in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
- "Hey Music Lover"
- "Mantra for a State of Mind": "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 15 July 2015". Imgur.com. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- Original Soundtrack: "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 September 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 28 September 2016.