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S'Express

British dance music group

S'Express (pronounced ess-express; sometimes spelled S'Xpress or S-Express) was a British dance music act from the late 1980s and early 1990s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre.

"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 Singles Chart 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). In 2016 Mark Moore released a remix album called Enjoy This Trip which retooled S’Express’s music for the 21st century through working with guests such as Punks Jump Up and Chris & Cosey.

01Biography

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 No. 5) and a cover version of Sly and the Family Stone's "Hey Music Lover" (UK No. 6; its b-side was remixed by minimalist composer Philip Glass).

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.

02Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
UK Indie
AUS
FIN
GER
NL
NZ
SWE
Original Soundtrack 5 1 69 19 58 85 41 31
Intercourse
  • Released: August 1991
  • Label: Rhythm King, Sire
  • Formats: CD, LP, MC
, , , , , , , ,
Enjoy This Trip , , , , , , , ,
", " denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

Title Album details
Ultimate S'Express
  • Released: August 1998
  • Label: BMG/Camden
  • Formats: CD
Themes from S'Express, The Best Of
  • Released: February 2004
  • Label: BMG
  • Formats: CD

EPs

Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
AUS
Find 'Em, Fool 'Em
  • Released: May 1992
  • Label: Rhythm King
  • Formats: CD, 12"
43 179
Excursions
  • Released: 9 October 2015
  • Label: Needle Boss
  • Formats: 12", digital download
, ,
", " denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
AUS
BEL
(FL)

GER
FIN
IRE
NL
NZ
SWI
US
US Dance
"Theme from S'Express" 1988 1 11 1 2 2 2 2 7 1 91 1
  • UK: Silver
Original Soundtrack
"Superfly Guy" 5 35 12 13 2 8 15 12 11 , 2
"Hey Music Lover" 1989 6 53 31 29 12 6 33 31 25 , 6
"Mantra for a State of Mind" 21 141 , , 14 12 , , , , , Intercourse
"Nothing to Lose" 1990 32 , , , , 15 , , , , 9
"Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget 'Em" 1991 43 , , , , , , , , , ,
"Theme from S'Express, The Return Trip" 1996 14 42 , , , , 24 , , , , Non-album singles
"Stupid Little Girls" 2008 , , , , , , , , , , ,
"Last Mission Helsinki" (as Eon vs S'Express) 2010 , , , , , , , , , , ,
"Funky Killer" (Red Snapper remix) 2016 , , , , , , , , , , ,
"Sneakin'" (as S'Express x Lady Bunny x T-Total) 2021 , , , , , , , , , , ,
", " denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
Watch videos about S'ExpressExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article S'Express, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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