A history of Starlight Express in eight songs

Since the moment Starlight Express first pulled into its original West-End home at the Apollo Victoria Theatre 40 years ago, it’s been taking audiences on a ride few shows can equal. Roller skates, racing trains and a story told almost entirely in song, this journey is a literal dream – a kaleidoscope of colours and costumes and characters that’ll imprint on the brain faster than you can say ‘earworm’.  

And, as tends to be the case with dreams, the story of Starlight Express itself is multi-layered and constantly changing. Given a version of the show has been running somewhere in the world since 1984, there have inevitably been some track changes over the years, and we’re going to take a little look back at some of those changes.

This is the history of Starlight Express, according to its songbook.

1. ‘I Am Me’

‘I Am Me’ introduces new coach Pearl to Dinah the Dining Car and the rest of the female coaches, however, this track isn't part of the original "Starlight Express" production. This addition only joined the musical's repertoire in 2018 when it was incorporated into the Bochum show. So, if you've attended a performance at the long-running German venue, Starlighthalle in Bochum, or seen the London production at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, you would have heard this relatively new musical number, which is a statement song about independence, with lyrics including:

“I am me / And that's all I need. I’m number one / A champion.”

“And we call time's up/ On being second best. Not just a pretty face,/ Now we deserve our place…”

So what did this song of self-worth replace?

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2. ‘A Lotta Locomotion’

The pre-2018 coaches’ introduction song ‘A Lotta Locomotion’ is one of a handful of original Starlight Express songs that have since been cut. Some productions have also used an adapted version called ‘Whole Lotta Locomotion’ but today’s contemporary versions feature ‘I Am Me’ in place of all locomotion-related lyrics.

There are a few reasons for this: As Andrew Lloyd Webber explained in a programme note for the 1992 version of Starlight Express, this is a show for which the central idea has always been to introduce young people to live theatre. That means the score is key, because the songs need to reflect what is popular musically for its young audience. So, as Andrew said in 1992, “Starlight Express by its nature has to change.”

With ‘A Lotta Locomotion’ – which was originally written in the early 1980s – the lyrics, too, were reflective of the era in which the show opened. Ashley the Smoking Car sings about her inability to “kick the habit” because her “inside’s used to tar” while Dinah, Pearl and Buffy the Buffet Car perform innuendo-filled verses and all four talk about needing “a locomotive who can take the lead” to help them win their upcoming races.

So the independent manifesto of ‘I Am Me’ is clearly a much better fit for today’s production than the more dated themes of ‘A Lotta Locomotion’, especially as smoking hasn’t been allowed on public transport in years, so sadly, Ashley had to go (sorry, Ashley).

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3. ‘Hydrogen’

A new song that reflects the Starlight Express creative team’s enthusiastic and ongoing appetite for reinvention, ‘Hydrogen’ was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and original lyricist Richard Stilgoe for the current London production, which opened in June 2024.  

Performed by a new character called Hydra – who is, a hydrogen-fuelled truck – the song’s repeated refrain of “It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when for hydrogen…” is a paean to clean energy. When Hydra later helps steam train Rusty win his race, this new song underlines the importance of seeking alternative fuel sources (even in a roller-skating dreamscape.)

And again, the addition of this track is not just about the train it serves. It’s about opening up the show to a younger audience, which made ‘Hydrogen’ an obvious choice for a single release in 2024. As Andrew Lloyd Webber said when the song was announced, ‘Hydrogen’ is “…a totally new track, written for this production as we reimagined the story of Starlight Express for the zeitgeist.”  

The full 3-minute single version features on the 2024 London cast album. It’s performed by Jaydon Vijn, who plays Hydra in the current London production.

4. 'Momma’s Blues’

An original Starlight Express song, this blues number is performed by Rusty’s parental figure, Momma. It has broadly the same as the original version although there has been one change: in previous versions of the show, the character of ‘Momma’ was ‘Poppa', so the song was previously called ‘Poppa’s Blues.’

This character’s gender was changed in 2018 when Momma made her first appearance in the Bochum production, along with some new female characters. The switch was primarily made to alter the gender balance in Starlight Express, something which has also been addressed in the current London production.

In terms of her role in the show, however, the character of Momma is the same as Poppa and ‘Momma’s Blues’ remains a standout number.

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5. ‘Starlight Express’

Another standout number (and probably the one you still quietly sing to yourself whenever you see the show’s title), ‘Starlight Express’ is Rusty’s big solo.

 'Starlight Express, Starlight Express / Are you real? Yes or no? / Starlight Express, answer me yes! / I don't want you to go.”

As is later made clear in ‘I Am The Starlight’, the Starlight Express is representative of Rusty’s own self-belief, which means the song ‘Starlight Express’ is basically a soul-searching ballad designed to help him find his confidence. Fittingly, this is the song that ends Act 1, giving you the interval to reflect on its powerful message.

There have been some minor lyric changes to ‘Starlight Express’ over the years. The original version began with the line: “When your goodnights have been said and you are lying in bed,” while the Broadway version – which opened in 1987 – had this version: “When the night is darkest, open up your mind…” It has otherwise, however, remained broadly the same since the original production.

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6. 'One Rock ’n’ Roll Too Many'

Another old favourite that can still be heard ringing out towards the end of any production of Starlight Express, ‘One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many’ is an admission of defeat performed by the usually confident and ultra-competitive Diesel Engine, Greaseball; Electra, the Electric Engine and fuel truck Slick. It’s also something of an anti-hymn to a hangover, with lyrics including:

“One rock 'n' roll too many, / One night's sleep too few.

Too much ringing that bell / Takes its toll out of you.”

Although the song itself is pretty similar to the original Starlight Express version, the 2024 London production has made changes to the characters who perform it. Slick, now an oil truck, replaces an original character called Caboose the brake van while Greaseball, previously played by male actors, is female in the current production. The character is also performed as British, rather than American – so Greaseball’s previously Elvis-esque style is now a little more English punk.  

Meanwhile, Electra uses they/them pronouns. This is a first for the character, although the role has previously been played by actors of varied genders and Electra has always been bisexual. As they sing in ‘AC/DC’...

“AC/DC, it's okay by me/ I can switch and change my frequency.”

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‍7. 'I Do'

First featured in the 2012 UK touring production of Starlight Express, ‘I Do’ is performed by Pearl and Rusty in the moments after Rusty wins his final race – a fact Pearl is initially unaware of, having been injured during the same race due to Greaseball and Electra’s intensely competitive aggression. In fact, Pearl begins ‘I Do’ regretting her earlier decision to leave Rusty and race with the other trains. “I played a game, it’s true,” she sings, before confessing her true feelings for everyone’s favourite steam train:

“I see you when you’re looking lonely / And I hope that everything’s alright / You think that nobody will love you / But I do.”

Fortunately, Rusty’s appearance reassures Pearl and ‘I Do’ becomes a sweet duet, with the two of them pledging their love for each other. Previous productions of Starlight Express have featured, variously, the songs ‘Only He’, ‘Only You’ or ‘Next Time You Fall In Love’ at this moment, but ‘I Do’ – which was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s son Alastair featuring lyrics by Nick Coler – is now firmly established as Starlight’s eleventh-hour love song, appearing in all current productions.

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8. 'Light At The End Of The Tunnel'

Which brings us to our grand finale: the gospel-inspired ‘Light At The End Of The Tunnel.’ Performed by Momma and the Starlight Express company, the 2024 version of this song has had some minor lyrical updates, but it is essentially the same number the original London cast sang back in 1984. And it’s still a great one to belt out at full volume.

...Ready?

“There's a light at the end of the tunnel / There's a light at the end of the tunnel / The inside might be as black as the night / But at the end of the tunnel there's a light.”