(* and Hot Gossip )
Chart entered : 11 November 1978
Chart peak : 6
Number of hits : 13
Sarah gives Scott Walker a run for his money in terms of unlikely career arcs but whereas he's sealed himself into a cult niche Sarah has become an artist of genuine world standing. Despite that nine of her thirteen hits have been collaborations.
Sarah was born in Hertfordshire in 1960 and began taking dance and piano classes at three. She is not, as Record Mirror mischievously suggested, the sister of Icicle Works' Ian McNabb. She was educated at performing arts schools and the Royal College of Music. She made her theatre debut at 13 in the musical I and Albert .
In 1976 she was recruited by Arlene Phillips for her new raunchy dance troupe Hot Gossip. They got their big break two years later when they were given a regular spot on The Kenny Everett Video Show . They made an immediate impression with their suggestive routines and sought to capitalise on the attention with a hit record. As the only real singer in the ensemble Sarah got to front it.
"I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper" is high camp Eurodisco in the Boney M mould. Written by Jeff Calvert and Geraint Hughes ( otherwise known as Typically Tropical ) the lyric is comprised of one part seaside postcard double entendres and the other references to as many currently popular sci-fi films and TV as they could cram in. Besides its strong rush of a chorus they incorporate musical references to 2001 , Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The eighteen-year old Sarah delivers the smut in a suitably breathy vocal and its debatable whether any other member had a role beyond gyrating in the video. Being immersed in the sci-fi culture at the time , I have to quietly admit I liked this one.
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