"Starlight Express" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Call Me Rusty

This song follows a scene in which Rusty is tormented by Greaseball and his gang. He states that despite his run down appearance, he still has ambitions to race in the tournament. The coaches, Ashley, Dinah, Buffy and Pearl laugh at him and tell him he's got no chance. (Sorry about the bad pun in the clue, by the way.)

Answer: He Whistled At Me

This one has a subtle difference between the old and new versions. 'He Whistled At Me' is Pearl's description of a dream she had in which she saw 'the perfect engine'. In the new version, 'He'll Whistle At Me' is Pearl's explanation of how she will know her ideal engine when he arrives. But of course it takes her until the end of the show to realise that it's Rusty she wants.

Answer: Belle

Belle is an old sleeping car. She used to be glamorous, often compared to the Orient Express, but she is now peeling and old. She has experience, but as she points out, "the sad thing about experience is by the time you've got it, it's usually all you've got." (I chose Celeste as an option because it means 'star', and Voyd is the actress who plays Buffy in the 1993 album recording. Marie's just a random French name.) Sadly, Belle was cut from the show when it was rewritten.

Answer: Dinah

In the original version, he dumps her because she complains about his cheating. Later, in 'The Rap', he palms her off on Electra and takes Pearl, which leads Dinah to lament the fact that she's been 'U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.' In the new version, there is nothing leading up to her being given to Electra, so it hits her harder when Greaseball suddenly dumpd her for Pearl.

She ends up with Electra, but leaves him because he cannot whistle at her.

Answer: CB

CB, the Red Caboose, is a devious little.... swine. After Dinah is dumped by Greaseball, CB wastes no time in trying to 'console' her. During 'The Rap', he forms a plot with Greaseball and Electra. He will act as Rusty's coach, but will keep his brakes on so that Rusty is too slow. Between the first final and the rerun Dinah leaves Electra, so he is forced to take CB, and Rusty takes Dustin. Electra and Greaseball both crash, so Rusty wins by default.

In the new version, Rusty gets a second chance because Greaseball pushes him off the track, but I'm not sure why he is allowed into the rerun in the original. CB was written out of the 1992 version, but has been reinstated for the 2004 tour.

Answer: Greaseball and CB

Greaseball and CB realise that they have gone too far in their desire to win. (In the 2004 tour, this song is sung by Greaseball, Electra AND CB.)

Answer: No Comeback

Talk about a bad loser! He didn't win, so he's going off in a sulk. Typical behaviour of a deflated show-off. (In case you're interested, 'this is the last time' is another line from this song, and 'No More' is actually a song from Stephen Sondheim's 'Into The Woods'. As usual I made the last option up.)

Answer: Rolling Stock

It comes after Dinah sings 'U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D'. Ashley and Buffy (and Belle, depending on which version it is) tell Dinah that the way to get Greaseball back is to act as though she does not want him. Personally, I'm surprised someone like Dinah can cope with that notion.

She's not exactly the brightest of characters, is she? But somehow she pulls it off, and he comes crawling back to her, but she does NOT say "Go away you... nasty person" (sanitised version) as she promised at the end of U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.

Answer: Only He

Just one of many examples throughout musicals and musical films of a brilliant song being replaced by a much inferior one. (For those of you who haven't seen it, I had a little rant about that in my "Guys & Dolls" quiz.) I just don't see the point of doing that. Anyway, 'Only You' is the version that Pearl and Rusty sing to each other, and I made the other two up.

The song goes to the tune of the 'Starlight Sequence'. It seems to have been reinstated for the 2004 tour. (They did it when I went, but the programme said they were going to do NTYFIL.

It sems they're still shuffling songs about in the tour.)

Answer: Hashamoto

Another slightly pointless change. Maybe changing it to Nintendo was an attempt to appeal to the children of the time. I wonder if he will be called X-Box next time? By the way, Shinkansen was the type of train he is, and Shigeru Myamoto is the big cheese of the Nintendo video games company.