Songfacts®:

• The release of this space disco track cashed in on the media hype surrounding the box office smash hits Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind in the late 1970s. "Starship Trooper" featured musical quotes from the Star Wars and 2001 themes and its lyrics referenced the Star Wars movie.
• Veteran producer Steve Rowland was the man behind this track. His CV includes working with Dave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich and The Pretty Things in the 1960s as well as charting as part of The Family Dogg. He recalled to Mojo magazine September 2010: "Being a sci-fi fan I wanted that as a record. 'Starship Trooper' was written by Typically Tropical's Jeff calvert and Geraint Hughes. It was round the time of Star Wars and I liked it. I said, 'Let's make it so you can see it, rather than hear it.' I worked on a storyboard and tried to match that on record. Then the arranger said he knew Sarah Brightman."
• The song is notable as the debut of the then 18-year-old Sarah Brightman as a singer. A stage school veteran, she was already doing theatre, appearing on Top of the Pops as part of dance outfit Pan's People and the Kenny Everett Video Show as part of Hot Gossip. Though Rowland was interested in her singing, he decided that, "we should get a dance troupe and perform it on-stage. It was just Sarah singing on the record, not Hot Gossip. Sarah talked about what she really wanted to do - West End theatre and light opera. That's what she was really talented at."
• Rowland revealed to Mojo a surprise inspiration for this song: "I borrowed from Jonathan Richman's 'Egyptian Reggae.' That was my groove and the basis of Starship Trooper - listen to them back-to-back."
• Sarah Brightman went on to a successful career as a classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is best known for her work as Christine in the musical, Phantom of the Opera.