"The Loco-Motion" is a song by Kylie Minogue. It was released as her debut single in 1987. After an impromptu performance of the song at an Australian rules football charity event with the cast of the Australian soap opera Neighbours, Kylie was signed a record deal by Mushroom Records to release the song as a single. The single was released on July 28, 1987 in Australia, Sweden and Italy under the title "Locomotion".
The song was a success in Australia, reaching No. 1 and remaining there for seven weeks. The success of the song in her home country resulted in her signing a record deal with PWL Records in London and to working with the successful team Stock Aitken & Waterman.
On July 28, 1988, a re-recorded version produced by Stock Aitken & Waterman was released worldwide with the title "The Loco-Motion", and included on her debut album Kylie (1988). This release again was a major success, reaching the top five in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. Kylie's version of the track appeared in the 1988 film Arthur 2: On the Rocks, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. Kylie's version of "The Loco-Motion" substitutes the Australian term railway for the American usage of railroad in the song's lyrics. The song made it on AOL 100 Worst Songs Ever list at No. 32. They said "If this and 'C'mon N' Ride It' each leaves the train station at the same time, which gets to Sucktown first?"
Reception[]
The 1987 "Locomotion" release was a huge hit in Australia, reaching No. 1 on the Kent Music Report singles chart and remaining there for seven weeks.
The 1988 release of the song in the United Kingdom debuted at No. 2 on the singles chart—the highest entry on the UK singles charts by a female artist—due to strong 7" single sales and radio airplay. It remained in the number two position for four weeks before falling to number three. With sales of 440,000 it was the 11th best selling single of the year. The song became Kylie's third top five rated single in the UK and remains one of her most successful single releases to date. Throughout Europe and Asia the song also performed well on the music charts, reaching number one in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, and South Africa.
During late 1988, Kylie traveled to the United States to promote "The Loco-Motion", where she did many interviews and performances on American television. The song was used in the hit film Arthur 2: On the Rocks starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. "The Loco-Motion" debuted at No. 80 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and later climbed to No. 3 for two weeks. The song was Kylie's second single to chart in the U.S., but her first to reach the top ten. To this day, the song remains as her highest charting single in the United States; however, her second overall and most recent song to reach the top ten was 2002's "Can't Get You Out of My Head", which reached No. 7 on the chart, and ended up outselling "The Loco-Motion". In Canada, the song also reached the top spot in the pop sales charts.
In 2012, during her K25 anniversary, the song re-entered the Japanese Singles Chart at No. 83.
Chart performance[]
The 1987 "Locomotion" release was a huge hit in Australia, reaching No. 1 on the AMR singles chart and remaining there for seven weeks. The song set the record as the biggest Australian single of the decade. Throughout Europe and Asia the song also performed well on the music charts, reaching number one in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, and South Africa.
The 1988 release of the song in the United Kingdom debuted at No. 2 on the singles chart — the highest entry on the UK singles charts by a female artist — due to strong 7" single sales and radio airplay. It remained in the number two position for four weeks before falling to number three. With sales of 440,000 it was the 11th best selling single of the year. The song became Kylie's third top five rated single in the UK and remains one of her most successful single releases to date.
During late 1988, Kylie traveled to the United States to promote "The Loco-Motion", where she did many interviews and performances on American television. The song was also used in the hit film around the world at the time, Arthur 2: On the Rocks starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. "The Loco-Motion" debuted at No. 80 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and later climbed to No. 3 for two weeks. The song was Kylie's second single to chart in the U.S., but her first to reach the top ten. To this day, the song remains as her highest charting single in the United States; however, her second overall and most recent song to reach the top ten was 2002's "Can't Get You Out of My Head", which reached No. 7 on the chart, and ended up outselling "The Loco-Motion". In Canada, the song also reached the top spot in the pop sales charts.
In 2012, during her K25 anniversary, the song re-entered the Japanese Singles Chart at No. 83.
Music video[]
The music video for "Locomotion" was filmed at Essendon Airport and the ABC studios in Melbourne, Australia. The video for "The Loco-Motion" was created out of footage from the Australian music video.
Near the end of 1988, the song was nominated for Best International Single at the Canadian Music Industry Awards.
Formats and track listings[]
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "The Loco-Motion".
"Locomotion" (1987)[]
|
Australian 7" vinyl single
Australian 12" vinyl single
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Swedish 7" vinyl single
Swedish 12" vinyl single
|
"The Loco-Motion" (1988)[]
UK 12" remix
|
USA 7" vinyl single/Cassingle
USA 12" vinyl single
German CD single
| ||||||
iTunes digital release (2009)[]
|
"Locomotion" (Australian version)
|
"The Loco-Motion"
|
Live performances[]
| Tour | Dates | Performances |
|---|
| Disco in Dream | 2―27 October, 1989 (All dates) | 14 |
| Enjoy Yourself Tour | 3 February―26 May, 1990 (All dates) | 24 |
| Rhythm of Love Tour | 10 February―10 March, 1991 (All dates) | 20 |
| Let's Get to It Tour | 25 October―8 November, 1991 (All dates) | 12 |
| Intimate and Live | 6 June―31 July, 1998 | 19 |
| KylieFever2002 | 26 April―16 August, 2002 (All dates) | 49 |
| Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour | 19 March―17 May, 2005 (All dates) | 38 |
| Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour | 11 November, 2006―12 January, 2007 18―23 January, 2007 |
33 |
| KylieX2008 | 13 November, 2008 17 December, 2008 |
2 |
| For You, For Me | 30 September―13 October, 2009 (All dates) | 9 |
| Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour | 9 & 29 April, 2011 2, 4―10 & 20 May, 2011 3―4, 8―11, 18―29 June, 2011 3―14 July, 2011 |
27 |
| Kiss Me Once Tour | 24―26 September, 2014 29 September―7 October, 2014 13 October, 2014―28 March, 2015 |
34 |
| Kylie Summer 2015 | 12 June―18 July, 2015 (All dates) | 6 |
| A Kylie Christmas | 11 December, 2015―10 December, 2016 (All dates) | 3 |
| Golden Tour | 18 September, 2018―17 March, 2019 (All dates) | 33 |
| Kylie Summer 2019 | 20 June, 2019―7 March, 2020 (All dates) | 17 |
| More Than Just a Residency | 3 November, 2023―4 May, 2024 (All dates) | 20 |
| Tension Tour | 15 February—26 August, 2025 (All dates) | 66 |
| Total: | 422 |
Notes[]
"The Loco-Motion" made tour debut when it was performed on the Disco in Dream Tour in 1989, where the Kohaku Mix was performed. It was then performed on the Enjoy Yourself Tour as the French Kiss Mix. It was then part of the Rhythm of Love and the Let's Get to It tours in 1991. Kylie then performed it on the Intimate and Live Tour in 1998, where it was added to the set late when fans decided to sing it whether Kylie did or not. The first big re-interpretation of the song came during the KylieFever2002 tour, launched to promote Fever. It followed a performance of "On a Night Like This" and became a funk-ish version, with musical director Steve Anderson visualizing it as a sex position. It then appeared as a jazz version in the Showgirl and Homecoming tours, the For You, For Me Tour and the 2016 Christmas concert series shows. The song was performed acapella at the KylieX2008 tour and the Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour.
The Abbey Road version was performed on Kylie's Kiss Me Once Tour, after being added during the third show during Kylie's set at the 2014 iTunes Festival.. This version was also performed on the Kylie Summer 2015 tour, preceding a performance of "Kids". It also made appearances during Kylie's performances over the next four years, including the F1 Grand Prix and her performance at House Festival in 2016 and various shows in 2018 including Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park. A new disco version of the song was included during the penultimate section of the Golden Tour, preceding a performance of "Spinning Around". In 2019, this disco version, mashed-up with Donna Summer's "Bad Girls", was performed during the 2019 Summer shows as well.
Kylie performed an acapella version during her set of "An Audience With... Kylie Minogue". After the song was re-interpreted for her orchestral album, the song was performed during her set at BBC Proms in the Park, Dancing With the Stars, The Tonight Show and Strictly Come Dancing. She also performed it during her seven-song set at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Charts[]
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Chart (1988-89) | Peak position |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 6 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 | 1 |
| Finland Singles Chart | 1 |
| Freanch Singles Chart | 5 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Japan Singles Chart | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 8 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Peruvian Top 100 | 1 |
| South African Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 10 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 12 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 4 |
| U.S Top 100 Singles | 4 |
End-of-year charts[]
| Years | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1987-1989 | Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
| 1988-1989 | German Singles Chart | 29 |
| Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100) | 60 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 11 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 49 |
End-of-decade chart[]
| Country (1989) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 1 |
Lyrics[]
The loco-motion, the loco-motion
Everybody's doing a brand new dance now
(Come on, baby, do the loco-motion)
I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now
(Come on, baby, do the loco-motion)
My little baby sister can do it with ease
It's easier than learning your ABCs
So come on, come on
Do the loco-motion with me
You gotta swing your hips now
Come on, baby, jump up, jump back
Oh well, I think you got the knack, oh
Now that you can do it, let's make a chain now
(Come on, baby, do the loco-motion)
Chug-a chug-a motion like a railway train now
(Come on, baby, do the loco-motion)
Do it nice and easy now, don't lose control
A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul
So come on, come on
Do the loco-motion with me
The loco-motion
So come on, come on
Do the loco-motion
So come on, come on
Do the loco-motion
Move around the floor in a loco-motion
(Come on, baby, do the loco-motion)
Do it holding hands if you got the notion
(Come on, baby, do the loco-motion)
There's never been a dance that's so easy to do
It even makes you happy when you're feeling blue
So come on, come on
Do the loco-motion with me
(Come on, do the loco-motion)
(Come on, do the loco-motion)
(Come on, do the loco-motion)
Everybody's doing a brand new dance now
(Come on, baby, do the loco-motion)
I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now
(Come on, baby, do the loco-motion)
My little baby sister can do it with ease
It's easier than learning your ABCs
So come on, come on, do the loco-motion
Come on, come on, do the loco-motion
Come on, come on, do the loco-motion with me
You gotta swing your hips now, yeah
Come on, baby, jump up, jump back
