EPISODE · Sep 5, 2025 · 50 MIN
Man (still) in Motion
from Not by the Playbook · host BBC World Service
Every Hollywood box office success needs a great title track, and that's certainly true of hit 1980's coming of age film St Elmo's Fire. Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Andie MacDowell and the rest of the "Brat Pack" all gave suitably good performances, but the most memorable part of the film was undoubtably the title track, St Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) It reached the top of the US billboard charts in September 1985 and represented singer songwriter John Parr's most successful track. Forty years later people are still singing the song, but most people don't know about the hidden and surprising inspiration behind the song. And it has nothing to do with the film!We hear from both performer John Parr and the man who inspired the song, Canadian para athlete Rick Hansen.Plus other remarkable "Men in Motion" including Olympic medalist Matt Richardson who has just broken the record to become the fastest man on a bike. Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 - the biggest race in American motorsport. Guthrie, a former aerospace engineer, had faced opposition and scepticism from male drivers and some sections of the press.Photo: A view of the Original Motion Picture title track of Columbia Pictures movie "St. Elmo's Fire" in 1985. (Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
What this episode covers
Every Hollywood box office success needs a great title track, and that's certainly true of hit 1980's coming of age film St Elmo's Fire. Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Andie MacDowell and the rest of the "Brat Pack" all gave suitably good performances, but the most memorable part of the film was undoubtably the title track, St Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) It reached the top of the US billboard charts in September 1985 and represented singer songwriter John Parr's most successful track. Forty years later people are still singing the song, but most people don't know about the hidden and surprising inspiration behind the song. And it has nothing to do with the film!We hear from both performer John Parr and the man who inspired the song, Canadian para athlete Rick Hansen.Plus other remarkable "Men in Motion" including Olympic medalist Matt Richardson who has just broken the record to become the fastest man on a bike. Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 - the biggest race in American motorsport. Guthrie, a former aerospace engineer, had faced opposition and scepticism from male drivers and some sections of the press.Photo: A view of the Original Motion Picture title track of Columbia Pictures movie "St. Elmo's Fire" in 1985. (Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
NOW PLAYING
Man (still) in Motion
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Mar 19, 2026 ·34m
Feb 18, 2026 ·11m
Feb 11, 2026 ·45m