There were a couple of things that first got me excited about skating. One was my local roller disco that I would go to every Friday night during my first year of high school. The other was seeing Starlight Express during a school trip to London at the tender age of 12. This love of being on 8 wheels resurfaced when I first heard about Liverpool Roller Birds and I now have the privilege of learning to skate with some amazing skaters and it’s like a childhood dream come true! I’m still learning (I’m a hatchling) but I hope to pass my minimums this year – fingers crossed.

So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that Starlight Express was rolling into town. I knew I had to go along to relive the fun of the first time. Luckily I had plenty of keen Roller Birds to come along too and we had a great night at the Liverpool Empire.

There are definitely a few similarities between Starlight Express and roller derby: the quad skates, the cool outfits, the heroes and the threat of being ‘put back in the box’ if you don’t play by the rules! And like roller derby, the thing that stands out the most in the show is the athleticism and skill of the skaters.

There were high jumps,  break-dancing and moonwalking – all on skates. Electra was a firm favourite with our group for his superior moves and mega glittery costume! We got to meet him during the interval and found out that he’s been skating since he was 4 years old.

We all left buzzing, all complimenting the skaters we’d seen. But as we’re roller girls, I wasn’t surprised to overhear from one of the Birds; “They were all great. But the girls… we could still take them down!”

Watch the Birds fly at our next bout:

You can come and see our Birds (and our B team, the Chicks) in action at our Summer Shovin’ bout on Saturday 18 August.

Get into the fifties theme and dress up in your best polka dots and greaser quiffs and join us at Greenbank Sports Academy as our teams take on Newcastle Roller Girls.

For more details and to buy tickets go to: https://www.liverpoolrollerbirds.co.uk

(Lula Bruise)