- Nikita (song)
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"Nikita" Single by Elton John from the album Ice on Fire B-side "The Man Who Never Died" (U.K.)
"Restless" (U.S.)Released 29 October 1985 (UK)
February 1986 (U.S.)Format CD single, 7" single, 12" single Recorded 1985 Genre Pop rock, new wave Length 5:44 (album version)
4:54 (single version)Label Rocket (UK), Geffen (U.S.) Writer(s) Bernie Taupin (lyrics), Elton John (music) Producer Gus Dudgeon Elton John singles chronology "Act of War"
(1985)"Nikita"
(1985)"Wrap Her Up"
(1985)"Nikita" is a song by English singer Elton John about the Cold War from his 1985 album Ice on Fire. Released in late 1985, the song achieved success in many countries, becoming a top ten hit in almost all of them.
Contents
Song synopsis
In the song, Elton John describes his crush on a beautiful GDR borderguard whom he cannot meet because he is not allowed into the country. It features George Michael on backing vocals, and is notable for a distinctive synthesiser solo.[1] The song charted at #3 on the UK Singles Chart and also made the top 10 in the US, charting at #7.
Video settings and song information
The video for the song "Nikita", directed by Ken Russell, featured Anya Major in the role of Nikita and a cameo appearance by Justin Lewis. Russell says he didn't realise[citation needed] that Nikita was a man's name in the Russian language (e.g. Nikita Khrushchev) and Elton John accepted the proposed script written by Russell which was a male-female love interpretation of the song, as indeed the depicted GDR border guard in the video is a beautiful blonde woman with short hair. Scenes showing the two together in various happy situations, including wearing Watford FC colours, were based in fantasy, and many were expecting a follow-up after the fall of the Berlin Wall in which they would free to be together, but it never materialised. In interviews John, who is openly gay, admitted that Nikita was a male name in Russian.
Track listings
- 7" single
- "Nikita" — 4:54
- "The Man Who Never Died" — 5:10
- or "Restless" — 4:26
- or "I'm Still Standing" — 3:03
- or "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" — 6:12
- 12" maxi
- "Nikita" (extended version) — 5:43
- "The Man Who Never Died" — 5:10
- "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (live) — 3:26
- "I'm Still Standing (live) — 4:38
Personnel
- Elton John – GS piano, vocal, synth, backing vocals
- Dave Mattacks – drums
- David Paton – bass
- Nik Kershaw – electric guitar
- George Michael – backing vocals
- Fred Mandel – synthesizers
- Davey Johnstone – backing vocals
Charts and sales
Peak positions
Chart (1985/86) Peak
positionAustrian Singles Chart[2] 3 Dutch Top 40[3] 1 French SNEP Singles Chart[2] 6 Eurochart Hot 100 1 German Singles Chart[4] 1 Irish Singles Chart[5] 1 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 1 Norwegian Singles Chart[2] 2 Swedish Singles Chart[2] 7 Swiss Singles Chart[2] 1 UK Singles Chart[6] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7] 7 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[7] 3 Year-end charts
Chart (1985) Position Dutch Top 40[8] 68 Chart (1986) Position Dutch Top 40[9] 15 Certifications
Country Certification Date Sales certified France[10] Silver 1986 200,000 UK[11] Silver 1 November 1985 200,000 Chart successions
Preceded by
"The Power of Love" by Jennifer RushIrish IRMA number-one single
16 November 1985 (1 week)Succeeded by
"A Good Heart" by Feargal SharkeyPreceded by
"Take on Me" by a-haDutch Top 40 number-one single
7 December 1985 – 25 January 1986 (8 weeks)Preceded by
"Take on Me" by A-haSwiss number-one single
8 December 1985 – 29 December 1985 (4 weeks)Succeeded by
"Say You, Say Me" by Lionel RichieGerman number-one single
13 December 1985 – 3 January 1986 (4 weeks)Succeeded by
"Jeanny" by FalcoPreceded by
"Room That Echoes" by Peking ManNew Zealand RIANZ number-one single
24 January 1986 – 7 February 1986 (3 weeks)Succeeded by
"I'm Your Man" by Wham!Preceded by
"Take on Me" by a-haDutch Top 40 number-one single
25 January 1986 – 8 February 1986 (3 weeks)Succeeded by
"The Sun Always Shines on TV" by a-haReferences
- ^ "Elton John Song Lyrics: Nikita...". http://www.eltonography.com/songs/nikita.html. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
- ^ a b c d e "Nikita", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
- ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 49, 1985". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=6224. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
- ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
- ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
- ^ "Nikita", UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
- ^ a b Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
- ^ "Single top 100 over 1985" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201985.pdf. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ "Single top 100 over 1986" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201986.pdf. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ "Les certifications depuis 1973, database" (in French). Infodisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ "UK certifications, database". Bpi. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 12 July 2008.
Categories:- 1985 singles
- Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
- Elton John songs
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Germany
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- Number-one singles in Switzerland
- Songs with music by Elton John
- Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin
- Cold War-related songs
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