Nikita (song)

"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.

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

1. "Nikita" — 4:54
2. "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

1. "Nikita" (extended version) — 5:43
2. "The Man Who Never Died" — 5:10
3. "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (live) — 3:26
4. "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 position Austrian 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 Rush	Irish IRMA number-one single 16 November 1985 (1 week)	Succeeded by "A Good Heart" by Feargal Sharkey
Preceded by "Take on Me" by a-ha	Dutch Top 40 number-one single 7 December 1985 – 25 January 1986 (8 weeks)
Preceded by "Take on Me" by A-ha	Swiss number-one single 8 December 1985 – 29 December 1985 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie
	German number-one single 13 December 1985 – 3 January 1986 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "Jeanny" by Falco
Preceded by "Room That Echoes" by Peking Man	New 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-ha	Dutch Top 40 number-one single 25 January 1986 – 8 February 1986 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "The Sun Always Shines on TV" by a-ha

References

1. ^ "Elton John Song Lyrics: Nikita...". http://www.eltonography.com/songs/nikita.html. Retrieved 3 January 2007. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Nikita", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
3. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 49, 1985". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=6224. Retrieved 2 March 2008. 
4. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
5. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
6. ^ "Nikita", UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
7. ^ ^{a b} Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
8. ^ "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. 
9. ^ "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. 
10. ^ "Les certifications depuis 1973, database" (in French). Infodisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php. Retrieved 21 September 2010. 
11. ^ "UK certifications, database". Bpi. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 12 July 2008.