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, vinyl record (7" and 12")
Recorded	1985
Genre	Soft rock
Length	5:44 (album version) 4:54 (single version)
Label	Rocket (UK), Geffen (U.S.)
Writer(s)	Elton John, Bernie Taupin
Producer(s)	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"Act of War" (1985) "Nikita" (1985) "Wrap Her Up" (1985)
Ice on Fire track listing "Soul Glove" (3) "Nikita" (4) "Too Young" (5)

"Nikita" is a song by English singer Elton John about the Cold War from his 1985 album Ice on Fire. Released late in the year, the song was successful in many countries and was a top ten hit in almost all of them.

Song synopsis

In the song, Elton John describes his crush on a person called Nikita, a border guard whom he cannot meet because he is not allowed into the country. It features George Michael and Nik Kershaw on backing vocals, and is notable for a distinctive synthesizer solo.^[1] The song charted at #3 on the UK Singles Chart, charting at #7 in the US and reach #1 in the German Media Control singles chart. ^[2]

Composition

The song is composed in the key of G major in 4/4 time. The song employs a verse-chorus-verse format, with the second chorus being shorter than the first, plus a mechanically-themed breakdown halfway through the second chorus.

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. Elton John accepted the proposed script written by Russell which was a male-female love interpretation of the song, as indeed the depicted East German border guard in the video is a blonde woman with short hair. Scenes showing the two together in various happy situations, including wearing the colours of Watford F.C. of whom John is a supporter, were based in fantasy. In interviews, John has said that he was aware that Nikita was a male name in Russian.

Allegation of plagiarism

Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Big Pig Music were accused of plagiarism by South African photographer and songwriter Guy Hobbs. Hobbs wrote a song in 1982 entitled "Natasha", about a Russian waitress on a cruise ship, who was never allowed to leave it. The song was copyrighted in 1983, and sent to Big Pig Music (John's publisher) for a possible publishing deal, but Hobbs never heard back from the publisher. In 2001, Hobbs came across the lyric book to "Nikita" and noticed similarities with his song. Despite repeated attempts by Guy to contact John over the issue, he never heard from him and so commenced legal action in 2012.^[3][4] On 31 October 2012, a US federal judge granted John and Taupin's motion to dismiss, finding that the song did not infringe Hobbs' copyright because the only similar elements were generic images and themes that are not protected under copyright law.^[5][6]

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" (album 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 – Yamaha GS1 piano, lead vocal, synthesizer, backing vocals
• Dave Mattacks – drums
• Deon Estus - bass guitar
• David Paton – fretless bass
• Nik Kershaw – electric guitar, backing vocals
• George Michael – backing vocals
• Fred Mandel – synthesizers
• Davey Johnstone – backing vocals

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1985/86) Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[7] 3 Dutch Top 40[8] 1 French SNEP Singles Chart[7] 6 Eurochart Hot 100 1 German Singles Chart[9] 1 Irish Singles Chart[10] 1 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 1 Norwegian Singles Chart[7] 2 South African Singles Chart[11] 1 Swedish Singles Chart[7] 7 Swiss Singles Chart[7] 1 UK Singles Chart[12] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 7 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[13] 3 Zimbabwe Singles Chart[14] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1985) Position Dutch Top 40[15] 68 Chart (1986) Position Dutch Top 40[16] 15 Sales and certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments France (SNEP)[17] Silver 250,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 250,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Chart successions

References

1. "Elton John Song Lyrics: Nikita". Retrieved 3 January 2007.
2. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html. Retrieved 27 June 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. Voelker, Daniel (26 April 2012). "Guy Hobbs (Plaintiff) versus Sir Elton Hercules John, Bernard John Taupin, & Big Pig Music (Defendants)" (PDF). Entertainment Law Digest. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
4. Dadds, Kimberley (27 April 2012). "Elton John is sued by songwriter for allegedly stealing lyrics to Nikita". Daily Mail. p. D01. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
5. Heller, Matthew (31 October 2012). "Elton John Kicks Copyright Suit Over 'Nikita' Lyrics". Law360. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
6. Sullivan, Shawn (3 November 2012). "Elton John’s 'Nikita' Didn’t Infringe Copyright In Earlier Cold War Love Song". SullivanLawNet. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
7. "Nikita", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
8. "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 49, 1985". Retrieved 2 March 2008.
9. German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
10. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
11. ""Nikita" on the South African Singles Chart". Springbok Radio. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
12. "Nikita", UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
13. Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
14. • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
15. "Single top 100 over 1985" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
16. "Single top 100 over 1986" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
17. "French single certifications – Elton John – Nikita" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 22 November 2012. Select ELTON JOHN and click OK
18. "British single certifications – Elton John – Nikita". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 November 2012. Enter Nikita in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics