Nikita (song)
| "Nikita" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Elton John | ||||||||||
| from the album Ice on Fire | ||||||||||
| B-side | "The Man Who Never Died" (U.K.) "Restless" (U.S.) |
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| Released | 29 October 1985 (UK) February 1986 (U.S.) |
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| Format | CD, vinyl record (7" and 12") | |||||||||
| Recorded | January 1985 | |||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock, soft rock | |||||||||
| Length | 5:44 (album version) 4:54 (single version) |
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| Label | Rocket (UK), Geffen (U.S.) | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Elton John, Bernie Taupin | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Gus Dudgeon | |||||||||
| Elton John singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"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.
In the song, Elton John describes his crush on a person called Nikita, an East German 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. The song charted at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, and at number 7 in the US.
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.
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 FC of whom John is a supporter and former Chairman, were based in fantasy. In interviews, John has said that he was aware that Nikita was a male name in Russian.
The car, Elton John is sitting in, taking photos from Nikita and trying to pass by her checkpoint, is a Bentley Continental Convertible, bought by himself from new in February 1985. The registration plate B120 WYM is its original, before Elton John changed the registration for a personalised plate.
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Wikipedia