"Nikita" is a love song by English musician

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

from his 19th studio album, '' Ice on Fire'' (1985). It was released as the album's lead single on 4 October 1985, charting at number three on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, peaking at number seven in the United States, and reaching the top 10 worldwide, topping the charts of eight countries. The song features

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...

on backing vocals and

Nik Kershaw Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Kershaw came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during th ...

on guitar.

Song synopsis

In the song, John describes his crush on a person called Nikita, a

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In d ...

whom he cannot meet because he is not allowed into the country. Though the name Nikita can refer to women in other languages, it is a male name in Russian. In interviews, John has said that he was aware that Nikita was a male name in Russian.

Composition

The song is composed in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...

in 4/4 time. The song employs a verse-chorus-verse format, with the second chorus being shorter than the first, plus a instrumental bridge mechanically-themed breakdown halfway through the second chorus.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' said the "tune is as sensitive as the subject matter" and that the song has "a mesmerizing tempo, well textured production and John’s inimitable vocal style." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' called it a "lilting tune."

Music video

The video for the song was directed by

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

. John accepted the proposed script written by Russell which was a male–female love interpretation of the song, depicting his attempted romance of a blonde female East German

with short hair. Scenes showed the two together in various happy situations, including wearing the colours of Watford FC, of whom John is a supporter and former chairman. The video also features a red Bentley Continental Convertible, which was owned by John from 1985 to 2000.

Anya Major Anya Major (born 1966) is an English athlete, actress, model and singer who starred in Apple Computer's "1984" commercial, and in 1985 appeared as "Nikita" in the video to Elton John's song of the same name. In 1983, the Chiat/Day advertisin ...

plays the role of Nikita;

Andreas Wisniewski Andreas Wisniewski (born 3 July 1959) is a German actor and former dancer. He is best known for his portrayals of Necros in the 1987 Bond film ''The Living Daylights'', Max's companion in the 1996 film '' Mission: Impossible'', and as one of Han ...

plays a male border guard.

Live performances

John played "Nikita" during the album's tour in 1985 to 1986 and again in the 1988–1989 Reg Strikes Back Tour plus the 1998 leg of The Big Picture Tour. John continued to perform the song in mid-2000s, however the song was only played on his solo concerts ever since.

Allegation of plagiarism

Elton John,

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

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 Hobbs to contact John over the issue, he never heard from him and so commenced legal action in 2012. 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.

Track listings

*7-inch 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-inch maxi single # "Nikita" (album version) – 5:43 # "The Man Who Never Died" – 5:10 # "

Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the '' Blue Moves'' album. It was John's sec ...

" (live) – 3:26 # "

I'm Still Standing "I'm Still Standing" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, from John's 1983 album ''Too Low for Zero''. It was the second single released from the album in the UK, and the first single released in the Un ...

" (live) – 4:38

Personnel

– Yamaha GS1 piano, synthesizer, lead vocals, backing vocals *

Fred Mandel Frederick Lawrence Mandel (born 1953) is a Canadian session musician, keyboard player and guitarist. Career Born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Mandel became involved in music from an early age. He started playing the piano at four and picked up t ...

– synthesizers *

– electric guitar, backing vocals *

David Paton David Paton (; born 29 October 1949) is a Scottish bassist, guitarist and singer. He first achieved success in the mid-1970s as lead vocalist and bassist of Pilot, who scored hits with " Magic", "January", "Just a Smile" and "Call Me Round" b ...

– fretless bass * Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion *

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a British rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in ...

– backing vocals *

– backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*http://www.eltonography.com/songs/nikita.html (27 June 2020) {{authority control 1985 singles 1985 songs Berlin Wall Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Elton John songs Geffen Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Portugal Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Switzerland The Rocket Record Company singles 1980s ballads Songs involved in plagiarism controversies Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Songs with music by Elton John