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Nikita (song)

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"Nikita"
Song
B-side"The Man Who Never Died" (U.K.)
"Restless" (U.S.)

"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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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

Charts and sales

Chart successions

Preceded by Irish IRMA number-one single
16 November 1985 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Dutch Top 40 number-one single
7 December 1985 – 25 January 1986 (8 weeks)
Preceded by Swiss number-one single
8 December 1985 – 29 December 1985 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by
German number-one single
13 December 1985 – 3 January 1986 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New Zealand RIANZ number-one single
24 January 1986 – 7 February 1986 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
"Take on Me" by a-ha
 Dutch Top 40 number-one single
25 January 1986 – 8 February 1986 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ "Elton John Song Lyrics: Nikita". Retrieved 3 January 2007. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html. Retrieved 27 June 2015. {{cite web}}: 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. ^ a b c d e "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 25 September 2010.
  12. ^ "Nikita", UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 12 January 2009)
  13. ^ a b 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). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  18. ^ id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.
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