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"Nikita"
Single by Elton John
from the album Ice on Fire
(1985) "Nikita"
"Nikita" is a song
by British musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, performed by John.
It is from John's nineteenth studio album, Ice on Fire (1985), and was released
by Rocket as its lead single on 4 October 1985, charting at number three on the
UK singles chart, 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 on backing vocals and Nik Kershaw on guitar. The accompanying
music video depicts John's attempted romance of a blonde female East German
border guard at a Berlin border crossing.
In the song, John describes
his crush on a person called Nikita, an East German border guard patrolling the
Berlin Wall whom he cannot meet because he is not allowed into East Germany.
Though the name Nikita can refer to women in other languages, it is a male name
in Russian.[2]
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 an instrumental bridge mechanically themed breakdown halfway through the
second chorus.
Cash Box 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."[4] Billboard called it a "lilting tune" and coupled it with
the song "Russians" as a "proffering" of
"international amity on a personal level".[5]
The video for the song was
directed by Ken Russell. 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 border guard at a Berlin border
crossing with short hair and bright blue eyes. 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.[2]
Anya Major plays the role of
Nikita; Andreas Wisniewski plays a male border guard who appears to be her
commanding officer.
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. He continued to perform
the song in the mid-2000s.[6]
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 Hobbs to contact John
over the issue, he never heard from him and so commenced legal action in
2012.[7]
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.
