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"Nikita"
Single by Elton John
from the album Ice on Fire
B-side	"The Man Who Never Died" "Restless"
Released	4 October 1985 (1985-10-04)
Recorded	January 1985
Genre	Soft rock new wave
Length	5:44 (album version) 4:43 (UK single version) 4:54 (single version)
Label	Rocket
Songwriter(s)	Elton John Bernie Taupin
Producer(s)	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"That's What Friends Are For" (1985) "Nikita" (1985) "Wrap Her Up" (1985)
Music video
"Nikita" on YouTube

"Nikita" is a song by English musician Elton John 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, 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.

Song synopsis

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. In interviews, John has said that he was aware of Nikita being a male name in Russian.

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 an instrumental bridge mechanically-themed breakdown halfway through the second chorus.

Reception

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." Billboard called it a "lilting tune."

Music video

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 an 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.

Anya Major plays the role of Nikita; Andreas Wisniewski plays a male border guard who seems to be her commanding officer.

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 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

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-inch maxi single

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, synthesizer, lead vocals, backing vocals
• Fred Mandel – synthesizers
• Nik Kershaw – electric guitar, backing vocals
• David Paton – fretless bass
• Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion
• Davey Johnstone – backing vocals
• George Michael – backing vocals

Charts

Certifications

References

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5. "Reviews". Billboard. 18 January 1986. p. 58. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
6. "Nikita by Elton John Song Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
7. Voelker, Daniel (26 April 2012). "Guy Hobbs (Plaintiff) versus Sir Elton Hercules John, Bernard John Taupin, & Big Pig Music (Defendants)" (PDF). Entertainment Law Digest. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
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External links

• http://www.eltonography.com/songs/nikita.html (27 June 2020)

v t e Berlin Wall
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People who died breaching the Wall	Klaus Brueske Peter Fechter Winfried Freudenberg Christian-Peter Friese Chris Gueffroy Marienetta Jirkowsky Cengaver Katrancı Erna Kelm Czesław Kukuczka Horst Kutscher Günter Litfin Dorit Schmiel Egon Schultz Olga Segler Ida Siekmann Heinz Sokolowski Hildegard Trabant Rudolf Urban Christel and Eckhard Wehage
Others associated with the Wall	Günter Schabowski Riccardo Ehrman Erich Honecker Konrad Schumann Walter Ulbricht David Hasselhoff Jutta Fleck
The Wall in speeches	"Ich bin ein Berliner" "Tear down this wall!"
In popular culture	Films and TV series Escape from East Berlin (1962) The Wall (1962) Stop Train 349 (1963) The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965) Freiheit (1966) Funeral in Berlin (1966) The Soldier (1982) Octopussy (1983) Gotcha! (1985) Wings of Desire (1987) Judgment in Berlin (1988) Das Versprechen (1995) Sonnenallee (1999) The Tunnel (2001) Buffalo Soldiers (2001) Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) Bornholmer Straße (2014) Bridge of Spies (2015) Atomic Blonde (2017) Deutschland 89 (2020) Documentaries The Road to the Wall (1962) The Tunnel (1962) Rabbit à la Berlin (2009) Novels The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) Funeral in Berlin (1964) Judgment in Berlin (1984) Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee (1999) Edge of Eternity (2014) Songs "West of the Wall" (1962) "Holidays in the Sun" (1977) "Nikita" (1985) Other media The Berlin Wall (1991 video game) The Day the Wall Came Down (1997 sculpture)
Other	List of Berlin Wall segments Ghost station Steinstücken Grenzgänger (Cross-border commuters) The Shame

• 1985 singles
• 1985 songs
• Berlin Wall
• Cold War in popular culture
• 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