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Ice on Fire
Studio album by Elton John
Released	4 November 1985
Recorded	January – June 1985
Studio	Sol Studios (Cookham, Berkshire, UK) and CTS Studios (Wembley, London, UK)
Genre	Pop, pop rock
Length	45:41
Label	Geffen (US), Rocket (UK)
Producer	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Breaking Hearts (1984) Ice on Fire (1985) Leather Jackets (1986)
Singles from Ice on Fire
"Nikita" Released: October 1985 (UK) "Wrap Her Up" Released: October 1985 (US) "Soul Glove" Released: 1985 (Spain) "Cry to Heaven" Released: February 1986

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Rolling Stone	(not rated)

Ice on Fire is the nineteenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1985. It was recorded at Sol Studios and his first album since Blue Moves produced by his original long-time producer, Gus Dudgeon. David Paton and Charlie Morgan appear for the first time on bass and drums respectively, replacing original Elton John Band members Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson. Fred Mandel, who had played with John during the Breaking Hearts Tour, also contributed guitar and keyboards.

The album was met with little praise and only reached #48 on the US Billboard 200 charts, although it reached #3 on the UK Albums Chart. "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up" became top 20 hits. The latter reached #20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the former reached #7 in the US and #3 on the UK singles chart. In the US, the album was certified gold in June 1986 by the RIAA.

Background

The title of the album contains a line from the lyrics of "Nikita": "With eyes that looked like ice on fire".

Guests on the recording include Nik Kershaw; Sister Sledge; Pino Palladino; Mel Gaynor and Millie Jackson, who duetted with John on "Act of War"; George Michael, then of Wham!, who appears on "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up"; and Roger Taylor and John Deacon of Queen who play drums and bass guitar on "Too Young".

According to Elizabeth Rosenthal in her book, His Songs: The Musical Journey of Elton John (p. 260; First edition), the LP's closing track, "Shoot Down the Moon", was considered for the James Bond film A View to a Kill, but the producers instead decided to go with the title track as performed by Duran Duran for the film's soundtrack.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted

• Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–10 on CD reissues.

Notes

• The remastered 1999 version did not include "Act of War"; the 1999 remaster had a longer intro to "Satellite" than the LP and the 1985 CD issue, and has a slightly different vocal mix. The live version of "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is not the version found on the 12" single of "Nikita", but is an unreleased version from 1977 (Live at Rainbow Rock in May). It is unknown why the switch occurred. The other two live tracks were recorded at Wembley Stadium during the tour for the album Breaking Hearts.
• "The Man Who Never Died" is a song written about John Lennon, in addition to "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)", from Elton John's album Jump Up!

Personnel

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

Musicians

• Elton John – lead vocals, acoustic piano (1–3, 5, 8, 10, 11), Yamaha GS1 piano (4, 5), synthesizer (4, 7, 9, 11), backing vocals (4)
• Fred Mandel – synthesizers (1, 4, 5, 10, 11), keyboards (2, 3, 6–9), sequencer (6), electric guitar (7, 11), finger snaps (7), arrangements (10)
• Davey Johnstone – electric guitar (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11), Spanish guitar (2), synth guitar (2, 7), backing vocals (3, 5, 6–9)
• Nik Kershaw – electric guitar (4, 7, 11), backing vocals (4)
• Paul Westwood – bass (1, 2, 6)
• Deon Estus – bass (3, 7, 11)
• David Paton – bass (4, 8, 9)
• John Deacon – bass (5)
• Pino Palladino – bass (10)
• Charlie Morgan – drums (1, 2, 6)
• Mel Gaynor – drums (3, 7, 11)
• Dave Mattacks – drums (4, 8, 9), military snare (5)
• Roger Taylor – drums (5)
• Frank Ricotti – percussion (3, 5), vibraphone (9)
• James Newton Howard – string arrangements (3, 6)
• Gus Dudgeon – horn arrangements (3, 6), Simmons drums (5, 11), arrangements (10)
• David Bitelli – horn arrangements (1, 3, 6, 9), baritone saxophone (1, 6, 9), tenor saxophone (3, 6)
• Bob Sydor – tenor saxophone (3)
• Phil Todd – alto saxophone (6)
• Nick Pentelow – tenor saxophone (9)
• Pete Thomas – tenor saxophone (9)
• Rick Taylor – trombone (1, 3, 6, 9), horn arrangements (9)
• Chris Pyne – trombone (9)
• Raul D'Oliveira – trumpet (1, 3, 6, 9)
• Paul Spong – trumpet (1, 3, 6, 9)
• Sister Sledge – backing vocals (1)
• Alan Carvell – backing vocals (3, 5, 7–9)
• Kiki Dee – backing vocals (3, 5, 6, 8, 9)
• Katie Kissoon – backing vocals (3, 5, 6, 8, 9)
• Pete Wingfield – backing vocals (3, 5, 6–9)
• George Michael – backing vocals (4), featured vocals (6)
• Millie Jackson – lead and backing vocals (11)

Production

• Produced by Gus Dudgeon
• All lyrics by Bernie Taupin
• Recorded by Stuart Epps
• Mixed and edited by Graham Dickson and Gus Dudgeon
• Additional mixing and editing by Tom Pearce
• Mastered by Gordon Vicary at The Townhouse (London, UK)
• Design – David Larkham
• Photography – Terry O'Neill

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

1. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great rock discography. Canongate Press. p. 439. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
2. Ice on Fire at AllMusic
3. Larkin, Colin (2011). "John, Elton". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2,003. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
4. Archived 2 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
5. Rosenthal, Elizabeth J. (2001). His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John. New York City: Watson-Guptill. p. 260. ISBN 0-8230-8893-6.
6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "Austriancharts.at – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
8. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0657". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
10. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – J". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Elton John from the menu, then press OK.
11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
12. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 20 July 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Elton John".
13. "Charts.nz – Elton John – Ice on Fire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
14. "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – Ice on Fire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
15. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
16. "Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – Ice on Fire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
17. "Swisscharts.com – Elton John – Ice on Fire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
19. "Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
20. "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
21. "Austriancharts.at – Jahreshitparade 1986" (in German). Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
22. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8824". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
23. "Les Albums (CD) de 1986 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
24. "Hitparade.ch – Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1986". Swiss Music Charts (in Swedish). Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
25. "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1986". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
26. "The European Best Sellers of 1987 – Gold & Platinum Awards 1987" (PDF). Music and Media. worldradiohistory.com. 26 December 1987. p. 44. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
27. "European Gold & Platinum Awards 1986" (PDF). Music and Media. worldradiohistory.com. 27 December 1986. p. 33. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
28. "French album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 21 April 2021. Select ELTON JOHN and click OK. 
29. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Elton John; 'Ice on Fire')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
30. ^ White, Chris (22 December 1990). "Elton John – Record Man Across The Water" (PDF). Music and Media. worldradiohistory.com. pp. 17–19. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
31. "Dutch album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 21 April 2021. Enter Ice on Fire in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1986 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
32. "New Zealand album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
33. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
34. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Ice on Fire')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
35. "British album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
36. "American album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 21 April 2021.

External links

• Ice on Fire at Discogs (list of releases)

• Elton John albums
• 1985 albums
• Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon
• Geffen Records albums
• The Rocket Record Company albums