Ice on Fire

Ice on Fire
Studio album by Elton John
Released	4 November 1985
Recorded	January 1985
Genre	Soft rock, pop rock, new wave
Length	46:17
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
"Act of War" Released: 1985 "Nikita" Released: 29 October 1985 (UK), February 1986 (US) "Wrap Her Up" Released: 1985 "Cry to Heaven" Released: 1986

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[2]

Ice on Fire, released in November 1985, is the nineteenth official album release for Elton John. Recorded at Sol Studios, it was his first album since Blue Moves produced by his original long-time producer, Gus Dudgeon, who was responsible for John's success in that timespan, but it was met with little praise, and only reached #48 on the US charts, although it reached #3 in the UK. George Michael, then of Wham!, appears on two tracks on the album: "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up".

Despite the mediocre sales of the album in the US, "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up" became top 20 hits, the former reaching #7 in the US and #3 in the UK. Roger Taylor and John Deacon of Queen play drums and bass guitar respectively on "Too Young". In the US it was certified gold in June 1986 by the RIAA.

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted.

Side one

1. "This Town" – 3:56
2. "Cry to Heaven" – 4:16
3. "Soul Glove" – 3:31
4. "Nikita" – 5:43
5. "Too Young" – 5:12

Side two

6. "Wrap Her Up" (John, Taupin, Davey Johnstone, Fred Mandel, Charlie Morgan, Paul Westwood) – 6:21
7. "Satellite" – 4:37
8. "Tell Me What the Papers Say" – 3:40
9. "Candy by the Pound" – 3:56
10. "Shoot Down the Moon" – 5:09

Bonus track (On the 1985 original CD and the 1992 MCA and Geffen reissue)

11. "Act of War" (Duet with Millie Jackson) – 4:43

Bonus tracks (1999 Mercury reissue)

11. "The Man Who Never Died" (John) – 5:12
12. "Restless" (Live 1984) – 4:25
13. "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Live 1977) (Erroneously listed as "Live 1984") – 3:23
14. "I'm Still Standing" (Live 1984) – 4:52

The remastered 1999 version did not include "Act of War"; the 1985 original CD issue and the 1999 remaster have a longer intro to "Satellite" than the LP 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.

According to Elizabeth Rosenthal in her book, His Songs: The Musical Journey of Elton John, 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.

"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

• David Bitelli: horn arrangements (1, 3, 6, 9), baritone saxophone (1, 6, 9), tenor saxophone (3, 6)
• Alan Carvell: backing vocals (3, 5, 7-9)
• Kiki Dee: backing vocals (3, 5, 6, 8, 9)
• Raul D'Oliveira: trumpet (1, 3, 6, 9)
• Gus Dudgeon: Simmons drums on "Too Young" and "Act of War", horn arrangements (3, 6), arrangements (10)
• Deon Estus: bass guitar (3, 7, 11)
• John Deacon: bass guitar on "Too Young"
• Mel Gaynor: drums (3, 7, 11)
• Millie Jackson: vocals on "Act of War"
• 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)
• 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 on "Nikita", "Satellite" and "Act of War"; backing vocals on "Nikita"
• Katie Kissoon: backing vocals (3, 5, 6, 8, 9)
• Fred Mandel: synthesizers (1, 4, 5, 10, 11), keyboards (2, 3, 6-9), sequencer (6), electric guitar (7, 11), finger snaps (7), arrangements (10)
• Dave Mattacks: drums (4, 8, 9), military snare on "Too Young"
• George Michael: backing vocals on "Nikita", featured vocals on "Wrap Her Up"
• Charlie Morgan: drums (1, 2, 6)
• James Newton-Howard: string arrangements on "Soul Glove" and "Wrap Her Up"
• Pino Palladino: bass guitar (10)
• David Paton: bass guitar (4, 8, 9)
• Nick Pentelow: tenor saxophone (9)
• Chris Pyne: trombone (9)
• Frank Ricotti: percussion (3, 5), vibraphone (9)
• Sister Sledge: backing vocals on "This Town"
• Paul Spong: trumpet (1, 3, 6, 9)
• Bob Sydor: tenor saxophone (3)
• Rick Taylor: trombone (1, 3, 6, 9), horn arrangements (9)
• Roger Taylor: drums on "Too Young"
• Pete Thomas: tenor saxophone (9)
• Phil Todd: alto saxophone (6)
• Paul Westwood: bass guitar (1, 2, 6)
• Pete Wingfield: backing vocals (3, 5, 6-9)

Credits

• Produced by Gus Dudgeon
• All lyrics by Bernie Taupin
• Recorded by Stuart Epps
• Mixed and Edited by Graham Dickson and Gus Dudgeon
• Additional mix and editing by Tom Pearce
• Mastered by Gordon Vicary
• Design: David Larkham
• Photography: Terry O'Neill

Certifications

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Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[3]	Platinum	70,000^^
France (SNEP)[4]	Gold	100,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[5]	Gold	250,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[6]	Gold	50,000^^
Sweden (GLF)[7]	Platinum	100,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[8]	2× Platinum	100,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[9]	Platinum	300,000^^
United States (RIAA)[10]	Gold	500,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Charts

Weekly charts Chart Peak position Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[11] 6 Austrian Albums Chart[12] 9 Canadian RPM Albums Chart[13] 49 Dutch Mega Albums Chart[14] 6 New Zealand Albums Chart[15] 8 Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[16] 2 Spanish Albums Chart[17] 6 Swedish Albums Chart[18] 16 Swiss Albums Chart[19] 2 UK Albums Chart[20] 3 U.S. Billboard 200[21] 48 West German Media Control Albums Chart[22] 5

Year-end charts Chart (1985) Position Australian Albums Chart[11] 77 UK Albums Chart[23] 45 Chart (1986) Position Austrian Albums Chart[24] 19 Canadian Albums Chart[25] 56 French Albums Chart[26] 54 Swiss Albums Chart[27] 3 U.S. Billboard 200[28] 97

References

1. Ice on Fire at AllMusic
2. Archived 2 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
3. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1986 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
4. "French album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in French). InfoDisc. Select ELTON JOHN and click OK
5. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Elton John; 'Ice on Fire')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
6. "Dutch album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
7. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
8. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Elton John; 'Ice on Fire')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
9. "British album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Ice on Fire in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
10. "American album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "austriancharts.at Elton John - Ice on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2011-10-29.
13. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-29
14. "dutchcharts.nl Elton John - Ice on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
15. "charts.org.nz Elton John - Ice on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
16. "norwegiancharts.com Elton John - Ice on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
17. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
18. "swedishcharts.com Elton John - Ice on Fire" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2011-10-29.
19. "Elton John - Ice on Fire - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
20. "Chart Stats - Elton John - Ice on Fire" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
21. "allmusic ((( Ice on Fire > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
22. "Album Search: Elton John - Ice on Fire" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
23. "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 2011-10-29.
24. "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1986" (ASP) (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
25. "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1986". RPM. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
26. "Les Albums (CD) de 1986 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
27. "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1986" (ASP). Swiss Music Charts (in Swedish). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
28. "Billboard.BIZ - Year-end Charts - Billboard 200 - 1986". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2011-10-24.