Ice on Fire

Ice on Fire is the nineteenth studio album by Elton John. Recorded at Sol Studios and released in November 1985, it was 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 band members Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson. Fred Mandel, who had played with John during the Breaking Hearts tour, also contributed guitar and keyboards. George Michael, then of Wham!, appears on two tracks on the album: "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up". Other notable guests include Nik Kershaw, Sister Sledge, Pino Palladino, Mel Gaynor and Millie Jackson, who duetted with John on "Act of War". Roger Taylor and John Deacon of Queen play drums and bass guitar on "Too Young".

This article is about the album. For the 2006 Italian film, see Ice on Fire (2006 film). For the 2019 documentary film, see Ice on Fire (2019 film).

Ice on Fire
Studio album by
Elton John
Released4 November 1985
RecordedJanuary – June 1985
StudioSol, Cookham, Berkshire
GenreSoft rock, pop rock, new wave
Length45:41
LabelGeffen (US), Rocket (UK)
ProducerGus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Breaking Hearts
(1984)		 Ice on Fire
(1985)		 Leather Jackets
(1986)
Singles from Ice on Fire
  1. "Nikita[1]"
    Released: 29 October 1985 (UK), February 1986 (US)
  2. "Wrap Her Up[2]"
    Released: November 1985
  3. "Cry to Heaven[3]"
    Released: February 1986
  4. "Soul Glove (Spain Only) [4]"
    Released: 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[6]

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

Track listing

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

Side one
No.TitleLength
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
No.TitleLength
1."Wrap Her Up" (John, Taupin, Davey Johnstone, Fred Mandel, Charlie Morgan, Paul Westwood)6:21
2."Satellite" (4:37 in length on CD reissue)3:57
3."Tell Me What the Papers Say"3:40
4."Candy by the Pound"3:56
5."Shoot Down the Moon"5:09
Total length:45:41
  • Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–10 on CD reissues.
Bonus track (On the 1985 original CD and the 1992 MCA reissue)
No.TitleLength
11."Act of War" (Duet with Millie Jackson)4:43
Total length:50:24
Bonus tracks (1999 Mercury reissue)
No.TitleLength
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
Total length:64:13

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.
  • 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.
  • "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.

Credits

Charts

Certifications

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Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[25] Gold 25,000*
Belgium (BEA)[26] Gold 25,000*
France (SNEP)[27] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[28] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[29] Gold 80,000[30]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[31] Platinum 15,000^
Spain — 48,500[32]
Sweden (GLF)[33] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[34] 2× Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[36] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. http://www.45cat.com/record/ejs9
  2. http://www.45cat.com/record/ejs10
  3. http://www.45cat.com/record/ejs11
  4. https://www.discogs.com/Elton-John-Soul-Glove/release/9253358
  5. Ice on Fire at AllMusic
  6. Archived 2 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "austriancharts.at Elton John - Ice on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  9. Library and Archives Canada. Archived 12 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-10-29
  10. "dutchcharts.nl Elton John – Ice on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  11. "charts.nz Elton John – Ice on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  12. "norwegiancharts.com Elton John – Ice on Fire" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  13. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  14. "swedishcharts.com Elton John - Ice on Fire" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  15. "Elton John – Ice on Fire – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  16. "The Official Charts Company – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (PHP). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  17. "allmusic ((( Ice on Fire > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  18. "Album Search: Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  19. "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  20. "Austriancharts.at – Jahreshitparade 1986" (in German). Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  21. "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1986". RPM. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  22. "Les Albums (CD) de 1986 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  23. "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.
  24. "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1986". billboard.biz. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  25. "Gold & Platinum Awards 1987" (PDF). Music & Media. 26 December 1987. pp. 42–46. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  26. "European Gold & Platinum Awards 1986" (PDF). Music & Media. 27 December 1986. p. 33. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  27. "French album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in French). InfoDisc. Select ELTON JOHN and click OK. 
  28. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Elton John; 'Ice on Fire')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  29. "Dutch album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Ice on Fire in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  30. "Elton John - Holland" (PDF). Music & Media. 22 December 1990. p. 47. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  31. "New Zealand album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  32. "Elton John - Spain" (PDF). Music & Media. 30 January 1988. p. 45. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  33. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  34. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Elton John; 'Ice on Fire')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  35. "British album certifications – Elton John – Ice on Fire". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Ice on Fire in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  36. "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. 
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