Made in England (Elton John album)

Made in England
Studio album by Elton John
Released 20 March 1995
Recorded February–April 1994
Genre Rock, pop
Length 52:39
Label Rocket Records
Island Records (US)
Producer Greg Penny and Elton John
Elton John chronology
Chartbusters Go Pop
(1994)		 Made in England
(1995)		 Love Songs
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Deseret News (Positive)[2]
Entertainment Weekly (B) [3]
Los Angeles Times [4]
Rolling Stone [5]

Made in England is the twenty-fifth studio album by English singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1995 and Produced by Elton John and Greg Penny, the first time since Leather Jackets without Chris Thomas. It was dedicated to John's boyfriend and future civil partner David Furnish. It was also dedicated to the memory of Denis Gauthier and Peter Williams. This is the last album to date to feature regular percussionist Ray Cooper. Bob Birch became John's full-time recording and touring bass player.

Contents

While still promoting his work for The Lion King soundtrack, in September 1994, five months before its release as a single, John debuted "Believe" during a concert with Ray Cooper at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. "Believe" reached #15 in the UK and #13 in the U.S., and was the only American hit from the album to reach the Top 20. During November, Elton John toured Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Switzerland, Poland, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, and Japan and other countries two months later. Several songs from the album made it to the tour's playlist, including "Believe", "Made in England", "Blessed" and "Pain".

An interesting peculiarity is that, much unlike his previous works, and with the exception of the title track, all of the album's songs have one-word titles. A few special notes about some of the songs: on "Belfast", the song originally ended simply with John singing the last line, "Belfast." In an interview with fan magazine East End Lights some time later, arranger Paul Buckmaster (in his first project with Elton John since 1978's A Single Man) said he thought the song needed a more uplifting end, and added the outro, making it sound as if it were being played in an Irish pub somewhere up the road. John reportedly was initially wary of the idea, but Buckmaster said he changed his mind upon hearing it and approved the new coda for the final version; George Martin, who owns AIR Studios London where the album was recorded, wrote the horn and string arrangement on "Latitude"; and John and Guy Babylon are credited as arrangers on "Man", which also includes organ by Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics frontman Paul Carrack.

Singles

UK release date Single Notes Peak positions
20 February 1995 "Believe" Worldwide release #15 UK, #13 US, #1 CAN
8 May 1995 "Made in England" Worldwide release #18 UK, #52 US
18 December 1995 "Blessed" Not released in the UK #34 US, #3 CAN
22 January 1996 "Please" Released in the UK #33 UK

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John/Bernie Taupin.

Side one
  1. "Believe" – 4:55
  2. "Made in England" – 5:09
  3. "House" – 4:27
  4. "Cold" – 5:37
  5. "Pain" – 3:49
Side two
  1. "Belfast" – 6:29
  2. "Latitude" – 3:34
  3. "Please" – 3:52
  4. "Man" – 5:16
  5. "Lies" – 4:25
  6. "Blessed" – 5:01

B-sides

Song Format
"The One" (Live) "Believe" 7"/CD (US/UK)
"The Last Song" (Live) "Believe" CD (US/UK)
"Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" (Live) "Believe" CD (US/UK)
"Believe (Live)" "Believe" CD (US/UK)
"Believe" (Urban Turban Version) "Believe" CD (US)
"Believe" (Hardkiss Mix) "Made in England" 12"/CD (US)
"Made in England" (Junior's Sound Factory Mix) "Made in England" 12" (US/UK), CD (US) / "Blessed" CD (UK)
"Made in England" (Junior's Factory Dub) "Made in England" 12" (US/UK), CD (US)
"Made in England" (Junior's Joyous Mix) "Made in England" 12" (US/UK), CD (US) / "Blessed" CD (UK)
"Made in England" (Junior's Big House Mix) "Made in England" 12" (US)
"Made in England" (Junior's Jungle Mix) "Made in England" 12" (US)
"Made in England" (Junior's Big House Dub) "Made in England" 12" (US)
"Made in England" (Junior's Massive House Dub) "Made in England" 12" (US)
"Made in England" (Junior's Jungle Dub) "Made in England" 12" (US)
"Your Song" (Live) "Made in England" CD (UK)
"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Live) "Made in England" CD (UK)

Outtakes

There are many outtakes from Made in England. These songs include "Building a Bird", "Leaves", "Hell", "Skin", "Tick-Tock", "Red", "Live Like Horses", an alternate version of "Belfast", and an alternate version of "Believe". "Red" was later released on the French compilation Sol En Si, and a version of "Live Like Horses" was later released on The Big Picture. "Building a Bird" was recorded by Nigel Olsson for his 2001 Move the Universe CD, released only in Japan. The remaining outtakes have yet to see official release.[6]

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year Nominated work Award Result
1996 "Believe" Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male[7] Nominated

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (1995) Position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[8] 6
Austrian Albums Chart[9] 1
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) [10] 8
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[11] 5
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[12] 11
French SNEP Albums Chart [13] 2
German Media Control Albums Chart [14] 4
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[15] 13
New Zealand Albums Chart [16] 10
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[17] 3
Swedish Albums Chart[18] 8
Swiss Albums Chart[19] 1
UK Albums Chart [20] 3
United States Billboard 200[21] 13

Year-end charts

Chart (1995) Position
Austrian Albums Chart[22] 9
Swiss Albums Chart[23] 12
U.S. Billboard 200 [24] 89

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)[25] Platinum 50,000x
Canada (Music Canada)[26] 2× Platinum 200,000^
France (SNEP)[27] 2× Gold 286,400[28]
Japan (Oricon Charts) 101,130[29]
Germany (BVMI)[30] Gold 250,000^
Sweden (GLF)[31] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[32] Platinum 50,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[34] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Elton John: Made in England > Review at Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  2. ^ Rayburn, Jim (1995-04-07). "`MADE IN ENGLAND' EVOKES OTHER SONGS THAT FANS KNOW AND LOVE". deseretnews.com. Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/414300/MADE-IN-ENGLAND-EVOKES-OTHER-SONGS-THAT-FANS-KNOW-AND-LOVE.html. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
  3. ^ Tucker, Ken (1995-03-31). "Made in England Review". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,296615,00.html. Retrieved 2011-08-30. 
  4. ^ Hilburn, Robert (1995-03-19). "Record Rack: John-Taupin Teach the Lessons of Loss". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1995-03-19/entertainment/ca-44396_1_elton-john. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  5. ^ Galvin, Peter (1998-02-02). "Elton John: Made in England". Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/made-in-england-19980202. Retrieved 2011-09-28. 
  6. ^ Rocket Man: Elton John from A-Z (ISBN 9780275956981)
  7. ^ "THE 38TH ANNUAL GRAMMY NOMINATIONS : The Complete List of Nominees". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. 1996-01-05. http://articles.latimes.com/1996-01-05/entertainment/ca-21204_1_vocal-performance. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  8. ^ "australian-charts.com Elton John - Made in England". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Made+In+England&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  9. ^ "Elton John - Made in England – austriancharts.at" (in German). http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Made+In+England&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  10. ^ "ultratop.be - Elton John - Made in England" (in Dutch). ultratop.be/nl, Hung Medien. Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Made+In+England&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-08-29. 
  11. ^ "ultratop.be - Elton John - Made in England" (in Dutch). ultratop.be/fr,, Hung Medien. Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Made+In+England&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-08-29. 
  12. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Elton John - Made in England" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Made+In+England&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  13. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. http://infodisc.fr/Album_J.php. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  14. ^ "Album Search: Elton John" (in German). Media Control. http://www.charts.de/search.asp?search=Elton+John&x=0&y=0&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  15. ^ エルトン・ジョン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of Made in England by Elton John" (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style. http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/185378/1/ エルトン・ジョン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック. Retrieved 2011-09-21. 
  16. ^ "charts.org.nz - Elton John - Made in England". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Made+In+England&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  17. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Elton John - Made in England". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Made+In+England&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  18. ^ "swedishcharts.com Elton John - Made in England" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Made+In+England&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  19. ^ "Elton John - Made in England - hitparade.ch" (in German). http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Made+In+England&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  20. ^ "Chart Stats - Elton John - Made in England". UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=45708. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  21. ^ Allmusic - Made in England > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
  22. ^ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1995". Hung Medien. http://austriancharts.at/1995_album.asp. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  23. ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1995". Swiss Music Charts. Hung Medien. http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=1995. Retrieved 2011-09-13. 
  24. ^ U.S. Billboard Year-end Albums 1995
  25. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Elton John – Made in England" (in German). IFPI Austria. http://www.ifpi.at/?section=goldplatin.  Enter Elton John in the field Interpret. Enter Made in England in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  26. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Made in England". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Made+in+England&sa=Elton+John&smt=0. 
  27. ^ "French album certifications – Elton John – Made in England" (in French). InfoDisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php.  Select ELTON JOHN and click OK
  28. ^ "Les Albums Double Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. http://www.infodisc.fr/CDCertif_O2.php?debut=400. Retrieved 2011-09-18. 
  29. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4871310779. 
  30. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Elton John; 'Made in England')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Made+in+England&strInterpret=Elton+John&strTtArt=alben&strAwards=checked. 
  31. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (in Swedish) (PDF). IFPI Sweden. http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/guld-platina-1987-1998.pdf. 
  32. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Elton John; 'Made in England')". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=Elton+John+Made+in+England. 
  33. ^ "British album certifications – Elton John – Made in England". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Made in England in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  34. ^ "American album certifications – Elton John – Made in England". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Made+in+England%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
Preceded by
Sex & Violins by Rednex		 Swiss Music Chart number-one album
16 April – 30 April, 1995		 Succeeded by
1492: Conquest of Paradise (soundtrack) by Vangelis
Preceded by
1492: Conquest of Paradise (soundtrack) by Vangelis		 Austrian Chart number-one album
4 June - 18 June, 1995		 Succeeded by
Pulse by Pink Floyd
Elton John
Studio albums
Live albums
Soundtracks
Compilations
Tours
Residency shows
Video releases
Tribute album
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