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Made in England (song)

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox song

| name = Made in England

| cover = Elton John - Made In England CD Single cover.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Elton John

| album = Made in England

| B-side =

| released =

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Rock

| length = 4:46

| label = Rocket

| composer = Elton John

| lyricist = Bernie Taupin

| producer =

| prev_title = Believe

| prev_year = 1995

| next_title = Blessed

| next_year = 1995

| misc =

}}

"'Made in England'" is the title track and second single from English musician Elton John's 24th studio album, 'Made in England' (1995). It is an autobiographical telling of his growing up, parts of his life, and what life is like in England. The song peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number five on the Canadian 'RPM' Top Singles chart, topping the 'RPM' Adult Contemporary chart for one week. In the United States, the song peaked at number 52 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 and number 12 on the 'Billboard' Adult Contemporary chart.

Meaning



The song is deliberately made to sound like pro-English, but its underlying currents are actually very negative and scolding of some of the English stereotypes and cliches, and the shameless paparazzi that he had to deal with during his 40 years in England notably his court battle with 'The Sun' in 1987 in which they ran a series of false stories about his personal life. The key line at the end wraps up John's sneaky meaning to the song, "But the joke's on you, you never read the song they all think they know but they all got it wrong". In addition, the verses exclusively feature American cultural assets such as Cadillac, Little Richard, Georgia (Peach), (boy from) Tupelo, Rock and Roll, (Ford) Cortina or Yankee (summer), which further underlines the satirical context of the song.

Critical reception



Upon its release, the title track received general positive reviews from critics. Music writer James Masterton stated in his weekly UK chart commentary, that the second single from the album of same name "in so many ways is a much better single. Forget all these mushy ballads about divorce and middle-age he has been churning out recently, posterity will record that Elton John is the master of the out-and-out pop stormer and this song, both a homage to this wonderful country and yet at the same time a protest against homophobia is possibly one of the best records he has made for several years."

Pan-European magazine 'Music & Media' wrote, "In the past the inscription was found on the back of a Matchbox or a Dinky Toy. Elton puts it differently by singing he was made in England like the Cortina. Who cares, all these cars roll. But what's more, the song rocks too!" That aspect also instantly struck Norwegian Radio 102/Haugesund head of music Egil Houeland. He said, "After a whole string of ballads it's interesting to see Elton return with a solid uptempo rocker. He can still do it." A reviewer from 'People Magazine' described it as "a prototypical Elton rocker that should echo nicely off the concrete walls in the stadiums hell play in this summer."

Music video



A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by British director Howard Greenhalgh. A "live" performance of the song was filmed in the Ballroom of the British Ambassador's residence in Paris for broadcast on BBC's Top of the Pops. As Elton John couldn't fit a trip to England at the time, the Embassy property was deemed the next best thing.

Personnel



* Elton John vocals, piano, keyboards

* Guy Babylon keyboards, programming

* Bob Birch bass guitar

* Ray Cooper percussion

* Davey Johnstone guitars

* Charlie Morgan drums

Charts



Weekly charts



Year-end charts



Release history



References



Category:1995 singles

Category:1995 songs

Category:Elton John songs

Category:Music videos directed by Howard Greenhalgh

Category:Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin

Category:Songs with music by Elton John

Category:The Rocket Record Company singles

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