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Passengers (Elton John song)

"Passengers"
Single by Elton John
from the album Breaking Hearts
B-side"Lonely Boy"
Released3 August 1984[1]
RecordedDecember 1983
Genre worldbeat
Length
  • 3:24 (7-inch single)
  • 5:42 (12-inch single)
LabelRocket (UK)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Chris Thomas
Elton John singles chronology
"Sad Songs (Say So Much)"
(1984) 		"Passengers"
(1984) 		"Who Wears These Shoes?"
(1984)
Music video
"Passengers" on YouTube

Passengers is a 1984 song by English musician Elton John that appears on his 1984 album Breaking Hearts, released as the second single of the album. The song reached number five on the UK chart, and reached the top ten in Australia, but was not released as a single in the US.

The song was included on his 1990 UK release The Very Best of Elton John, but has not been included on any compilation since.

Background

It was composed by John, Bernie Taupin and Davey Johnstone. The music for the song was largely based on a South African folk tune called 'Isonto Lezayone', which was recorded in 1963 by Phineas Mkhize. The whistle riff and chorus melody are borrowed from this piece, and Mkhize is given a songwriting credit for the song on this basis. It has been suggested that Taupin's lyric has an anti-apartheid message behind it.[2][3]

Live performances

John performed the song live during his 1985 tour of the UK, with a slightly re-arranged version of the track, making use of the brass section he used for the tour. The song has seemingly been discarded by John, having not been played live since then, as of 2019.[4]

Music video

The music video, directed by Simon Milne, was filmed in St. Tropez, France. The video featured a cameo appearance by Bernie Taupin. As was the case for many of the songs in this time period, John appears without his trademark glasses, and does not play piano.

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Passengers"
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 9
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 9
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 38
Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)[8] 27
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 5
Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[10] 10

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Passengers"
Chart (1984) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 97

References

  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 20.
  2. ^ "36 years of eltonjohnallsongslist: Unforgettable Video Guests: Remember Them? (& Part Three)". 22 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Breaking Down 'Breaking Hearts'".
  4. ^ "Passengers by Elton John Song Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. pp. 158–159. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Passengers". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Elton John – Passengers". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Elton John - Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  10. ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  11. ^ "Kent Music Report No 548 – 31 December 1984 > National Top 100 Singles for 1984". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 23 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
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