Made in England (Elton John album)

For the title track, see Made in England (song).

Made in England is the twenty-fourth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1995. It was produced by Greg Penny and John, his first album since Leather Jackets without producer Chris Thomas. The album was dedicated to John's boyfriend and future husband David Furnish. It was also dedicated to the memory of Denis Gauthier and Peter Williams. It was the last album to feature regular Elton John Band percussionist Ray Cooper until 2016's Wonderful Crazy Night. With this album, Bob Birch became John's full-time recording and touring bass player until his death in 2012.

Made in England
Studio album by Elton John
Released	20 March 1995[1]
Recorded	February–April 1994
Studio	AIR Lyndhurst Hall (London, UK)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	52:34
Label	Rocket (UK) Island (US)
Producer	Greg Penny, Elton John
Elton John chronology
The Lion King (soundtrack) (1994) Made in England (1995) Love Songs (1996)
Singles from Made in England
"Believe" Released: 20 February 1995 "Made in England" Released: 8 May 1995 "Blessed" Released: 18 December 1995 "Please" Released: 22 January 1996 (UK)

Professional ratings

Initial reviews (in 1995)
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Baltimore Sun	favourable[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Deseret News	favourable[4]
Entertainment Weekly	favourable[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
Music & Media	favourable[7]
NME	4/10[8]
Smash Hits	[9]

Professional ratings

Retrospective reviews (after 1995)
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]

The song "Please" was covered by bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent and country singer Dolly Parton for the 2018 tribute album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Background

While promoting his work for The Lion King soundtrack in September 1994, Elton John debuted "Believe" (five months before its release as a single) during the opening night of a concert tour with Ray Cooper in Phoenix, Arizona. "Believe" reached No. 15 on the UK singles chart and No. 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was the only American hit from the album to reach the top 20. During November, John toured Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Switzerland, Poland, France, Italy, the UK, Japan, and other countries two months later. Several songs from the album made it to the subsequent Made in England Tour's playlist, including "Believe," "Made in England," "House," "Blessed," "Lies," and "Pain".^{[citation needed]}

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 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 owned AIR Studios London where the album was recorded, wrote the horn and string arrangement on "Latitude." John and Guy Babylon are credited as arrangers on "Man," which also includes organ by Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics frontman Paul Carrack.^{[citation needed]}

Singles

UK release date	Single	Notes	Peak positions
20 February 1995	"Believe"	Worldwide release	#1 CAN, No. 15 UK, No. 13 US
8 May 1995	"Made in England"	Worldwide release	#5 CAN, No. 18 UK, No. 52 US
18 December 1995	"Blessed"	UK single was withdrawn	#3 CAN, No. 34 US
22 January 1996	"Please"	Released in the UK	#33 UK

Track listing

All tracks are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Believe"	4:55
2.	"Made in England"	5:09
3.	"House"	4:27
4.	"Cold"	5:37
5.	"Pain"	3:49
6.	"Belfast"	6:29
7.	"Latitude"	3:34
8.	"Please"	3:52
9.	"Man"	5:16
10.	"Lies"	4:25
11.	"Blessed"	5:01
Total length:		52:34

Outtakes

There are many outtakes from Made in England. These songs include "Building a Bird", "Leaves", "Hell", "Skin", "Tick-Tock", "Undone", "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 album, released only in Japan. "Hell" and the original cut of "Live Like Horses" have circulated on YouTube. The remaining outtakes have yet to circulate.^[13]

Personnel

Musicians

• Elton John – lead and backing vocals, acoustic piano (1–7, 9–11), harmonium (7), keyboards (2, 8), string arrangements (9)
• Guy Babylon – keyboards, programming, backing vocals (8), string arrangements (9)
• Teddy Borowiecki – accordion (6)
• Paul Carrack – Hammond organ (9)
• Davey Johnstone – guitars, mandolin, banjo, backing vocals (8)
• Bob Birch – bass, backing vocals (8)
• Charlie Morgan – drums
• Ray Cooper – percussion
• Paul Brennan – pipes, flute (6)
• Dermont Crehan – violin (6)
• Paul Buckmaster – orchestral arrangements and conductor (1, 3, 4, 6)
• George Martin – string and French horn arrangements (7), conductor (7)
• Gavyn Wright – orchestra leader (6), conductor (9)
• The London Session Orchestra – orchestra (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9)

Production

• Greg Penny – producer, mixing
• Elton John – producer
• Jon Ingoldsby – recording, mixing
• Andy Strange – assistant engineer
• Chris Bellman – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)
• Adrian Collee – studio coordination
• Steve Brown – album coordination
• Pete Mills – drum and guitar technician
• Bill Harrison – percussion technician
• Greg Gorman – photography
• Wherefore Art? – design

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1996	"Believe"	Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male[14]	Nominated

American Music Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1996	Elton John (performer)	Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist[15]	Nominated

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Made in England Chart (1995) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 6 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 8 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 5 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[20] 3 Danish Albums (Tracklisten)[21] 5 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 11 European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)[23] 4 Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[24] 9 French Albums (SNEP)[25] 2 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 4 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[27] 17 Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)[28] 4 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[29] 13 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 10 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31] 3 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[23] 6 Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] 6 Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[33] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[34] 8 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[36] 3 US Billboard 200[37] 13

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Made in England Chart (1995) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[38] 9 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[39] 79 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[40] 27 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[41] 46 French Albums (SNEP)[42] 51 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] 29 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[44] 12 US Billboard 200 89

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[45]	Platinum	50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[46]	2× Platinum	200,000^
France (SNEP)[47]	2× Gold	200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[48]	Gold	250,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[49]	Gold	101,130[50]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[51]	Gold	7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[52]	Platinum	100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[53]	Gold	50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[54]	Platinum	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[55]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA)[56]	Platinum	1,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[57]	Platinum	1,000,000*
Worldwide	—	3,400,000[58]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.