Made in England (Elton John album)
| Made in England | ||||
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| Studio album by Elton John | ||||
| Released | 20 March 1995 | |||
| Recorded | February–April 1994 | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 52:39 | |||
| Label |
Rocket (UK) Island (US) |
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| Producer | Greg Penny, Elton John | |||
| Elton John chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Made in England | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Chicago Tribune |  |
| Deseret News | (positive) |
| Entertainment Weekly |
  (B) |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| Rolling Stone | |
Made in England is the twenty-fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John, released in 1995 and produced by him 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. It was the last album to feature regular percussionist Ray Cooper until 2016's Wonderful Crazy Night. Bob Birch became John's full-time recording and touring bass player and continued that role until his death in 2012.
While still promoting his work for The Lion King soundtrack, in September 1994, five months before its release as a single, Elton John debuted "Believe" during the opening night of a concert tour with Ray Cooper in Phoenix, AZ. "Believe" reached No. 15 in the UK and No. 13 in the US, 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, 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", "Lies" and "Pain".
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 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"; and John and Guy Babylon are credited as arrangers on "Man", which also includes organ by Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics frontman Paul Carrack.
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