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Passengers is a 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.

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"Passengers"
Single by Elton John
from the album Breaking Hearts
B-side	"Lonely Boy"
Released	August 1984 (1984-08)
Recorded	December 1983
Genre	Rock folk rock worldbeat
Length	3:24 (7-inch single) 5:42 (12-inch single)
Label	Rocket (UK)
Songwriter(s)	Elton John Bernie Taupin Davey Johnstone Phineas Mkhize
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

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.[1]

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.[2]

Later releases

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

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

• Elton John – vocals, synthesizers, harmonium
• Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Dee Murray – bass, backing vocals
• Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals

References

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