Wrap Her Up

"Wrap Her Up"
Single by Elton John
from the album Ice on Fire
B-side"The Man Who Never Died"
Released14 October 1985 (US)[1]
29 November 1985 (UK)[2]
RecordedJanuary 1985
Genre
Length
  • 6:21 (album version)
  • 4:18 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"Nikita"
(1985) 		"Wrap Her Up"
(1985) 		"Cry to Heaven"
(1986)
Music video
"Wrap Her Up" on YouTube

"Wrap Her Up" is a song by English musician Elton John, released as the second single from his 1985 album, Ice on Fire. George Michael provides backing vocals on the song. The single had limited success worldwide.

It reached number 12 in the UK Singles Chart,[3] number 22 in Australia,[4] number 26 in Canada on the RPM Top Singles chart and number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[5]

Background

George Michael was quoted at the time in Number One magazine that "it sounded like I had my willy in a garotte" because of the falsetto he sings throughout the song.

The song talks about fashion models as it was notable for the number of famous women's names dropped toward the end,[6] including Kiki Dee, who had duetted with Elton on the hit song "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" in 1976, and also provided background vocals for "Wrap Her Up". The rest of the list includes (in order) Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Doris Day, Billie Jean King, Samantha Fox, Joan Collins, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Grace Jones, Priscilla Presley, Vanessa Williams, Dusty Springfield, Nancy Reagan, Rita Hayworth, Madonna (as "Material Girl"), Julie Andrews, Superwoman, Annie Lennox, Mata Hari, Anouska Hempel, Shirley Temple, Tallulah Bankhead, Linda Lovelace, Little Eva, Nastassja Kinski, Princess Caroline of Monaco, Pat Fernandez (a close friend of George Michael who appeared in two Wham! videos), and Elsie Tanner. The single version fades out early, missing most of the list. The last name heard on the single edit is Vanessa Williams.

"Wrap Her Up" has the longest credit of songwriters on a Elton John song.

Reception

Cash Box called it "a healthy tribute to the girl group's of yesteryear".[7] Billboard said it has "shades of Temptations circa 1964".[8]

Music video

A music video was recorded for the song, which was directed by Russell Mulcahy, and featured John and George Michael, as well as Kiki Dee (who gets a custard pie in the face from Elton) and John's backing band. The video was featured in the video compilation version of The Very Best of Elton John in 1990, but the song was not included on any formats of the audio release edition of the compilation. The music video version of the song is abridged, with a running time of 4 minutes 11 seconds, almost two minutes shorter than the album version.

Live performances

This song was heavily performed live during the 1985 leg of the Ice on Fire Tour. On the 1986 leg, John rarely performed this song on the concerts of the same tour.

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1985–1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 22
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] 26
Germany (GfK)[11] 54
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 12
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 33
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 12
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 20

References

  1. ^ "FMQB" (PDF). p. 38.
  2. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 22.
  3. ^ "Elton John – full Official Chart History – Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 Singles 1986". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 (12-07-1985)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Wrap Her Up: What's the average age of the women Elton John & George Michael sang about?". 24 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. 26 October 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. 26 October 1985. p. 79. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. pp. 158–159. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0614." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Elton John – Wrap Her Up" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  12. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Wrap Her Up". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Elton John – Wrap Her Up". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2023.