I'm Still Standing

"I'm Still Standing" is a song by British rock musician Elton John, from his Platinum-certified 1983 album, Too Low for Zero.[1] John said this was "my reaction to still being relevant and successful in the early 1980s, post-punk and with the New Romantics creeping in."

For the 2012 book, see I'm Still Standing (book).

"I'm Still Standing"
Single by Elton John
from the album Too Low for Zero
B-side
  • "Love So Cold" (US)
  • "Earn While You Learn" (UK)
Released3 February 1983
RecordedSeptember–December 1982
GenreRock, rock and roll
Length3:02
LabelGeffen (US); Rocket (UK)
Songwriter(s)Elton John (music), Bernie Taupin (lyrics)
Producer(s)Chris Thomas
Elton John singles chronology
"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"
(1983)		 "I'm Still Standing"
(1983)		 "Kiss the Bride"
(1983)
Music video
"I'm Still Standing" on YouTube

Helped in part by a video promoting the song on then-new MTV, "I'm Still Standing" became a big hit for John on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at #1 in Canada[2] and Switzerland,[3] #4 in the UK,[4] and #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[5]

Music video

The video, directed by Russell Mulcahy, was shot in Cannes (InterContinental Carlton Cannes) and Nice on the Côte d'Azur in France and features the colours of the French flag.

Bruno Tonioli, later a judge on the hit shows Strictly Come Dancing for BBC (UK) and its American adaptation, Dancing with the Stars for ABC in the US, appears as one of the dancers in the video.

It was due to be shot over the course of two days, but a camera full of the first day's film was ruined when Mulcahy accidentally fell into the sea with it. Therefore, it had to be filmed again on another day. During the shoot for the video, John came across Duran Duran. He complained he was exhausted at having been up since 4 o'clock in the morning. Simon Le Bon decided John should have a martini. "So I did," John later recalled, "I had six."[6]

In his book Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran, Andy Taylor writes of the experience:

There were lots of celebrities around in Cannes and one day we discovered that Elton John was in town, filming the video for his song "I'm Still Standing". This was before Elton became teetotal, so he was still a steaming party animal; we went up to see him at his hotel and spent the afternoon getting blasted on martinis. We decided it would be a laugh to get him drunk and we were slinging the drinks down him. "Ooh, you are lovely boys," he screeched, loving every minute of it. We got him so drunk that eventually he went upstairs and threw a wobbler in his suite. It caused all sorts of chaos – but it was a great party.[7]

The next morning, John awoke with a hangover and wandered into his personal assistant's room—which was "leveled"—and asked him "What happened?" His assistant laughed: "You happened!"[6]

In 2019, the original 16mm film negatives were re-scanned and the computer graphics were recreated, forming a new, remastered version of the promotional video.[8] This version of the video serves as the ending to the 2019 biopic Rocketman, with Taron Egerton (portraying John) rotoscoped in to recreate memorable scenes from the original music video. It was also re-released standalone on John's YouTube channel.

Track listing
  • US 7" single
  1. "I'm Still Standing" – 3:00
  2. "Love So Cold" – 5:08
  • UK 7" single
  1. "I'm Still Standing" – 3:00
  2. "Earn While You Learn" – 6:42
  • This single was also available as a picture disc shaped as a piano.
  • UK 12" single
  1. "I'm Still Standing" (extended version) – 3:45
  2. "Earn While You Learn" – 6:42

Personnel

Chart performance

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[30] Gold 45,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Platinum 600,000
United States (RIAA)[32] Gold 500,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

gollark: On *some* servers I read all the messages, but not this one.
gollark: hahahai have broken the econononomy
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gollark: Food is a BOURGEOISIE MYTH.
gollark: OR DO YOU?

References
  1. Cassata, Mary Anne (2002). The Elton John Scrapbook. Citadel Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-8065-2322-4.
  2. "Top Singles – Volume 38, No. 20, July 16 1983". Collections Canada. 16 July 1983. Archived from the original on 13 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  3. "Elton John – I'm Still Standing". Swiss Singles Chart (in German). Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  4. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 – 21 August 1983 – 27 August 1983". UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  5. "Elton John – Chart History". Billboard Hot 100. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  6. Anecdotage – Still Standing? Archived 28 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  8. https://www.eltonjohn.com/stories/im-still-standing-4k
  9. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  10. "Ultratop.be – Elton John – I'm Still Standing" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6261." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – I'm Still Standing". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I'm Still Standing". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Elton John – I'm Still Standing" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 30, 1983" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  16. "Charts.nz – Elton John – I'm Still Standing". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  17. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1965–1989 Acts J". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  18. "Swisscharts.com – Elton John – I'm Still Standing". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  20. "Elton John Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  21. "Billboard July 16, 1983" (PDF). Billboard. New York, NY, USA. 16 July 1983. p. 27. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  22. "Elton John Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  23. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JULY 2, 1983". Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2017.. Cash Box magazine.
  24. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  25. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  26. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6699." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  27. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1983". Swiss Singles Chart (in German). Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  28. Scapin, Peter, ed. (1984). "Top 100 singles: 1983". BPI Year Book 1984. British Phonographic Industry. pp. 42–43. ISBN 0-906154-04-9.
  29. "Top 100 Hits for 1983". Billboard Hot 100. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  30. "Danish single certifications – Elton John – I'm Still Standing". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  31. "British single certifications – Elton John – I'm Still Standing". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 August 2020. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type I'm Still Standing in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  32. "American single certifications – Elton John – I'm Still Standing". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 13 September 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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