name	Ice on Fire
type	Album
artist	Elton John
cover	Ice_on_fire.jpg
released	November 1985
recorded	1985
genre	Pop, New Wave
length	46:17
label	Geffen (US/Canada)Rocket Records
producer	Gus Dudgeon
last album	''Breaking Hearts'' (1984)
this album	''Ice on Fire'' (1985)
next album	''Leather Jackets'' (1986) }}

''Ice on Fire'' is the nineteenth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, recorded at Sol Studios and released in 1985. It was the first album since ''Blue Moves'' produced by Elton's original longtime producer, Gus Dudgeon. But it was met with little praise, and only reached number 48 on the US charts, although it reached #3 in the UK. George Michael appears on two tracks on the album: "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up".

Despite the mediocre sales of the album, both those tracks became Top 20 hits, the former reaching #7 in the US and #3 in the UK. Roger Taylor and John Deacon of Queen play drums and bass guitar respectively on the track "Too Young".

Track listing

All songs by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted

Side One

# "This Town" – 3:56 # "Cry to Heaven" – 4:15 # "Soul Glove" – 3:31 # "Nikita" – 4:54 # "Too Young" – 5:13

Side Two

# "Wrap Her Up" – 6:21 (Elton John, Davey Johnstone, Fred Mandel, Charlie Morgan, Bernie Taupin, Paul Westwood) # "Satellite" – 4:37 # "Tell Me What the Papers Say" – 3:40 # "Candy by the Pound" – 3:56 # "Shoot Down the Moon" – 5:00

Bonus Track (On the 1985 original CD and the 1992 MCA and Geffen reissue)

# "Act of War" (duet with Millie Jackson)

Bonus tracks (1999 Mercury reissue)

# "The Man Who Never Died" (Elton John) # "Restless (Live 1984)" # "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word (Live 1977)" [erroneously listed as "Live 1984"] # "I'm Still Standing (Live 1984)"

The remastered 1999 version did not include "Act of War"; the 1985 original CD issue and the 1999 remaster have a longer intro to "Satellite" than the LP issue. The live version of "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" is not the version found on the 12" single of "Nikita", but is an unreleased version from 1977 (Live at Rainbow Rock in May). It is unknown why the switch occurred. The other two live tracks were recorded at Wembley Stadium during the tour for the album Breaking Hearts.

"The Man Who Never Died" is a song written about John Lennon, in addition to Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) from Elton John's album Jump Up!.

B-sides

{|class="wikitable" ! Song ! Format |- | "Act of War (Part 2)" || ''Act of War 7" (UK) / 12" (US)'' |- | "Act of War (Part 3)" || ''Act of War 12" (US/UK)'' |- | "Act of War (Part 4)" || ''Act of War 12" (US/UK)'' |- | "Act of War (Part 5)" || ''Act of War 7" (UK) / 12" (UK)'' |- | "Act of War (Part 6)" || ''Act of War 12" (UK)'' |- | "The Man Who Never Died" || ''Nikita 7" / 12" (UK) / Wrap Her Up 7" (US)'' |- | "Restless (Live 1984)" || ''Wrap Her Up 7" / 12" (UK) / Nikita 7" (US)'' |- | "Too Low for Zero (Live 1984)" || ''Wrap Her Up 7" (UK)'' |- | "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word (Live 1984)" || ''Nikita 12" (UK)'' |- | "I'm Still Standing (Live 1984)" || ''Nikita 12" (UK) |- | "Wrap Her Up (Club Mix)" || ''Wrap Her Up 12" (UK)'' |- | "Wrap Her Up (Extended Mix)" || ''Wrap Her Up 12" (UK)'' |- | "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On/I Saw Her Standing There/Twist And Shout (Live 1984)" || ''Cry to Heaven 7" (double) / 12" (UK) |- | "Your Song (Live 1984)" || ''Cry to Heaven 7" (double) (UK)'' |}

Personnel

David Bitelli: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone

Raul D'Oliveira: trumpets

Gus Dudgeon: Simmons Drum

Deon Estus: Bass

John Deacon: Bass

Mel Gaynor: Drums

Elton John: Vocals, piano, Yamaha GS Piano, synthesisers, Backing Vocals

Davey Johnstone: Electric guitar, Spanish guitar, synth guitar, Backing Vocals

Nik Kershaw: Electric guitar

Fred Mandel: Electric guitar, keyboards, synthesisers, Sequencers

Dave Mattacks: Drums

George Michael: backing vocals

Charlie Morgan: Drums

James Newton-Howard: String arrangements

Pino Palladino: Bass

David Paton: Bass

Frank Ricotti: Percussion

Paul Spong: trumpets

Rick Taylor: Trombone

Roger Taylor: Drums

Pete Thomas: Alto saxophone

Paul Westwood: Bass

Credits

Produced by Gus Dudgeon

All lyrics by Bernie Taupin

Recorded by Stuart Epps

Mixed by Graham Dickson & Gus Dudgeon

Mastered by Greg Fulginiti

References

Category:Elton John albums Category:1985 albums Category:Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon Category:Geffen Records albums

it:Ice on Fire ja:アイス・オン・ファイアー no:Ice on Fire pl:Ice on Fire pt:Ice on Fire fi:Ice on Fire sv:Ice on Fire

On Fire may refer to:

Music

On Fire (band), an American chamber rock band

Albums

''On Fire'' (The Cottars album)

''On Fire'' (Galaxie 500 album)

''On Fire'' (The Higher album)

''On Fire'' (Michel Camilo album)

''On Fire'' (Peter Furler album)

''On Fire'' (Spiritual Beggars album)

''On Fire'' (Stetsasonic album)

''On Fire'' (T-Connection album)

''On Fire!'', by Petra

''On Fire EP'', by Alec Empire

''On Fire'' (War album), by War

Songs

"On Fire" (Lil Wayne song)

"On Fire" (Lloyd Banks song)

"On Fire" (Switchfoot song)

"On Fire", a song by Eminem from ''Recovery''

"On Fire", a song by Franka Batelić

"On Fire", a song by Lightning Bolt from ''Wonderful Rainbow''

"On Fire", a song by Modjo from ''Modjo''

"On Fire", a song by Sebadoh from ''Harmacy''

"On Fire", a song by Spiritualized from ''Let It Come Down''

"On Fire", a song by Tone Lōc from ''Lōc-ed After Dark''

"On Fire", a song by Van Halen from ''Van Halen''

Other media

"On Fire" (''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''), an episode of ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''

''On Fire'' (film), a 1996 Hong Kong film directed by Clarence Fok

''On Fire'' (book), a memoir by Larry Brown

See also

Fire

it:On Fire

name	Kimi-Matias Räikkönen
birth date	October 17, 1979
nationality
years	2009–present
teams	Citroën Junior Team, ICE 1 Racing
races	17
championships	0
wins	0
podiums	0
stagewins	1
points	59
first race	2009 Rally Finland
last race	2011 Rallye Deutschland }}

Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979 in Espoo), nicknamed ''Iceman'', is a Finnish racecar driver. After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he now competes in the World Rally Championship for the ICE 1 Racing team.

Räikkönen entered Formula One as a regular driver for Sauber-Petronas in . Having previously only raced in very junior open-wheel categories, he was given his Super Licence from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) after a performance delivery promise by his team boss, Peter Sauber. He joined McLaren Mercedes in , and became a title contender by finishing runner-up in the and championships to Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, respectively. Räikkönen's 2003 and 2005 seasons were plagued by severe unreliability from his McLaren cars, resulting in many pundits speculating that without the problems, he would have already been World Champion.

Räikkönen switched to Ferrari in 2007, he became the highest paid driver in motor sport with an estimated wage of $51 million per year. In turn his move to Ferrari saw him secure his first Formula One World Drivers' Championship, beating McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by one point, as well as becoming one of the very few drivers to win in their first season at Ferrari. In 2008, he equalled the record for fastest laps in a season for the second time. After one more year in the sport, he left the Ferrari F1 team to drive a Citroën C4 WRC for the Citroën Junior Team in the World Rally Championship for 2010. Along with rallying, Räikkönen has turned his attention towards NASCAR, and made his debut for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series.

Räikkönen is known to be very relaxed, calm, cool, and calculating in his everyday life as well as in his racing career—prompting the nickname ''"Iceman"'', which Räikkönen has tattooed on the underside of his left forearm and which is also subtly written on the side of his current helmet design.

In , Räikkönen was among the two Formula One drivers who made it into the Forbes magazine's The Celebrity 100 list, the other being Fernando Alonso. He is 36th on Forbes magazine's The Celebrity 100 list of 2008, and 41st on the previous year. On the same list, as of 2008, he is listed as the 26th highest paid celebrity overall and the 5th highest paid sportsman behind Tiger Woods, David Beckham, Michael Jordan and Phil Mickelson. In , Räikkönen was listed as the equal 2nd highest paid athlete in the world, behind Woods.

Career

Early career (until 2000)

Räikkönen had a long line of success in karting from the age of ten. His first race outside Finland was in Monaco when he was 15 years old. During the race, the steering wheel broke, but he continued, informing his mechanic by frantically waving the steering wheel in the air on the home straight. Räikkönen's next Monaco race was also memorable; he was thrown on the wrong side of the safety fence in a first lap collision, but continued driving until running out of road. Undeterred, he lifted his kart back on to the track and continued to race. His mechanic thought Räikkönen had retired, but he eventually caught up with the other competitors and finished third. In 1998 he was 1st in Nordic (karting) Championship at Varna in Norway. In 1999, Räikkönen was placed second in the European Formula Super A championship. In the same year, he also competed in the Formula Ford Euro Cup. By the age of twenty, he had won the British Formula Renault winter series, winning the first four races of the year. In 2000, he won seven out of ten events in the Formula Renault UK Championship. Over two series of Formula Renault (1999, 2000), he won 13 out of 23 events — a 56% win rate.

Formula One (2001–2009)

birth date	October 17, 1979
years	–
team(s)	Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari
races	157 (156 starts)
championships	1 ()
wins	18
podiums	62
points	579
poles	16
fastest laps	35
first race	2001 Australian Grand Prix
first win	2003 Malaysian Grand Prix
last win	2009 Belgian Grand Prix
last race	2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix }}

Sauber (2001)

On the basis of these results, Peter Sauber gave the Finn a test with the Sauber Formula One team in September 2000 at the Mugello Circuit. After further tests in Jerez and Barcelona, Sauber signed Räikkönen for the season. However, some critics (including FIA president Max Mosley) voiced concerns over granting an F1 Super Licence to such an inexperienced driver: Räikkönen had only 23 car races to his credit. He was nevertheless granted his license and scored a championship point in his debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. Räikkönen was asleep 30 minutes before the race.

Räikkönen had a solid debut year, achieving four points-scoring finishes and eight finishes in the top eight. Completing the year with 9 points, Räikkönen, along with teammate Nick Heidfeld, helped Sauber to what was then its best result of fourth place in the constructors' championship.

McLaren (2002–2006)

Räikkönen, long linked to Sauber's engine supplier Ferrari, instead sufficiently impressed McLaren to earn a race seat in Ron Dennis's team for , taking the seat left vacant by double-world champion, mentor (and fellow Finn) Mika Häkkinen's sabbatical.

2002

Räikkönen scored a third-place podium finish in his first race with McLaren, the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. Although McLaren suffered many Mercedes engine failures in 2002, Räikkönen scored 24 points and four podiums, and held his own against teammate David Coulthard. Räikkönen came close to winning his first Grand Prix in France, but went off track with a handful of laps to go, because of oil from the blown engine of Allan McNish's Toyota on the circuit. He finished the race second. He finished the season in sixth place, one place behind his team mate; together they achieved a solid third place for McLaren in the constructors' championship.

2003

At the opening , Räikkönen qualified 15th in the spare car. In the race he took the lead before being caught speeding in the pitlane, after a software glitch in the car's electronic system. Räikkönen held off Michael Schumacher to finish 3rd. In Malaysia, Räikkönen won his first race after starting from 7th on the grid. During the next round in Brazil, Räikkönen was declared the winner after the race was stopped on lap 55. According to the rules the winner is decided by the race order as of two laps before the race stopped, i.e. lap 53. However a week later, evidence emerged that Giancarlo Fisichella was on lap 56 when the race stopped, therefore the winner was decided by the order at lap 54. This granted the win to Fisichella, with Räikkönen 2nd.

As other teams improved their cars, McLaren, who were still using the 2002 chassis, began to falter in terms of race speed. However, Räikkönen finished 2nd at Imola. At the , Räikkönen made a mistake in qualifying and had to start from the back of the grid, and at the start, he collided with Antônio Pizzonia, who was stuck on his grid position owing to a launch control problem, causing Räikkönen to retire from the race.

The next few races came down more to strategy rather than speed. While having engine problems, Räikkönen successfully defended his 2nd position from Rubens Barrichello in Austria. He came extremely close to winning in Monaco, but lost by less than a second to Juan Pablo Montoya. Starting from the pitlane in Canada after he went off track during qualifying with understeer, Räikkönen finished 6th, more than a minute adrift of race winner Michael Schumacher.

At the , Räikkönen took pole, and controlled the race from the start until his engine failed on lap 25. Title rival Michael Schumacher finished 5th taking 4 points advantage from Räikkönen. Räikkönen finished 4th in France behind Schumacher but finished one point ahead of him with a 3rd place finish at the . Räikkönen failed to finish the after being involved in an accident at the first corner with Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Räikkönen finished 2nd at the next race, the .

Before the , the FIA were tipped-off by rivals Ferrari about a tyre-illegality in the Michelin tread width. Michelin were forced to bring in narrower tyres and it seemed as if they had lost the advantage they had been enjoying over Bridgestone all season. McLaren also announced that they would see out the season with old the MP4-17D chassis and would not bring out the MP4-18 as had been planned. Räikkönen eventually finished 4th in the race, losing five championship points to race winner Michael Schumacher.

Räikkönen took pole at the , but Michael Schumacher won the race with Räikkönen finishing 2nd. With one race to go, Schumacher only needed one point to win the championship. Räikkönen would need to win the next race with Schumacher not scoring any points. After qualifying 8th in Japan, Räikkönen finished 2nd while Michael Schumacher just slipped into the points to win his 6th World Championship. Montoya's retirement during the race also meant that Räikkönen finished 2nd in the championship, just two points behind Schumacher. The team also narrowly lost second place in the constructors' championship, finishing third, two points behind runners-up Williams, and 12 points behind Ferrari. Mathematically, Williams or McLaren could have won the championship at the very last race. The 2003 season was one of the closest in recent years.

2004

The 2004 season began with Räikkönen only claiming a single point in the first seven races. His McLaren, especially the Mercedes engine, suffered repeated breakdowns, allowing him to complete just two of the first seven events. After seven rounds Räikkönen had only one point to Michael Schumacher's 60. In Canada, Räikkönen made 5 pit-stops but was classified 5th since the Williams-BMWs and the two Toyotas were disqualified. At the , Räikkönen finished 6th.

At the , McLaren rolled out the new MP4-19B. Räikkönen finished 7th behind his team-mate, David Coulthard. At Silverstone, Räikkönen took pole and went on to finish second behind Michael Schumacher. Following on from this encouraging display, the McLarens qualified on the 2nd row of the grid in Germany. Both cars got off to a good start, however Räikkönen lost his rear wing on lap 13 of the race while following race leader Michael Schumacher. He retired again from the after starting from 10th place on the grid, again on lap 13. At the , Räikkönen qualified 10th, but took the lead on lap 11 and held on to it to take McLaren's only win of the season. He also took the fastest lap. The next weekend at Monza, Räikkönen again retired on lap 13, this time owing to electrical problems. At the next race in China, he finished 3rd, only 1.4 seconds behind race winner Rubens Barrichello.

At the , Räikkönen was shunted by Felipe Massa on the first lap of the race, which caused him handling problems. He later managed to make up some ground: he finished 6th, 2.5 seconds behind Alonso. At the last race of the season, the , he overtook pole sitter Barrichello, even before they had reached Curva De Sol. Räikkönen later battled Montoya for the lead and finished 1 second behind him in 2nd. Räikkönen ended the year seventh, with 45 points, only one behind sixth placed Jarno Trulli, and four podiums.

Despite the disappointment of the 2004 season, Räikkönen was still seen as one of the rising stars of the sport, along with BAR's Button, Renault's Alonso and 2005 McLaren teammate Montoya. Many pundits predicted 2005 to be filled with great on-track battles from a resurgent team. He was also referred to by Ross Brawn and Jean Todt as a driver whom Ferrari might consider in the future. In early November 2004, Räikkönen announced his intention to create a racing team with his manager Steve Robertson, to be entitled Räikkönen Robertson Racing (otherwise known as "Double R"), which would compete in Formula Three in 2005.

2005

Räikkönen's start to the 2005 season season was less than perfect. The car was reported to be too soft on its Michelin tyres, with the result that it was not generating enough heat to post competitive qualifying times. The best qualifying position that a McLaren driver could manage in the first 3 races was 6th. Räikkönen compounded this by stalling on the grid of the first race of the season, the , and ending the race with just a point. He looked set for a podium in Malaysia until a faulty tyre valve failed and dropped him out of the points. Bahrain saw him achieve his first podium of the season with a third place behind Renault's Alonso and the Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

Räikkönen then achieved three consecutive poles in San Marino, Spain, and a win after a safety car strategy call by Neil Martin at Monaco. An almost certain win was denied at Imola after a driveshaft failure, but he won the other two races, putting him within 22 points of leader Alonso. He registered strong, comfortable wins at Barcelona, beating local boy Alonso and at Monte Carlo, never dropping his lead in both races. At the , Räikkönen flat-spotted his right front tyre while lapping Jacques Villeneuve (some commentators put a share of the blame on Villeneuve, as he did not give Räikkönen the racing line). The resultant vibrations caused his suspension to fail while he led on the final lap, sending him into the tyre wall and handing a further ten points to his rival Alonso. Changing a tyre would have given him a relatively safe third place. However, tyre changes were only allowed in 2005 in cases where a "punctured or damaged tyre" could be changed for "clear and genuine safety reasons" and there was no precedent for whether the stewards would consider a flat-spotted tyre dangerous enough. This incident, in part, resulted in a rules clarification allowing teams to change a flat-spotted tyre without punishment.

Alonso's first major mistake of the 2005 season handed the to Räikkönen. The following weekend saw all the Michelin teams, including McLaren, withdraw from the for safety reasons. At the , Räikkönen suffered a ten-place grid-penalty following the replacement of his new specification Mercedes Benz engine which failed in Friday practice. Räikkönen, putting in what Ron Dennis called his best ever qualifying lap, qualified 3rd (demoted to 13th) with a significant fuel load. He finished 2nd behind Fernando Alonso. A week later at the , Räikkönen suffered another Mercedes engine failure due to an oil leak; his 2nd place qualifying place became 12th. He claimed 3rd place in the race.

In Germany, Räikkönen was comfortably in the lead having dominated all weekend, but suffered a hydraulics failure, handing victory and a further 10 points to Alonso. It was his third retirement while leading a race during the season. On all three occasions, it was championship rival Alonso who took advantage to win. Significantly, at the opening of the , though saying he was very comfortable at McLaren, Räikkönen raised the possibility that he might leave McLaren when his contract expired in 2006 if reliability issues were not solved. He told a news conference, "We need to work in a better way just to make sure that the car is very reliable." However he went on to take the chequered flag with a convincing victory over Michael Schumacher, albeit after McLaren teammate Montoya retired with driveshaft failure while leading.

Räikkönen won the Hungarian Grand Prix from the most handicapped qualifying position, having had to do his qualifying run first on the notoriously dusty and dirty track because of his early retirement a week earlier at Hockenheim. No other driver had previously managed this feat. Räikkönen then became the first ever winner of the . Two weeks later at the , Räikkönen's pole position was taken from him as he received another 10-position grid penalty for an engine change. It would emerge that he had 5 laps of fuel more than teammate Montoya and 6 more than Alonso during qualifying – and still managed to outpace them. During the race, Räikkönen was forced to take an extra stop when his left-rear tyre delaminated, which dropped him down to 12th. He recovered, but spun his car after pushing too hard while chasing Giancarlo Fisichella. He eventually finished fourth.

He went on to win, for the second year in a row, in Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps. The following race, the , saw Alonso clinch the Drivers' Championship, after finishing third behind Montoya and Räikkönen. In the penultimate race of the year, at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, Räikkönen took his 7th victory of the season after starting 17th on the grid (as rain, and an engine failure for Räikkönen, had mixed up the qualifying grid). The win was secured when he overtook Renault driver Fisichella (who had started third on the grid, and had led most of the race) on the final lap – which Formula One journalist Peter Windsor thought the most impressive move of the race.

Räikkönen received the ''F1 Racing'' "Driver of the Year" accolade, and the Autosport "International Racing Driver of the Year" award.

2006

In Bahrain, Räikkönen suffered electronic problems during Friday practice and a spectacular rear suspension breakage during the first qualifying session, which forced him back to 22nd place on the grid. Nevertheless he drove through the field, ending third behind Alonso and Michael Schumacher. In Malaysia, Räikkönen was hit from behind by Red Bull Racing's Christian Klien on the first lap. The impact caused a left rear suspension failure resulting in Räikkönen retiring from the race.

Having started the year clearly behind Renault, McLaren improved in Australia, where Räikkönen finished second after flat spotting a tyre and losing a wing end-plate, which caused him to fall off the pace somewhat around the midpoint of the race. Chasing down Alonso during the final stages of the race, he set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, finishing only 1.8 seconds behind the Spaniard. At the , a bad choice of strategy and a mistake from Räikkönen in qualifying (8th) saw the McLarens get caught in traffic in the early part of the race allowing Michael Schumacher and Alonso to get away at the front. Räikkönen eventually finished 5th, with team mate Montoya ahead in 3rd place. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis blamed what he deemed to be Räikkönen's poor performance for the team's failure to finish in the top two in the race.

At the , Räikkönen qualified 9th. However, he managed to get up to 5th place on the first lap of the race. He retained this position for most of the race, finishing in 5th place. A few days after the Spanish Grand Prix, he admitted that he had no chance of winning the 2006 Championship. In Monaco, Räikkönen qualified third. During the race he got up to 2nd and kept pace with Alonso, however he retired during a safety car period after a failed heat shield led to a wiring loom inside the car catching fire. After the retirement he was seen on live TV walking along the Monaco sidewalks with his helmet still on to the harbour and climbing aboard a yacht.

The at Silverstone saw Räikkönen qualify second behind Alonso and in front of Michael Schumacher. The running order was Alonso, Räikkönen, Schumacher until the second set of pitstops where Räikkönen was demoted to third by Schumacher, a position he held until the end of the race. In Canada, Räikkönen achieved another podium. In the , his teammate punted him out in an expensive seven car accident. The saw Räikkönen qualify his car in sixth. His teammate was now former test driver Pedro de la Rosa in place of Montoya. Räikkönen ended the race in fifth. In Germany, Räikkönen qualified on pole. After a battle with Jenson Button, he finished the race for the first time in his career, ending in third place. Another pole came in Hungary, but he collided with Vitantonio Liuzzi after 25 laps, causing his fourth retirement of the season.

A first turn incident with Scott Speed at the led to an exploded tyre and suspension damage. After a tyre change, Räikkönen's race ended half way into the next lap when he crashed into the barrier at turn 4 because of a loss of rear grip. Räikkönen qualified on pole for the by 2 thousandths of a second from Michael Schumacher. He led the early part of the race until the first pitstops where he was passed by Schumacher. He stayed in second place for the rest of the race. After the race, Schumacher announced that he would retire at the end of the season. Later, Ferrari announced that he would be replaced in the 2007 season by Räikkönen.

The saw another retirement for Räikkönen due to throttle problems. His last two Grands Prix, in Japan and Brazil, did lead to 2 finishes, but he missed the podium on both occasions. Räikkönen ended his time at McLaren-Mercedes with a fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship, with McLaren placing third in the World Constructors' Championship at the end of a winless year.

Räikkönen's British Formula Three Championship team Räikkönen Robertson Racing claimed their first major success, with British driver Mike Conway winning the 2006 British F3 International Series title and the prestigious Macau Grand Prix.

Ferrari (2007–2009)

After the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari announced that Räikkönen had signed a three-year contract with Scuderia Ferrari for the 2007–2009 seasons. Räikkönen said after the move that he was very happy with this change of events but wished McLaren the best of luck in the future. He became the team mate to Brazilian Felipe Massa, who had been driving for Ferrari since 2006. Following the retirement of Michael Schumacher and his new deal with Ferrari, Räikkönen was estimated to be the highest paid driver in F1, with a base salary reportedly worth US $51M annually.

2007

Räikkönen started the season in Australia by taking pole position, setting the fastest lap and becoming the first driver since Nigel Mansell in 1989 to win his first Grand Prix with Ferrari. This was the first time in his career that he had managed the hat-trick of pole position, fastest lap and race victory.

At the , Räikkönen was passed by Lewis Hamilton at the start and remained behind him for the rest of the race, finishing third. In Bahrain, Räikkönen started from third but was passed by McLaren driver Fernando Alonso. He eventually regained 3rd position from Alonso and finished the race 3rd. At the , Räikkönen retired after only 10 laps with an electrical problem. This took him down to fourth position in the Championship, behind team-mate Felipe Massa. At the , Räikkönen struck a barrier in qualifying and broke his right front suspension. He started 16th and finished 8th.

In Canada, Räikkönen qualified fourth and finished fifth, Räikkönen's team-mate Massa was disqualified. At the , Räikkönen qualified fourth, finished fourth and recorded fastest lap of the race. With ten races in the season left, Räikkönen was 26 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship.

In France, Räikkönen qualified third, but overtook Hamilton at the first corner of the race. He subsequently ran second, behind team-mate Massa, for much of the Grand Prix, but overtook the Brazilian during the pit-stops and took his second victory of the season. This was the 11th victory of his Formula One career, as well as Ferrari's first 1–2 win of the 2007 season. At the , Räikkönen qualified in second place, just missing the pole by running wide in the last corner. In the race, again took the lead through pit stops, first overtaking Lewis Hamilton midway through the race and then putting in fast laps as Fernando Alonso pitted for the second time in the closing stages to pass him. Räikkönen led to the end of the race.

At the , Räikkönen captured his second pole position of the season, but retired from the race, run in heavy rain, with a problem with the hydraulics of the car. In Hungary, Räikkönen qualified his car in fourth place, but started from third after Fernando Alonso was penalised. In the race he overtook Nick Heidfeld at the start and pressured Hamilton until the end, but had to settle for second, being 0.7s behind Hamilton. He set the fastest lap time on the last lap of the race, commenting after the race: "I was so bored behind Hamilton, I wanted to see how quick I could have been." In Turkey, Räikkönen missed pole position after making a mistake in the final sector of his fast lap, which left him third on the grid. On race day, he overtook Hamilton in the first corner and took second place, which he kept to the end of the race.

At Monza's third practice session, Räikkönen crashed into the tyre wall before entering the Ascari chicane. He qualified in fifth place, and raced in the Ferrari reserve car while suffering from a neck problem. The Ferrari team employed an unusual one-stop strategy, which left him third after Hamilton passed him late in the race on fresh tyres. At Spa-Francorchamps, Räikkönen's favourite circuit, he secured pole position again and took his fourth victory of the season. Massa finished second, Alonso third and Hamilton fourth. This was also Räikkönen's third consecutive Spa win, which placed him among six other drivers with three or more Spa wins.

At the Fuji Speedway in Japan, the only new track on the 2007 calendar, Räikkönen qualified in third position, while Hamilton took pole and Alonso second. In an extremely wet race, which saw the first 19 laps run behind the safety car, both Räikkönen and team-mate Massa were badly affected by having to change to extreme wet tyres during the early stages, because the FIA's tyre-rule notification arrived late at Ferrari. Towards the end of the race, Räikkönen moved through the field to third place, but could not pass his fellow countryman Heikki Kovalainen for second.

At the in Shanghai, Räikkönen dominated the whole weekend with fastest laps in the free-practice sessions. In qualifying, Hamilton took pole position with a lighter fuel load, while Räikkönen qualified second and Massa third. There was light rainfall at the beginning of the race which prompted the cars to start on intermediate tyres. After the first round of pit stops Hamilton lost grip as his tyres suffered graining, and Räikkönen overtook him. Hamilton retired after sliding into a gravel trap in the pit lane. Räikkönen took his fifth win of the season, that revived his title hopes before the last race of the season. This was also the 200th race win and 600th podium in Ferrari's Formula One history. Räikkönen moved to seven and three points behind Hamilton and Alonso in the Drivers' Championship, respectively, going into the last race in Brazil, the first three-way title battle in the final race of the season since .

Räikkönen took the 2007 Formula One Drivers' title with victory in the at Interlagos, in an incident-packed race. Massa had taken pole, followed by Hamilton, Räikkönen, and Alonso. At the start of the race Räikkönen passed Hamilton on the outside and lined up behind Massa. Alonso shortly afterwards passed Hamilton, who fell progressively down the order. Räikkönen eventually overtook Massa, who was already eliminated from contention for the Driver's Championship in the Japanese Grand Prix. Massa's strategy for the second round of pit stops ensured Räikkönen kept the lead. Räikkönen went on to take the chequered flag, which handed him the crown by a single point from Hamilton and Alonso. Championship leader Hamilton eventually finished the race in seventh place, while defending champion Alonso managed third.

While Räikkönen had only one point more than Alonso and Hamilton at the end of the season, he had the most victories (six compared to four by each McLaren driver).

Räikkönen's Drivers' championship was briefly put into doubt when race stewards began an investigation after identifying possible fuel irregularities in the cars of Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld following post-race inspection. Their disqualification and a race reclassification would have seen Hamilton lifted from seventh to fourth in the race result. However the race stewards decided that no sanctions would be given, meaning the results would stand. McLaren appealed against the decision, however the FIA Court of Appeal rejected their appeal on 16 November 2007 thus confirming Räikkönen as the champion.

2008

After a disappointing first race for Ferrari in Australia where Räikkönen eventually finished eighth after starting 15th on the grid owing to a mechanical problem in qualifying, he won his first race of the 2008 season at the , finishing ahead of Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen. His victory in Kuala Lumpur came on the fifth anniversary of his maiden victory at the same track. In Bahrain, Räikkönen qualified in fourth on the grid. He moved up to second place by the third lap and finished in that position, behind his team-mate Felipe Massa. He also secured the lead in the championship.

In Spain, Räikkönen took the 15th pole of his career and his first of the 2008 season. He managed to take his second race win of the season and the fastest lap of the race. Räikkönen overtook Mika Häkkinen in the list of total number of fastest laps and also in terms of podium finishes, making him the highest ranked Finnish driver in these statistics.

At the , Räikkönen qualified in fourth place. Despite damaging his front wing in the early stages after a collision with fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen, Räikkönen was still able to set the fastest lap and finish in third place.

In Monaco, Räikkönen qualified in second behind teammate Felipe Massa. Räikkönen stayed second behind Massa until he was given a drive-through penalty for an infringement by the team on his car and dropped down to sixth. He was set for fifth until an incident with Adrian Sutil, when Räikkönen lost control on the damp track after exiting the tunnel, and hit Sutil's car in the rear. Räikkönen's car was not badly damaged and he was able to finish in ninth after replacing his front wing, also setting the fastest lap in the process. After the race, Mike Gascoyne, the Chief Technology Officer of Force India announced they were filing official protests with the stewards over the incident, demanding a ban for Räikkönen. However, the stewards decided not to penalise him.

In Canada, Räikkönen qualified third. In the race, he set the fastest lap during the first stint while catching up with Robert Kubica who was in second place. The safety car was deployed when Adrian Sutil's car broke down in a dangerous position. Both he and Kubica jumped ahead of race leader Lewis Hamilton when they pitted during the safety car period. As there was a red light at the end of the pitlane, Räikkönen and Kubica stopped alongside each other and waited for the signal to allow them back on to the circuit. Hamilton failed to notice the red light and hit the rear of Räikkönen's Ferrari, eliminating both cars.

Räikkönen went on to take his 16th pole position in France, which was the 200th pole for Scuderia Ferrari. Räikkönen dominated the race as he set the fastest lap and had a six second lead until a bank exhaust failure some half way through the race reduced his engine's power. He gave up the lead to his teammate Massa, but was far enough ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli, to secure second place and eight points.

Räikkönen qualified third at the . Before the race, Räikkönen pushed noted photographer Paul-Henri Cahier to the ground as he lined up a close-up shot. Raikkönen's manager Steve Robertson claimed the driver was provoked by Cahier touching him with his lens and standing on his belongings, but Cahier disputed this version of events. The race was in wet conditions and Räikkönen stayed third at the first corner behind Hamilton and Kovalainen. He kept pace and got up to second when Kovalainen spun. He then chased after Hamilton, and set the fastest lap as he drew up directly behind the McLaren. During the first pitstop, Ferrari did not change the intermediates on his car in the hope that the track would become dry. However, the track was hit by another shower, and Räikkönen rapidly lost pace, and dropped down to sixth before finally pitting for new tyres. He finished fourth, a lap down.

At the , Räikkönen qualified sixth and dropped down a place at the first corner. He was running fifth when the safety car came out after a crash involving Timo Glock. His teammate Felipe Massa was ahead of him on the track, and as a result, Räikkönen was forced to wait behind Massa when the pitlane opened. This dropped him down to 12th, but he eventually finished in sixth.

At the , Räikkönen again qualified sixth. He lost a position to Alonso at the beginning of the race but managed to finish third owing to Hamilton's tyre puncture, passing Alonso during the pitstops and Massa's retirement after an engine failure.

During the , Räikkönen qualified fourth and lost a place at the start to Kovalainen. He stayed fifth until the second round of pitstops when he exited before the fuel hose was properly disengaged from his car and left one of the mechanics with a fractured toe. Two laps later, he suffered a similar engine failure to Massa in the previous race; a connecting rod in his engine broke and he was forced to retire.

At the , Räikkönen again qualified fourth. He passed Kovalainen and Massa at the start to be second, and took the lead from Hamilton on the second lap. He pulled away, setting the fastest lap of the race and built a five second gap. He looked set to win but owing to a late-race rain shower, Hamilton closed right up to him and tried to pass him at the final chicane with two laps to go. Hamilton cut the chicane and rejoined ahead of Räikkönen. He let Räikkönen take the place back. Hamilton then repassed him for the lead. The two battled on for the rest of the lap, with Räikkönen retaking the lead when the two stumbled upon spinning backmarker Nico Rosberg, forcing Hamilton onto the grass. Räikkönen spun at the next corner and fell behind Hamilton again. While trying to catch up, he lost control of the car, smashed into a wall and retired.

At the , which was held in extremely wet conditions, Räikkönen qualified 14th. He stayed in 14th position for the first two stints. He climbed to ninth position in the third and last stint in which he also set the fastest lap of the race.

In Singapore, the first night-time event in Formula One history, Räikkönen qualified third behind Massa and Hamilton. He remained in this position for most of the early laps. On lap 14, Nelson Piquet, Jr.'s Renault hit the wall at turn 17 and the safety car was deployed. Both Ferrari drivers pitted during the safety car period, with Räikkönen queued behind Massa in a busy pitlane. Ferrari released Massa before the fuel hose was disconnected from the car, which compromised Räikkönen who rejoined in 16th. Räikkönen managed to climb to fifth place, but on lap 57, while attacking Timo Glock, he hit the wall after pushing too hard at turn 10 and retired. He set the fastest lap of the race as his tenth of the season. This equalled Michael Schumacher's 2004 record of ten fastest laps in a Formula One season.

At the at the Fuji Speedway circuit, Räikkönen qualified second on the grid, behind Hamilton, and took the lead at the start. Closing up to turn 1, Hamilton attempted to pass on the inside, braked late and went wide, forcing Räikkönen to also go wide. Räikkönen lost out heavily and went down to seventh position. He gained places after a collision between Hamilton and Massa, Kovalainen's hydraulic failure and an overtaking manoeuvre on Jarno Trulli. He eventually finished third, behind Renault's Fernando Alonso and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica. This result meant that it was impossible for Räikkönen to retain his Drivers' Championship title for the second year.

In China, Räikkönen qualified second behind Hamilton. At the start he stayed second with his teammate and now Ferrari's world championship contender, Massa, behind him in third place. However, with Räikkönen out of the running for the world championship he let Massa through into second place on lap 49, to help the latter gain two additional points in his pursuit of Hamilton in the world championship race.

At the , Räikkönen qualified third and finished third, behind Massa and Alonso. As Kubica failed to score, he finished third in the championship.

Räikkönen also won the DHL Fastest Lap Award for the second year in a row. He set 10 fastest laps throughout the season.

2009

At the start of the 2009 season in the , Räikkönen qualified in ninth place. The pace of the Ferraris and McLarens in particular was significantly slower than the likes of the Brawn, Red Bull and other outfits who were struggling to keep up with them in 2008. In the race, both Ferraris were running well before Räikkönen hit a barrier. He was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 43 and subsequently retired with differential failure.

In Malaysia, Räikkönen topped the time sheet in the second practice session. Räikkönen was ninth in qualifying. Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello's ten and five-place penalties respectively meant that he was promoted to 7th. During the race, rain was predicted and the team took a gamble to change Räikkönen to full wet tyres while the track was still dry. The gamble did not pay off, and Räikkönen fell down the field. By the time the race was stopped on the 33rd lap due to torrential rain, Räikkönen was classified 14th.

Räikkönen's season did not get any better in Round 3 in China where he qualified in 8th place. In the wet race, he and Lewis Hamilton had duels early on, with Hamilton having to overtake Räikkönen three times to get the job done. Räikkönen complained about power loss from the engine from near the start and of a lack of grip after his one and only pit-stop. This meant that he could only finish 10th. In Bahrain, Räikkönen secured 6th place and Ferrari's first points of the year, but was disappointed by the team's performance. He retired from the due to a hydraulics failure after qualifying from the back of the grid.

At the , Räikkönen secured 2nd place in qualifying, Ferrari and Räikkönen's best qualifying of the year so far. He admitted that he was still disappointed because he missed out on pole narrowly to the Brawn of Jenson Button. Räikkönen lost out to Rubens Barrichello at the start of the race, dropping back to 3rd. He maintained this position until the chequered flag.

At the , Räikkönen qualified sixth, but damaged his front wing on the first lap. He could only finish ninth, out of the points. At the , Räikkönen qualified ninth but a good start saw him move up to fifth. However, he dropped to eighth during the pit stops because of traffic and remained until the finish.

At the , Räikkönen qualified ninth after a damp session. In the race however he collided with the Force India of Adrian Sutil like in the previous year in Monte Carlo, as the German was emerging from a pitstop. While Sutil managed to recover back to the pits to replace a nosecone, Raikkonen was forced to retire a few laps later with radiator damage as a result of the incident.

At the , Räikkönen took his and Ferrari's best finish of the season in 2nd, after making a great start from 7th. After the first corner Räikkönen was in 4th place, but when Fernando Alonso retired after his early first stop, Räikkönen moved up to 3rd. Räikkönen overtook Webber for 2nd place at the first round of pit stops when Räikkönen and Webber pitted on the same lap. Räikkönen had a clean pit-stop, whereas Webber had a problem and was released into the path of the Ferrari. Räikkönen and Webber avoided collision, and Webber had to slot in behind Räikkönen. On his second pit stop, Räikkönen had a problem with an exhaust pipe. However, having built quite a gap between him and Webber, he held on to take 2nd place.

At the , he qualified 6th. He jumped to 4th at the start of the race. He then moved up to 3rd after the second pit stops jumping Heikki Kovalainen for the last podium place, and stayed in that position until the end of the race, claiming his second straight podium.

At the , he qualified 6th, jumping to 2nd at the start of the race. After the safety car was removed, he passed Giancarlo Fisichella to take the race lead and led all the way to the chequered flag for his first race win in 25 races, and the first and only one for Ferrari in 2009. It was Räikkönen's fourth victory in the last five Belgian Grands Prix, bolstering his reputation as "The King of Spa".

Räikkönen continued his good form at the , qualifying and finishing 3rd, after Lewis Hamilton's last-lap crash. It was his 4th consecutive podium finish.

Singapore saw the end of a great run for Räikkönen where he only finished 10th after qualifying 12th.

In Japan, Räikkönen came very close to another podium, finishing fourth. He had qualified fifth and was not able to gain a place at the start of the race, as he was on hard tyres. He put on softs for his second stint and was able to close in on Nick Heidfeld at about three quarters of a second every lap. He overtook the German after the BMW Sauber came out of the pits. However, an accident involving Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari brought out the safety car on lap 44, which kept the field stationary for a further five laps. Despite Lewis Hamilton suffering a KERS failure, Räikkönen's car did not have the grip necessary and was not able to overtake the third-placed McLaren at the restart. He went wide in an attempt to overtake Hamilton but recovered without losing a further place to Nico Rosberg.

In Brazil, Räikkönen qualified 5th and finished 6th. His race was already ruined when Mark Webber swerved into his path, damaging the Ferrari's front wing. At the pit stop while having the wing changed, fuel dripping from the fuel rig stuck on Kovalainen's car caused the Ferrari to briefly burst in flames as the two cars were exiting their pit stops. For the rest of the race even with his eyes burning from fuel, Räikkönen used his strategy to move up the order and eventually finished in sixth place.

In Abu Dhabi, the last race of the season, Räikkönen qualified 11th with an uncompetitive car. He lost a place at the start of the race to Kamui Kobayashi. For the rest of the race, Räikkönen struggled and finished 12th, out of the points.

Leaving Formula One

Near the end of the 2009 season, Ferrari announced that Räikkönen would be leaving the team, despite having a contract to race for them in . He would be replaced by Fernando Alonso. He was expected to return to McLaren alongside Lewis Hamilton but negotiations with the team failed. Räikkönen was linked to Mercedes GP but the team eventually signed Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. Toyota F1, before it pulled out of Formula One, offered Räikkönen a driving contract to replace Timo Glock in 2010. The BBC reported that he refused the contract owing to wanting to drive a race-winning car, not to mention Toyota not offering a large enough salary.

On 17 November 2009, his manager Steve Robertson confirmed that Räikkönen would not drive in Formula One in the 2010 season. But during 2010 itself, rumours emerged once again about another possible Räikkönen comeback this time with the Renault team in 2011. This followed a resurgence in Renault's form, and the fact that the Russian Vitaly Petrov had yet to be re-signed like team-mate Robert Kubica. Team principal Éric Boullier claimed he had been contacted by Räikkönen in connection with a possible return, but said that although he was flattered by Räikkönen's alleged display of interest: However Räikkönen angrily shot down the suggestion that he would race, claiming that Renault had simply used his name for "their own marketing purposes".

Rallying

Räikkönen made his rally debut at the Arctic Lapland Rally, which ran from 23 to 24 January 2009, driving a Tommi Mäkinen Racing-prepared Abarth Grande Punto S2000. He finished in 13th place. Räikkönen made his WRC debut in the 2009 Rally Finland, which took place between 30 July and 2 August, starting just four days after his 2nd place finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix. He was running third in group N and 15th overall before crashing out in Väärinmaja, last stage of Saturday.

On 4 December 2009, it was announced that Räikkönen would shift from Formula 1 to the World Rally Championship for the 2010 season as a full-time driver for the Citroën Junior Team, and that he would be driving a Red Bull-sponsored Citroën C4 WRC with his co-driver, Kaj Lindström. As members of the team, the pair were scheduled to participate in 12 of 13 rallies in the 2010 WRC calendar, the exception being Rally New Zealand.

On 3 April 2010, Räikkönen scored his first WRC points when he finished eighth in the Jordan Rally. Consequently, he became the second driver after Carlos Reutemann to score championship points in both Formula One and the World Rally Championship.

In the next WRC event, the Rally of Turkey, Räikkönen improved his best result with a 5th place finish, 6m 44.3s off the winner, Sébastien Loeb. This result saw him beat established and more experienced drivers in the field.

In the 2010 Rally Finland, retired four time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen entered the race and said that if Räikkönen cannot beat him then he might as well go back to F1. Kankkunen finished 8th and Räikkönen finished 25th due to car trouble. He finished 7th in Rally Deutschland, his 2nd ever asphalt rally, while notching up his first ever career stage win, the last stage of the rally.

On 18 September 2010, Räikkönen achieved his first rally win when he participated in the Rallye Vosgien 2010 in France. He won all six stages in the asphalt rally. Räikkönen could not start in the Rally Catalunya because he crashed during the shakedown, leaving the roll cage damaged, and the team did not have enough time to repair it. Subsequently Räikkönen decided to not take part in the rally at all, even when he could by super rally rules. The reason was stated to be saving the car.

Räikkönen entered the 2011 World Rally Championship season under his own team, ICE 1 Racing. He drives a Citroën DS3 WRC. He finished 8th in the opening round, Rally Sweden. Skipping the Mexico event, he next competed in Rally Portugal and finished 7th.

NASCAR

It was reported on 29 March 2011 that Räikkönen will try his hand at NASCAR starting in the Camping World Truck Series sometime in the summer of 2011 with an eye on also running in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series.

On 2 April Räikkönen signed a deal with Toyota team Kyle Busch Motorsports to run a limited schedule in the Camping World Truck Series. Earlier report claimed that Räikkönen's entry was related with Foster Gillett, however, Kyle Busch rejected the claim. Räikkönen will debut in North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, North Carolina on May 20, 2011. SpeedTV reported that Räikkönen was expected to race in Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2011 as well. The Charlotte entry list has Räikkönen driving the #15 Toyota for KBM.

On May 20, Räikkönen debuted at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a strong finish of No. 15, though started the day with tough practice sessions and qualified only at 31 out of 37 cars. His race craft was well received by team crew chief Rick Ren and his teammate Kyle Busch. Räikkönen went on to race in the Nationwide Series at the same track on May 28 driving for Joe Nemechek. He finished 27th after having debris stuck under his car and getting a penalty for speeding in the pitlane.

Personal life

Räikkönen married Jenni Dahlman, a Finnish model and former Miss Scandinavia, on 31 July 2004. They currently live in Switzerland. His older brother, Rami Räikkönen, is a rally driver and a national junior-class champion, who also competes in the Finnish Formula 3 Championship; their father Matti was a road builder.

Räikkönen's hobbies include snowboarding and ice hockey. During his spare time he can often be seen watching his hometown ice hockey team Espoo Blues play. He has also competed in several different kinds of motorsport events. In March 2007, while his Formula One rivals were in Australia preparing for the season opener, Räikkönen competed in a snowmobile race in Finland under the pseudonym "James Hunt", referring to the 1976 world champion whose "playboy" lifestyle has been compared with Räikkönen's own. Räikkönen won the Enduro Sprint race by over 20 seconds with his Lynx. Later in the year, he and two friends entered a powerboat race in the Finnish harbour city of Hanko while wearing gorilla suits. Again, he raced under the name "James Hunt". They then won a prize for the best-dressed crew.

In August 2008, it was announced that Räikkönen would appear on a set of Finnish postage stamps. The stamps, which were released to commemorate the Finnish postal service's 370th anniversary, feature images of him racing and on the podium, with the words "F1 World Champion '07 Kimi Räikkönen".

In 2011, Räikkönen founded his own Motocross World Championship team; Ice 1 Racing. The team consists of MX1 rider Toni Eriksson and MX2 rider Ludde Söderberg and is managed by seven-time enduro world champion Kari Tiainen. The Ice 1 Racing team also supports six junior riders competing in the Finnish national championship.

Helmet

Räikkönen's helmet, designed by UffeDesigns, almost never changed from team to team (letting only some elements like the insignia on top, that shaped after the rune that means "protection", a V design running on the circle top (representing a bird flying) and the inscription "Iceman"): in his debut, his helmet was predominantly blue with white and silver details, in 2002, When he switched to McLaren the design was left intact, only making the top circle all blue rather than half silver and with some black details on the chin area and the V design had its bends folded forming a M. In 2003-2005 his helmet was blue and white with some red and silver parts, there were added red details on the rune symbol that was added to the M design. In 2006 his helmet was the same, only changing the blue to black and there were red and white lines on it. In Ferrari Raikkonen's helmet changed radically: it was white with the middle part black and red with tribals and a black circle with the rune design in the top, in 2008 in the red areas were added black paisley motifs. He retained this design in WRC (after he used in 2010 a blue helmet with Red Bull logo).

Results and records

Career summary

! Season	! Series	! Team Name	! Races	! Poles	! Wins	! Points	! Final Placing
		?
	Continental Racing Van Diemen
	Manor Motorsport
	Haywood Racing
		?
	Manor Motorsport
		Sauber
		Citroën Junior Team
		Ice 1 Racing
	Vision Aviation Racing
	NEMCO Motorsports

* Season in progress

Complete Formula One results

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List of Formula One World Championship points scoring systems>Points

! Sauber Petronas

Sauber Sauber C20>C20

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McLaren MP4-21>MP4-21

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Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines

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! [[Scuderia Ferrari

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Complete WRC results

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Tommi Mäkinen Racing">Scuderia Ferrari

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* Season in progress

Complete NASCAR results

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Formula One records and achievements

In 2005 Räikkönen equalled the record of wins in a single season without winning the World Title (7), shared with four time World Champion Alain Prost, who initially set the record in 1984 and matched it in 1988, and also with Michael Schumacher, in 2006.

In the 2005 and 2008 seasons, he equalled Michael Schumacher's record of 10 fastest race laps in a season, set in 2004.

He currently holds the third highest record for total fastest laps at 35.

In 2008, Räikkönen scored six consecutive fastest race laps (in Spain, Turkey, Monaco, Canada, France and Britain), equalling Alberto Ascari's record for the most consecutive fastest laps in a single season and placing him one behind Ascari's overall record of seven consecutive fastest laps (which were split across two seasons: six in 1952 and one in 1953).

He was the first driver to win on his Ferrari debut since Nigel Mansell at the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix and the first to win, set the fastest lap and pole position on his Ferrari debut since Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix. His replacement Fernando Alonso also won on his Ferrari debut at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, setting the fastest lap on the way; however Alonso only qualified 3rd.

Following Michael Schumacher's retirement at the end of 2006, Räikkönen was the highest paid driver in Formula One, with a reputed base salary of $51 m per year.

The 2007 Chinese Grand Prix saw Räikkönen give Scuderia Ferrari their 200th Formula One GP win, as well as their 600th podium (along with team-mate Felipe Massa who finished in 3rd).

At the 2008 French Grand Prix Räikkönen gave Ferrari their 200th pole position.

Räikkönen is the second driver to win the World Championship after being third in the drivers standings before the final race. Giuseppe Farina, the first F1 World Champion, was the first to do this in , beating Juan Manuel Fangio by three points and Luigi Fagioli by six points. Sebastian Vettel repeated this feat in 2010, when he won the championship at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Räikkönen is the third Ferrari driver after Juan Manuel Fangio and Jody Scheckter to win the world title in their first year with the team.

Räikkönen is the third Finnish driver to win the World Championship, after Keke Rosberg and Mika Häkkinen. He is also the most successful Finnish Formula One driver in terms of points, podium finishes and fastest laps.

Räikkönen also holds the record for the most wins in a debut year with Ferrari with 6, beating Alain Prost's previous record of 5 from 1990.

See also

Famous Finns

The Flying Finns

References

Bibliography

External links

Kimi Räikkönen official website

Formula One DataBase: Kimi Räikkönen

|after=Lewis Hamilton}} –|after=Sebastian Vettel}}

Category:1979 births Category:British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:CIK-FIA Karting World Championship drivers Category:Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:Ferrari Formula One drivers Category:Finnish expatriates in Switzerland Category:Finnish expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Finnish Formula One drivers Category:Finnish Lutherans Category:Finnish racecar drivers Category:Finnish rally drivers Category:Formula Ford drivers Category:Formula One World Drivers' Champions Category:Living people Category:McLaren Formula One drivers Category:Monaco Grand Prix winners Category:NASCAR drivers Category:People from Espoo Category:World Rally Championship drivers

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Name	Ice Cube
Background	solo_singer|birth_name O'Shea Jackson
Alias	Cube, Don Mega
Born	June 15, 1969 Los Angeles, California
Origin	South Central Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genre	Hip hop, gangsta rap, political hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, actor, film director, screenwriter
Years active	1984–present
Label	Priority (1987–1996)Lench Mob (1994–present)EMI (1987–present)
Associated acts	N.W.A, C.I.A., Scarface, Da Lench Mob, Westside Connection, Public Enemy, WC and the Maad Circle, Game
Website	}}

Ice Cube (born O'Shea Jackson; June 15, 1969) is an American rapper, actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer. He began his career as a member of the C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer, director, actor and producer in cinema. Additionally, he has served as one of the producers of the Showtime television series ''Barbershop'' and the TBS series ''Are We There Yet?'', both of which are based upon films in which he portrayed the lead character.

Early life

O'Shea Jackson was born on June 15, 1969 in Los Angeles, in the South Central area, the son of Doris Jackson (née Benjamin), a hospital clerk and custodian, and Hosea Jackson, who worked as a groundskeeper at UCLA. According to a 2005 interview with Teenink, O'Shea's half-sister was murdered by her boyfriend in a murder-suicide when he was 12 years old . His cousin is Teren Delvon Jones, also known as Del tha Funkee Homosapien, who is a part of the rap group Hieroglyphics and who has also worked with Gorillaz; and Kam of rap group The Warzone. At 16, Ice Cube developed an interest in hip hop music, and began writing raps in Taft High School's keyboarding class. He attended the Phoenix Institute of Technology in the fall of 1987, and studied Architectural Drafting. With friend Sir Jinx, Ice Cube formed the C.I.A., and they performed at parties hosted by Dr. Dre. Young Cube was fourteen years old when he met Dre, nineteen. Dre soon entered the recording industry involved with the World Class Wreckin' Cru recording records. Dre saw Cube's potential as a writer and had him helping Dre in writing Wreckin Cru's big L.A. hit track, "Cabbage Patch" as well as joining Cube on a side partnership the duo called Stereo Crew by which they produced a twelve-inch record, "She's a Skag" released on Epic Records in 1986.

Music career

N.W.A

In 1987, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre released the single ''My Posse'', under the alias CIA. After the collaboration, Ice Cube showed Eazy-E the lyrics to "Boyz-n-the-Hood". Eazy-E, although initially rejecting the lyrics, eventually recorded the song for ''N.W.A. and the Posse'', the debut album for the group N.W.A that included him, Dre, and other rappers MC Ren and DJ Yella.

By this point Ice Cube was a full-time member of N.W.A along with Dr. Dre and MC Ren. Ice Cube wrote Dr. Dre and Eazy-E's rhymes for the group's landmark album, ''Straight Outta Compton'', released in 1988. However, as 1990 approached, Ice Cube found himself at odds with the group's manager, Jerry Heller, after rejecting Heller's proposed contract terms.

Since Ice Cube wrote the lyrics to approximately half of both ''Straight Outta Compton'', and Eazy-E's solo album, ''Eazy-Duz-It'', he was advised of the amounts he was truly owed by Heller, and took legal action soon after leaving the group and the label. In response, the remaining N.W.A members attacked him on the EP ''100 Miles and Runnin''' and on their next and final album, ''Efil4zaggin'' (''Niggaz4life'' spelled backwards).

Solo career

In late 1989, Ice Cube recorded his debut solo album in Los Angeles with the Bomb Squad (Public Enemy's production team). ''AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'' was released in May 1990 and was an instant hit, riding and contributing to the rising tide of rap's popularity in mainstream society. The album was charged with controversy, and he was accused of misogyny and racism. Subsequently, Ice Cube appointed the female rapper Yo-Yo (who appeared on ''AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'') to the head of his own record label and helped produce her debut album, ''Make Way for the Motherlode''. This was followed by a critically acclaimed role as 'Doughboy' in John Singleton's hood-based drama, ''Boyz n the Hood''. In the same year as ''AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'', Ice Cube released the acclaimed EP, ''Kill At Will'' which sold well, becoming the first hip hop EP to go both Gold and Platinum.

His 1991 follow-up, ''Death Certificate'' was regarded as more focused, yet even more controversial, and critics accused him again of being anti-white, misogynist, and antisemitic. The album is thematically divided into the 'Death Side' ("a vision of where we are today") and the 'Life Side' ("a vision of where we need to go"). It features "No Vaseline", a scathing response to N.W.A's attacks and "Black Korea," a track regarded by some as prophetic of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, but also interpreted as racist by many; it was still being cited years after its release. Ice Cube toured with Lollapalooza in 1992, which widened his fan base.

Ice Cube released ''The Predator'' in November 1992. Referring specifically to that year's Los Angeles riots, in the first single, "Wicked", he rapped "April 29 was power to the people, and we might just see a sequel". ''The Predator'' debuted at number one on both the pop and R&B; charts, the first album in history to do so. Singles from ''The Predator'' included "It Was a Good Day" and the "Check Yo Self" remix, and the songs had a two-part music video. The album remains his most successful release, with over three million copies sold in the US. However, after ''The Predator'', Ice Cube's rap audience diminished. ''Lethal Injection'' which was released in the end of 1993 and represented Ice Cube's first attempt at imitating the G-Funk sound of Dr. Dre's ''The Chronic'', was not well received by critics. He had more successful hits from ''Lethal Injection'', including "Really Doe", "Bop Gun (One Nation)", "You Know How We Do It" & "What Can I Do?". After 1994, he took a hiatus from music and concentrated on film work and developing the careers of other rap musicians, Mack 10, Mr. Short Khop, Kausion, and Da Lench Mob.

In 1994, Ice Cube had reunited with former N.W.A member Dr. Dre, who was now part of Death Row Records, in their duet "Natural Born Killaz". In 1998, he released his long-awaited solo album, ''War & Peace Volume 1''. The delayed ''Volume 2'', was released in 2000. The albums featured appearances from Westside Connection as well as a reunion with fellow N.W.A members, Dr. Dre and MC Ren, though many fans maintained that the two albums were not on par with his past work, especially the second volume. In 2000, Ice Cube also joined Dr. Dre, Eminem & Snoop Dogg on the Up In Smoke Tour.

In 2006, Ice Cube released his seventh solo album, ''Laugh Now, Cry Later'', on his Lench Mob Records label, debuting at number four on the Billboard Charts and selling 144,000 units in the first week. The album featured production from Lil Jon and Scott Storch, who produced the lead single "Why We Thugs". He released his eighth studio album, Raw Footage, on August 19, 2008, featuring the controversial single "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It".

On Oct 12, 2009 he released a non-album track called 'Raider Nation' in tribute to the Oakland Raiders' football team he supports.

On May 11, 2010, Ice Cube released a 30 for 30 documentary, "Straight Outta L.A.", for ESPN on the relationship between the gangster rap scene in Los Angeles and the tenure of the Raiders there. He has been voted as eighth of MTV's "greatest emcees of all time."

Westside Connection

In 1996, Ice Cube formed Westside Connection with Mack 10 and WC, and together they released an album called ''Bow Down''. Most of the album was used to engage in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry of the 90s. The album's eponymous single reached number 21 on the singles charts, and the album itself was certified Platinum by the end of 1996. With ''Bow Down'', Westside Connection brought their own agenda to the hip hop scene. Ice Cube, Mack 10 and WC had grown tired of being overlooked by most East Coast media outlets; the album was designed to instil a sense of pride in West Coast rap fans and to start a larger movement that some people who felt underappreciated might identify with. Songs like "Bow Down" and "Gangstas Make the World Go 'Round" make reference to this. Ice Cube would also eventually make amends with Eazy-E shortly before the latter's death in 1995.

After a seven-year hiatus, Westside Connection returned with their second effort ''Terrorist Threats'' in 2003. The album fared well critically, but its commercial reception was less than that of ''Bow Down''. "Gangsta Nation" was the only single released from the album, which was produced by Fredwreck and featured Nate Dogg; it was a radio hit. After a rift between Ice Cube and Mack 10 about Ice Cube's commitments to film work rather than touring with the group, Westside Connection disbanded. WC, however, did release a new solo album on Lench Mob Records entitled ''Guilty by Affiliation'' on August 14, 2007.

Collaborations

In 1992 Ice Cube assisted on debut albums from Da Lench Mob (''Guerillas in tha Mist'', 1992) and Kam (''Neva Again'', 1993), both of which enjoyed critical acclaim and some moderate commercial success. He handled most of the production on ''Guerillas in tha Mist''.

In 1993, Lench Mob member, J-Dee, was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder, and Ice Cube did not produce their next album, ''Planet of tha Apes''. Around this time in 1993, he also worked with Tupac Shakur on his album ''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.,'' appearing on the track "Last Wordz" with Ice-T. He also did a song with Dr. Dre for the first time since he left N.W.A: "Natural Born Killaz", for the ''Murder Was The Case'' soundtrack, and also contributed to the ''Office Space'' soundtrack. He also featured on Kool G Rap's song "Two To The Head" from the Kool G Rap & DJ Polo album "Live And Let Die". Ice Cube appeared on the song "Children of the Korn" by the band Korn, as well as assisting in recording a Korn cover of Wicked, and lent his voice to British DJ Paul Oakenfold's solo debut album, ''Bunkka'', on the track "Get Em Up".

2004–2010

In 2004, his hit singles "Check Yo Self", "It Was a Good Day" and affiliated song "Guerrillas in tha Mist" with Da Lench Mob appeared on popular video game ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' on fictional radio station Radio Los Santos.

In late 2005, Ice Cube and R. J. Cutler teamed up to create the six-part documentary series titled ''Black. White.'', which was broadcast on cable network FX. In May 2006 Ice Cube complained that Oprah Winfrey would not welcome him and other rappers on her show. Ice Cube's other movie projects include ''Teacher of the Year'', released in 2007, and ''The Extractors'', released in 2008.

He has signed on to star in and produce ''Welcome Back, Kotter'', a big-screen adaptation of the 1970s television series. Ice Cube will play the title character, originally portrayed by Gabe Kaplan and his film company, Cube Vision Productions, has sealed a deal with Dimension Films to bring the show to the big screen.

In a London interview he revealed he is in talks of a collaboration with Gorillaz after speaking to frontman Damon Albarn.

In October 2006 Xzibit, Lil Jon and WC from the Westside Connection honoured Ice Cube at VH1's Annual Hip Hop Honors, performing some classic Ice Cube tracks, and Ice Cube also performed "Why We Thugs" and "Go To Church" from his album ''Laugh Now, Cry Later'', where the New York crowd were greeted with Cube's vintage Cali sound. After launching that comeback album, Ice Cube toured across the world to promote it. The tour is known as "Straight Outta Compton Tour", and accompanying him is his friend and fellow rapper WC from the Westside Connection. Some places he has recently performed include the Paradiso in Amsterdam and various venues in England. After touring the U.S. and Europe, he performed all around Australia, from Sydney's Enmore Theatre to The Forum Arena in Melbourne, before heading to Japan.

Ice Cube collaborated with Tech N9ne on the song "Blackboy" that appears on Tech N9ne's July 2008 album ''Killer''. The eighth Ice Cube studio LP, titled ''Raw Footage'', was released on August 19, 2008, and featured the singles Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It and Do Ya Thang. Ice Cube appeared on a song by rapper The Game titled "State of Emergency" off The Game's Album, L.A.X. In 2009, Ice Cube performed at the Gathering of the Juggalos, and will return to perform at the 2011 festival.

Despite rumors of conflicts with other rappers in 2010, Ice Cube stated in an interview with DJ Whoo Kid on Sirius Shade 45 that he has "no beef."

Ice Cube's ninth studio album I Am the West was released on September 28, 2010. Ice Cube has stated this album has a different direction than any one of his other albums. He received beats from West coast veteran producers such as DJ Quik, Dr. Dre, E-A-Ski, and Sir Jinx, not having worked on a solo album with the latter in nearly 20 years. The album was released independently under his label Lench Mob. Ice Cube has stated that "being independent is beautiful because we can do things 'out the box' that record companies would usually frown at. Instead of working from a ready-made cookie-cutter marketing plan, we can tailor make a marketing plan specifically for me."

In 2011 he will reunite with N.W.A members MC Ren & Dr. Dre on T-Boz's debut studio album Still Cool on the track "From The South To the Wild Wild West".

Other ventures

Film and television career

Following his role as 'Doughboy' in ''Boyz N The Hood'', in 1992 he starred alongside Ice-T, and Bill Paxton in Walter Hill's action film, ''Trespass'', and then in ''The Glass Shield''.

Ice Cube was offered a co-star role with Janet Jackson in the 1993 romantic film Poetic Justice, but he refused the role, which was given to Tupac Shakur instead.

John Singleton had encouraged Ice Cube to try his hand at screenwriting, telling him, "If you can write a record, you can write a movie." With this encouragement, Ice Cube wrote the screenplay for what became the 1995 comedy ''Friday'', in which he also starred, alongside then up-and-coming comedian Chris Tucker. ''Friday'' earned $28 million worldwide on a $3.5 million budget, and spawned two sequels, ''Next Friday'' and ''Friday After Next''. (On March 9, 2011 he announced that he was making the final sequel called Last Friday). That year, he also starred in his second collaboration with John Singleton, ''Higher Learning'', as world-weary university student "Fudge"; a role for which he earned award nominations.

In 1997 Ice Cube starred in the action thriller Dangerous Ground as a South African exiled to America who returns 15 years later. He also had a supporting role in the film ''Anaconda'' that same year. He wrote, executive produced, and made his directorial debut in ''The Players Club'' in 1998, and in 1999 starred alongside George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg in the critically acclaimed ''Three Kings''. In 2000, he wrote and appeared in the ''Friday'' sequel ''Next Friday''. In 2002, Ice Cube starred in the commercially successful movie ''Barbershop'', as well as ''All About the Benjamins'' and the third film in the ''Friday'' trilogy, ''Friday after Next'' (which he again wrote). In 2004, he appeared in ''Barbershop 2: Back in Business'', and ''Torque''; in 2005 he starred in the action movie ''XXX: State of the Union'', as well as the comedies ''Are We There Yet?'' and ''Are We Done Yet?'', co-starring Nia Long.

In early April 2007 Ice Cube was a guest on Angie Martinez' Hot97 radio show and stated that he was interested in bringing back Chris Tucker as Smokey in a possible ''Friday'' sequel, but that was only possible "if New Line cuts the cheque." In an interview with BlackFilm.com, Ice Cube stated that he would be interested in involving all major characters from the ''Friday'' franchise in a possible sequel, but added "I know I'm not going to get Chris [Tucker] back, but I'd love to get everybody else back."

''In the Movies'' is a compilation album of Ice Cube songs that have appeared in movie soundtracks, which was released on September 4, 2007.

Ice Cube and basketball star LeBron James have paired up to pitch a one-hour special to ABC based on James's life. Ice Cube's ''Are We There Yet'' television series premiered on TBS on June 2, 2010. Based on the 2005 feature film of the same name, the show revolves around a family adjusting to the matriarch's new husband (Terry Crews) and trying to deal with normal family situations. On August 16, 2010, ''Are We There Yet?'' was renewed for 90 additional episodes. In an August 2010 interview with UrbLife.com, Ice Cube expressed excitement about the show being picked up for the run, which will pan out to around six seasons. He also credits Tyler Perry for opening the door for him at TBS.

Clothing line

Ice Cube has licenced a clothing line, SOLO by Cube, which features hooded sweatshirts with built-in headphones in the hood strings.

Personal life

Family

He married Kimberly Woodruff in 1992, with whom he has four children (three boys, one girl) - O'Shea Jr., Darrel, Shareef and Karima.

A father of four, Ice Cube was asked by Fresh Air's Terry Gross to provide some perspective on the relationship between his work and his family. When asked whether or not he allowed his children to listen to his music, he responded: "What's worked for me is instilling in my kids a level of self-respect," helping them to understand the content of not just music but the violence found on the evening news. When asked what he tells his children about profanity, he recalled telling his kids that there are "appropriate times to use any kind of language.... Adults should never hear you use these words. If you want to use these words around your friends, that's really on you." Ice Cube is also the father of rappers OMG and Doughboy, who were featured on his album, I Am the West.

Religion

In an interview with British newspaper ''The Guardian'', Ice Cube stated that he is a Muslim, having converted sometime in the 1990s. He described his Muslim faith as a simple, personal one that does not involve attending prayer services or following rituals. Although he has spoken favorably of the Nation of Islam, he denied ever being in the organization.

Discography

; Studio albums

1990: ''AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted''

1991: ''Death Certificate''

1992: ''The Predator''

1993: ''Lethal Injection''

1998: ''War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc)''

2000: ''War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc)''

2006: ''Laugh Now, Cry Later''

2008: ''Raw Footage''

2010: ''I Am the West''

; Other albums

1994: ''Bootlegs & B-Sides''

1997: ''Featuring…Ice Cube''

2001: ''Greatest Hits''

2007: ''In the Movies''

2008: ''The Essentials''

Filmography

As an actor

Films

Year 1991 1992 1993 1995 1995 1995 1997 1997 1998 1998 1999 1999 1999 2001 2002 2002 2002 2004 2004 2005 2005 2007 2008 2008 2009 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012

Title	|	Role	Other notes
''Boyz n the Hood''	|	Darin "Doughboy" Baker	Main Role
''Trespass (1992 film)	Trespass''	|	Savon	Main Role
''CB4''	|	himself	Cameo
''The Glass Shield''	|	Teddy Woods	Main Role
''Higher Learning''	|	Fudge	Main Role
''Friday (film)	Friday''	|	Craig Jones	Main Role
''Dangerous Ground''	|	Vusi Madlazi	Main Role
''Anaconda (film)	Anaconda''	|	Danny Rich	Main Role
''The Players Club''	|	Reggie	Minor Role
''I Got The Hook Up''	|	Gun Runner	Minor Role
''Three Kings (1999 film)	Three Kings''	|	SSgt. Chief Elgin	Main Role
''Thicker Than Water (1999 film)	Thicker Than Water''	|	Slink	Supporting Role
''Next Friday''	|	Craig Jones	Main Role
''Ghosts of Mars''	|	James 'Desolation' Williams	Main Role
''All About The Benjamins''	|	Detective Bucum	Main Role
''BarberShop (film)	BarberShop''	|	Calvin Palmer	Main Role
''Friday After Next''	|	Craig Jones	Main Role
''Torque (film)	Torque''	|	Trey	Main Role
''BarberShop 2: Back in Business''	|	Calvin Palmer	Main Role
''Are We There Yet?''	|	Nick Persons	Main Role
''XXX: State of the Union''	|	Darius Stone	Main Role
''Are We Done Yet?''	|	Nick Persons	Main Role
''First Sunday''	|	Durell	Main Role
''The Longshots''	|	Curtis Plummer	Main Role
''Janky Promoters''	|	Russell Redds	Main Role
''Lottery Ticket (film)	Lottery Ticket''	|	Jerome "Thump" Washington	Supporting Role
''New Year's Eve (film)	New Year's Film''	|	Police Officer	Supporting Role
''Rampart (film)	Rampart''	|	TBA	TBA
''Last Friday''	|	Craig Jones	Main Role pre-production
''21 Jump Street''	|	Capt. Dickson	Main Role

Television

Year 2010–present

Title	|	Role	Other notes
''Are We There Yet? (TV series)	Are We There Yet?'' TV series	|	Terrence	Recurring Role

Video games

Year 2010

Title	|	Role	Other notes
''Call of Duty: Black Ops	|	Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group>SOG multiplayer announcer	Voice actor

As director/writer/producer

''Friday'' (1995) writer, executive producer

''Dangerous Ground'' (1997) executive producer

''The Players Club'' (1998) writer, director, executive producer

''Next Friday'' (2000) writer, producer

''All About The Benjamins'' (2002) writer, producer

''Friday After Next'' (2002) writer, producer

''BarberShop 2: Back in Business'' (2004) executive producer

''BarberShop: The Series'' (2005) executive producer

''Are We There Yet?'' (2005) producer

''Beauty Shop'' (2005) executive producer

''Black. White.'' (2006) executive producer

''Are We Done Yet?'' (2007) producer

''Friday: The Animated Series'' (2007) executive producer

''Pirate Island'' (2008) producer

''The Longshots'' (2008) producer

''First Sunday'' (2008) producer

''Straight Outta L.A.'' (2010) director

''Are We There Yet?'' (TV series) (2010) executive producer

''Last Friday'' (2012) writer, executive producer

Awards

Film award history

Ice Cube has received nominations for several films in the past. To date, he has won two awards:

2000: Blockbuster Entertainment Award: Favorite Action Team (for ''Three Kings'')

2002: MECCA Movie Award: Acting Award

Music awards

VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2006

* 2006 Honoree Snoop Dogg

BET Hip-Hop Awards 2009

* I Am Hip-Hop Award

References

External links

Ice Cube Bio

Ice Cube: The Ten Greatest Rapper/Actors

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from California Category:African American Muslims Category:Converts to Islam Category:African-American film producers Category:African American film actors Category:African American rappers Category:American music video directors Category:American screenwriters Category:Capitol Records artists Category:N.W.A members Category:Priority Records artists Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:Ruthless Records artists

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Name	Sir Elton JohnCBE
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Birth date	March 25, 1947
Birth place	Pinner, Middlesex, England
Instrument
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, composer
Years active	1964–68 (Bluesology)1969–present (Solo)
Genre
Label	DJM, Uni, MCA, Geffen, Rocket/Island, Universal, Interscope, Mercury, UMG
Associated acts	Bernie Taupin, Tim Rice, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Kiki Dee, Billy Joel, George Michael, Eminem, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick,Neil Sedaka
Website	}}

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.

In his four-decade career John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single "Candle in the Wind 1997" has sold over 33 million copies worldwide, and is the best selling single in ''Billboard'' history. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won six Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Having been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996, John received a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" in 1998.

He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. In 1992, he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation and a year later began hosting the annual Academy Award Party, which has since become one of the most high-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over $200 million.

John entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on 21 December 2005 and continues to be a champion for LGBT social movements. In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine ranked him as the most successful male solo artist on "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists" (third overall, behind only The Beatles and Madonna).

Life and career

Early life

John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947, the eldest child of Stanley and only child of Sheila Eileen Dwight (née Harris) and was raised in Pinner, Middlesex in a council house of his maternal grandparents. His parents did not marry until he was 6 years old, when the family moved to a nearby semi-detached house. He was educated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School, until age 17, when he left just prior to his A Level examinations to pursue a career in the music industry.

When John began to seriously consider a career in music, his father, who served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force, tried to steer him toward a more conventional career, such as banking. John has stated that his wild stage costumes and performances were his way of letting go after such a restrictive childhood. Both of John's parents were musically inclined, his father having been a trumpet player with the Bob Millar Band, a semi-professional big band that played at military dances. The Dwights were keen record buyers, exposing John to the popular singers and musicians of the day, and John remembers being immediately hooked on rock and roll when his mother brought home records by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets in 1956.

John started playing the piano at the age of 3, and within a year, his mother heard him picking out Winifred Atwell's "The Skater's Waltz" by ear. After performing at parties and family gatherings, at the age of 7 he took up formal piano lessons. He showed musical aptitude at school, including the ability to compose melodies, and gained some notoriety by playing like Jerry Lee Lewis at school functions. At the age of 11, he won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. According to one of his instructors, John promptly played back, like a "gramophone record", a four-page piece by Handel that he heard for the first time.

For the next five years he attended Saturday classes at the Academy in central London, and has stated that he enjoyed playing Chopin and Bach and singing in the choir during Saturday classes, but that he was not otherwise a diligent classical student. "I kind of resented going to the Academy", he says. "I was one of those children who could just about get away without practicing and still pass, scrape through the grades." He even claims that he would sometimes skip classes and just ride around on the Tube. However, several instructors have testified that he was a "model student", and during the last few years he was taking lessons from a private tutor in addition to his classes at the Academy.

John's mother, though also strict with her son, was more vivacious than her husband, and something of a free spirit. With Stanley Dwight uninterested in his son and often physically absent, John was raised primarily by his mother and maternal grandmother. When his father was home, the Dwights would have terrible arguments that greatly distressed their son. When John was 14, they divorced. His mother then married a local painter, Fred Farebrother, a caring and supportive stepfather whom John affectionately referred to as "Derf", his first name in reverse. They moved into flat No. 1A in an eight-unit apartment building called Frome Court, not far from both previous homes. It was there that John would write the songs that would launch his career as a rock star; he would live there until he had four albums simultaneously in the American Top 40.

Pub pianist to staff songwriter (1962–1969)

At the age of 15, with the help of his mother and stepfather, Reginald Dwight became a weekend pianist at a nearby pub, the Northwood Hills Hotel, playing Thursday to Sunday nights for £35 a week and tips. Known simply as "Reggie", he played a range of popular standards, including songs by Jim Reeves and Ray Charles, as well as songs he had written himself. A stint with a short-lived group called the Corvettes rounded out his time.

In 1964, Dwight and his friends formed a band called Bluesology. By day, he ran errands for a music publishing company; he divided his nights between solo gigs at a London hotel bar and working with Bluesology. By the mid-1960s, Bluesology was backing touring American soul and R&B; musicians like The Isley Brothers, Major Lance, Billy Stewart, Doris Troy and Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles. In 1966, the band became musician Long John Baldry's supporting band and played 16 times at The Marquee Club.

After failing lead vocalist auditions for King Crimson and Gentle Giant, Dwight answered an advertisement in the ''New Musical Express'' placed by Ray Williams, then the A&R; manager for Liberty Records. At their first meeting, Williams gave Dwight a stack of lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, who had answered the same ad. Dwight wrote music for the lyrics, and then mailed it to Taupin, beginning a partnership that {{as of |2012 |alt=still continues }}. When the two first met in 1967 they recorded what would become the first Elton John/Bernie Taupin song; "Scarecrow". Six months later Dwight was going by the name "Elton John" in homage to Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.

The team of John and Taupin joined Dick James's DJM Records as staff songwriters in 1968, and over the next two years wrote material for various artists, like Roger Cook and Lulu. Taupin would write a batch of lyrics in under an hour and give it to John, who would write music for them in half an hour, disposing of the lyrics if he couldn't come up with anything quickly. For two years, they wrote easy-listening tunes for James to peddle to singers. Their early output included a contender for the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, for Lulu, called "Can't Go On (Living Without You)". It came sixth of six songs. In 1969, John provided piano for Roger Hodgson on his first released recording, the single "Mr. Boyd" by Argosy, a quartet that was completed by Caleb Quaye and Nigel Olsson.

During this period, John was also a session musician for other artists including playing piano on The Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" and singing backing vocals for The Scaffold.

Debut album to ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' (1969–1973)

On the advice of music publisher Steve Brown, John and Taupin started writing more complex songs for John to record for DJM. The first was the single "I've Been Loving You" (1968), produced by Caleb Quaye, former Bluesology guitarist. In 1969, with Quaye, drummer Roger Pope, and bassist Tony Murray, John recorded another single, "Lady Samantha", and an album, ''Empty Sky''.

For their follow-up album, ''Elton John'', John and Taupin enlisted Gus Dudgeon as producer and Paul Buckmaster as musical arranger. ''Elton John'' was released in April 1970 on DJM Records/Pye Records in the UK and Uni Records in the USA, and established the formula for subsequent albums; gospel-chorded rockers and poignant ballads. The first single from the album, "Border Song", made into the US Top 100, peaking at Number 92. The second single "Your Song" made the US Top Ten, peaking at number eight and becoming John's first hit single as a singer. The album soon became his first hit album, reaching number four on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Backed by ex-Spencer Davis Group drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray, John's first American concert took place at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in August 1970, and was a success.

The concept album ''Tumbleweed Connection'' was released in October 1970, and reached the Top Ten on the Billboard 200. The live album ''17-11-70'' (''11-17-70'' in the US) was recorded at a live show aired from A&R; Studios on WABC-FM in New York City. Sales of the live album were heavily hit in the US when an east coast bootlegger released the performance several weeks before the official album, including all 60 minutes of the aircast, not just the 40 minutes selected by Dick James Music. John and Taupin then wrote the soundtrack to the obscure film ''Friends'' and then the album ''Madman Across the Water'', the latter reaching the Top Ten and producing the hit "Levon", while the soundtrack album produced the hit "Friends". In 1972, Davey Johnstone joined the Elton John Band on guitar and backing vocals. The band released ''Honky Chateau'', which became John's first American number 1 album, spending five weeks at the top of the charts and spawning the hit singles "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)" (which is often compared to David Bowie's "Space Oddity") and "Honky Cat".

The pop album ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' came out at the start of 1973, and produced the hits "Crocodile Rock" and "Daniel"; the former became his first US Billboard Hot 100 number one hit. Both the album and "Crocodile Rock" were the first album and single, respectively on the consolidated MCA Records label in the USA, replacing MCA's other labels including Uni.

''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' gained instant critical acclaim and topped the chart on both sides of the Atlantic, remaining at Number 1 for two months. It also temporarily established John as a glam rock star. It contained the number 1 hit "Bennie and the Jets", along with the popular and praised "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Candle in the Wind", "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" and "Grey Seal" (originally recorded and released in 1970 as the B-side to the UK-only single, "Rock and Roll Madonna"). There is also a VHS and DVD as part of the Classic Albums series, discussing the making, recording, and popularity of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" through concert and home video footage including interviews.

Rocket Records to ''21 at 33'' (1974–1979)

John formed his own MCA-distributed label Rocket Records and signed acts to it – notably Neil Sedaka ("Bad Blood", on which he sang background vocals) and Kiki Dee – in which he took a personal interest. Instead of releasing his own records on Rocket, he opted for $8 million offered by MCA. When the contract was signed in 1974, MCA reportedly took out a $25 million insurance policy on John's life.

In 1974 a collaboration with John Lennon took place, resulting in Elton John covering The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and Lennon's "One Day at a Time", and in return Elton John and band being featured on Lennon's "Whatever Gets You thru the Night". In what would be Lennon's last live performance, the pair performed these two number 1 hits along with the Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There" at Madison Square Garden. Lennon made the rare stage appearance to keep the promise he made that he would appear on stage with Elton if "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" became a number 1 single.

''Caribou'' was released in 1974, and although it reached number 1, it was widely considered a lesser quality album. Reportedly recorded in a scant two weeks between live appearances, it featured "The Bitch Is Back" and the lushly orchestrated "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". Pete Townshend of The Who asked John to play a character called the "Local Lad" in the film of the rock opera ''Tommy'', and to perform the song "Pinball Wizard". Drawing on power chords, John's version was recorded and used for the movie release in 1975 and the single came out in 1976 (1975 in the US). The song charted at number 7 in England. Bally subsequently released a "Captain Fantastic" pinball machine featuring an illustration of John in his movie guise.

In the 1975 autobiographical album ''Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'', John revealed his previously ambiguous personality, with Taupin's lyrics describing their early days as struggling songwriters and musicians in London. The lyrics and accompanying photo booklet are infused with a specific sense of place and time that is otherwise rare in John's music. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was the hit single from this album and captured an early turning point in John's life.

The album's release signalled the end of the Elton John Band, as an unhappy and overworked John dismissed Olsson and Murray, two people who had contributed much of the band's signature sound and who had helped build his live following since the beginning. Johnstone and Ray Cooper were retained, Quaye and Roger Pope returned, and the new bassist was Kenny Passarelli; this rhythm section provided a heavier-sounding backbeat. James Newton-Howard joined to arrange in the studio and to play keyboards. John introduced the lineup before a crowd of 75,000 in London's Wembley Stadium. The rock-oriented ''Rock of the Westies'' entered the US albums chart at number 1 like ''Captain Fantastic'', a previously unattained feat. Elton John's stage wardrobe now included ostrich feathers, $5,000 spectacles that spelled his name in lights, and dressing up like the Statue of Liberty, Donald Duck, or Mozart, among others, at his concerts.

To celebrate five years since he first appeared at the venue, in 1975 John played a two-night, four-show stand at The Troubadour. With seating limited to under 500 per show, the chance to purchase tickets was determined by a postcard lottery, with each winner allowed two tickets. Everyone who attended the performances received a hardbound "yearbook" of the band's history. That year he also played piano on Kevin Ayers' ''Sweet Deceiver'', and was among the first and few white artists to appear on the black music series ''Soul Train'' on American television. On August 9, 1975, John was named the outstanding rock personality of the year at the first annual Rock Music Awards at ceremonies held in Santa Monica, California.

In 1976, the live album ''Here and There'' was released in May, followed by the ''Blue Moves'' album in October, which contained the single "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word". His biggest success in 1976 was "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", a duet with Kiki Dee that topped both the American and British charts. Finally, in an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' that year entitled "Elton's Frank Talk", John stated that he was bisexual.

Besides being the most commercially successful period, 1970–1976 is also held in the most regard critically. Within only a three year span, between 1972 and 1975 John saw seven consecutive albums reach Number 1 in the charts, which had not been accomplished before. Of the six Elton John albums to make the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in ''Rolling Stone'''in 2003, all are from this period, with ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' ranked highest at number 91; similarly, the three Elton John albums given five stars by Allmusic (''Tumbleweed Connection'', ''Honky Château'', and ''Captain Fantastic'') are all from this period too.

During the same period, John made a guest appearance on the popular ''Morecambe and Wise Show'' on the BBC. The two comics spent the episode pointing him in the direction of everywhere except the stage in order to prevent him singing.

In November 1977 John announced he was retiring from performing; Taupin began collaborating with others. Now only producing one album a year, John issued ''A Single Man'' in 1978, employing a new lyricist, Gary Osborne; the album produced no singles that made the Top 20 in the US but the two singles from the album released in the UK, Part-Time Love and Song for Guy, both made the Top 20 in the UK with the latter reaching the Top 5. In 1979, accompanied by Ray Cooper, John became one of the first Western solo artists to tour the Soviet Union (as well as one of the first in Israel), then mounted a two-man comeback tour of the US in small halls. John returned to the singles chart with "Mama Can't Buy You Love" (number 9, 1979), a song originally rejected in 1977 by MCA before being released, recorded in 1977 with Philadelphia soul producer Thom Bell. Elton reported that Thom Bell was the first person to give him voice lessons; Bell encouraged John to sing in a lower register. A disco-influenced album, ''Victim of Love'', was poorly received. In 1979, John and Taupin reunited, though they did not collaborate on a full album until 1983's ''Too Low For Zero''. ''21 at 33'', released the following year, was a significant career boost, aided by his biggest hit in four years, "Little Jeannie" (number 3 US), although the lyrics were written by Gary Osborne.

The 80s: ''The Fox'' to ''Sleeping with the Past'' (1981–1989)

His 1981 album, ''The Fox'', was recorded in part during the same sessions as ''21 at 33'', and also included collaborations with Tom Robinson and Judie Tzuke. On 13 September 1980, John, with Olsson and Murray back in the Elton John Band, performed a free concert to an estimated 400,000 fans on The Great Lawn in Central Park in New York City. His 1982 hit "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)", came from his ''Jump Up!'' album, his second under a new US recording contract with Geffen Records.

He married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel on Valentine's Day 1984 - the marriage lasted three years. The Biography Channel Special detailed the loss of Elton's voice in 1986 while on tour in Australia. Shortly thereafter he underwent throat surgery, which permanently altered his voice. Several non-cancerous polyps were removed from his vocal cords, resulting in a change in his singing voice. In 1987 he won a libel case against ''The Sun'' which published allegations of sex with rent boys.

With original band members Johnstone, Murray and Olsson together again, John was able to return to the charts with the 1983 hit album ''Too Low for Zero'', which included "I'm Still Standing" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues", the latter of which featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and reached number 4 in the US, giving John his biggest hit there since "Little Jeannie". He placed hits in the US Top Ten throughout the 1980s – "Little Jeannie" (number 3, 1980), "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" (number 5, 1984), "Nikita" boosted by a mini-movie pop video directed by Ken Russell (number 7, 1986), a live orchestral version of "Candle in the Wind" (number 6, 1987), and "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" (number 2, 1988). His highest-charting single was a collaboration with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder on "That's What Friends Are For" (number 1, 1985); credited as Dionne and Friends, the song raised funds for AIDS research. His albums continued to sell, but of the six released in the latter half of the 1980s, only ''Reg Strikes Back'' (number 16, 1988) placed in the Top 20 in the United States.

In 1985, Elton John was one of the many performers at Live Aid held at Wembley Stadium. John played "Bennie and the Jets" and "Rocket Man"; then "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with Kiki Dee for the first time in years; and introduced his friend George Michael, still then of Wham!, to sing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". He enlisted Michael to sing backing vocals on his single "Wrap Her Up", and also recruited teen idol Nik Kershaw as an instrumentalist on "Nikita". John also recorded material with Millie Jackson in 1985. In 1986, he played the piano on two tracks on the heavy metal band Saxon's album ''Rock the Nations''.

In 1988, he performed five sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden, giving him 26 for his career. Netting over $20 million, 2,000 items of John's memorabilia were auctioned off at Sotheby's in London.

The 90s: "Sacrifice" to ''Aida'' (1990–1999)

In 1990, John finally achieved his first UK number one hit on his own, with "Sacrifice" (coupled with "Healing Hands") from the previous year's album ''Sleeping with the Past''; it would stay at the top spot for six weeks. The following year, John's "Basque" won the Grammy for Best Instrumental, and a guest concert appearance he had made on George Michael's cover of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was released as a single and topped the charts in both the US and UK. At the 1991 Brit Awards in London, Elton John won the award for Best British Male.

In 1992 he released the US number 8 album ''The One'', featuring the hit song "The One". John and Taupin then signed a music publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music for an estimated $39 million over 12 years, giving them the largest cash advance in music publishing history. In April 1992, John appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, performing "The Show Must Go On" with the remaining members of Queen, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" with Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses and Queen. In September, John performed "The One" at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, and also closed the ceremony performing "November Rain" with Guns N' Roses. The following year, he released ''Duets'', a collaboration with 15 artists including Tammy Wynette and RuPaul. This also included a new collaboration with Kiki Dee, entitled "True Love", which reached the Top 10 of the UK charts.

Along with Tim Rice, Elton John wrote the songs for the 1994 Disney animated film ''The Lion King'', which became the 3rd highest-grossing animated feature of all time. At the 67th Academy Awards ceremony, ''The Lion King'' provided three of the five nominees for the Academy Award for Best Song, which John won with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". Both that and "Circle of Life" became hit songs for John. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" would also win Elton John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 37th Grammy Awards. After the release of the ''The Lion King'' soundtrack, the album remained at the top of ''Billboard'''s charts for nine weeks. On 10 November 1999, the RIAA certified ''The Lion King'' "Diamond" for selling 15 million copies.

In 1995 John released ''Made in England'' (number 3, 1995), which featured the single "Believe". John performed "Believe" at the 1995 Brit Awards, and picked up the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Music. A compilation called ''Love Songs'' was released in 1996.

Early in 1997 John held a 50th birthday party, costumed as Louis XIV, for 500 friends. John also performed with the surviving members of Queen in Paris at the opening night (17 January 1997) of ''Le Presbytère N'a Rien Perdu De Son Charme Ni Le Jardin De Son Éclat'', a work by French ballet legend Maurice Béjart which draws upon AIDS and the deaths of Freddie Mercury and the company's principal dancer Jorge Donn. Later in 1997, two close friends died: designer Gianni Versace was murdered; Diana, Princess of Wales died in a Paris car crash on 31 August. In early September, John contacted his writing partner Bernie Taupin, asking him to revise the lyrics of his 1973 song "Candle in the Wind" to honour Diana, and Taupin rewrote the song accordingly. On 6 September 1997, John performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in Westminster Abbey. The song became the fastest, and biggest-selling single of all time, eventually selling over 33 million copies worldwide. The best-selling single in UK Chart history, it sold 4.86 million copies in the UK. The best-selling single in ''Billboard'' history, and the only single ever certified Diamond in the United States, the single sold over 11 million copies in the U.S. The song proceeds of approximately £55 million were donated to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. It would win John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 40th Grammy Awards ceremony in 1998. John has publicly performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" only once, at Diana's funeral, vowing never to perform it again unless asked by Diana's sons.

In the musical theatre world, in addition to a 1998 adaptation of ''The Lion King'' for Broadway, John also composed music for a Disney production of ''Aida'' in 1999 with lyricist Tim Rice, for which they received the Tony Award for Best Original Score at the 54th Tony Awards, and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album at the 43rd Grammy Awards. The musical was given its world premiere in the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. It went on to Chicago and eventually Broadway. He also released a live compilation album called ''Elton John One Night Only - The Greatest Hits'' from the show he did at Madison Square Garden in New York City that same year.

2000 to present

In 2000, John and Tim Rice teamed again to create songs for DreamWorks' animated film ''The Road to El Dorado''. In August 2003, John scored his fifth UK number one single when "Are You Ready for Love" topped the UK Charts. Returning again to musical theatre, John composed music for a West End Theatre production of ''Billy Elliot the Musical'' in 2005 with playwright Lee Hall. John's only theatrical project with Bernie Taupin so far is ''Lestat: The Musical'', based on the Anne Rice vampire novels. However it was slammed by the critics and closed in May 2006 after 39 performances.

John was named a Disney Legend for his numerous outstanding contributions to Disney's films and theatrical works on 9 October 2006, by The Walt Disney Company. In 2006 he told ''Rolling Stone'' magazine that he plans for his next record to be in the R&B;/hip-hop genre. "I want to work with Pharrell {Williams}, Timbaland, Snoop {Dogg}, Kanye {West}, Eminem and just see what happens."

In March 2007 he performed at Madison Square Garden for a record breaking 60th time for his 60th birthday, the concert was broadcast live and a DVD recording was released as ''Elton 60 - Live at Madison Square Garden''; a greatest-hits compilation CD, ''Rocket Man – Number Ones'', was released in 17 different versions worldwide, including a CD/DVD combo; and his back catalogue - almost 500 songs from 32 albums - became available for legal download.

On 1 July 2007, Elton John appeared at the Concert for Diana held at Wembley Stadium in London, in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on what would have been her 46th birthday. John opened the concert with "Your Song", and then closed the concert with his second performance, with "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", "Tiny Dancer", and "Are You Ready For Love".

In a September 2008 interview with ''GQ'' magazine, John said: "I’m going on the road again with Billy Joel again next year," referring to "Face to Face," a series of concerts featuring both musicians. The tour began in March and will continue for at least two more years.

In October 2003, John announced that he had signed an exclusive agreement to perform 75 shows over three years at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. The show, entitled ''The Red Piano'', was a multimedia concert featuring massive props and video montages created by David LaChapelle. Effectively, he and Celine Dion share performances at Caesars Palace throughout the year - while one performs, one rests. The first of these shows took place on 13 February 2004. On 21 June 2008, he performed his 200th show in Caesars Palace. A DVD/CD package of ''The Red Piano'' was released through Best Buy in November 2008. A two year global tour was sandwiched between commitments in Las Vegas, Nevada, some of the venues of which were new to John. The Red Piano Tour closed in Las Vegas in April 2009.

Elton John performed a piano duet with Lady Gaga at the 52nd Grammy Awards. On 6 June 2010, John performed at the fourth wedding of conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh for a reported US$1 million fee. Eleven days later, and 17 years to the day after his last previous performance in Israel, he performed at the Ramat Gan Stadium; this was significant because of other then-recent cancellations by other performers in the fallout surrounding an Israeli raid on Gaza Flotilla the month before. In his introduction to that concert, Elton John noted he and other musicians should not "cherry-pick our conscience", in reference to Elvis Costello, who was to have performed in Israel two weeks after Elton did, but cancelled in the wake of the aforementioned raid, citing his [Costello's] conscience.

John's latest studio album is entitled ''The Union'' and was released on 19 October 2010. John says his collaboration with American singer-songwriter and sideman Leon Russell marks a new chapter in his recording career, saying: "I don't have to make pop records any more."

He is a member of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA),

Elton John began his new show "The Million Dollar Piano" at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas on 28 September 2011. John will be performing the show at Caesars for the next three years. John performed his 3000th concert on Saturday 8 October 2011 at Caesars. In 2011, John performed vocals on ''Snowed in at Wheeler Street'' with Kate Bush for her ''50 Words for Snow'' album.

Artistry

Songwriting

John has written with his song-writing partner Bernie Taupin since 1967 when he answered an advertisement for talent placed in the popular UK music publication, ''New Musical Express'', by Liberty records A&R; man Ray Williams. The pair have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.

The 1991 film documentary ''Two Rooms'' described the writing style that John and Taupin use, which involves Taupin writing the lyrics on his own, and John then putting them to music, with the two never in the same room during the process. Taupin would write a set of lyrics, then mail them to John, wherever he was in the world, who would then lay down the music, arrange it, and record.

Music style

John's voice was once classed as tenor, it is now baritone. His piano playing is influenced by classical and gospel music. He used Paul Buckmaster to arrange the music on his studio albums during the 1970s.

Personal life

Family

In the late 1960s, John was engaged to be married to his first lover, secretary Linda Woodrow, who is mentioned in the song "Someone Saved My Life Tonight". He married German recording engineer Renate Blauel on 14 February 1984, in Darling Point, Sydney, with speculation that the marriage was a cover for his homosexuality. John had come out as bisexual in a 1976 interview with ''Rolling Stone'', but after his divorce from Blauel in 1988 he told the magazine that he was "comfortable" being gay.

In 1993, John began a relationship with David Furnish, a former advertising executive and now filmmaker. John and Furnish entered a civil partnership on 21 December 2005. They held a low-key ceremony at the Windsor Guildhall, followed by a lavish party at their Berkshire mansion, thought to have cost £1 million. Their son, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, was born to a surrogate mother on 25 December 2010 in California. John and Furnish chose Lady Gaga, magazine editor Ingrid Sischy, and Sichy's partner Sandy Brant as Zachary's godmothers.

In September 2009, John announced his intention to adopt a 14-month-old boy, Lev, from an AIDS orphanage in Ukraine, but he was denied due to his age and marital status. Furnish stated they would continue to financially support Lev and his brother and would campaign for a change in Ukrainian law. John has ten known godchildren, including Sean Lennon, David and Victoria Beckham's sons Brooklyn and Romeo, Elizabeth Hurley's son Damian Charles, and the daughter of Seymour Stein.

Wealth

In April 2009, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated John's wealth to be £175 million (US$265 million), and ranked him as the 322nd richest person in Britain. John was estimated to have a fortune of £195 million in the ''Sunday Times Rich List'' of 2011, making him one of the 10 richest people in the British music industry. Aside from his main home "Woodside" in Old Windsor, Berkshire, John owns residences in Atlanta, Nice, London's Holland Park, and Venice. John is an art collector, and is believed to have one of the largest private photography collections in the world.

In 2000, John admitted to spending £30 million in just under two years—an average of £1.5 million a month. Between January 1996 and September 1997, he spent more than £9.6m on property and £293,000 on flowers. In June 2001 John sold 20 of his cars at Christie's, saying he didn't get the chance to drive them because he was out of the country so often. The sale, which included a 1993 Jaguar XJ220, the most expensive at £234,750, and several Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, and Bentleys, raised nearly £2 million. In 2003, John sold the contents of his Holland Park home—expected to fetch £800,000 at Sotheby's—in a bid to create more room for his collection of contemporary art which includes many works of art by Young British Artists such as Sam Taylor-Wood and Tracy Emin. Every year since 2004, John has opened a shop called "Elton's Closet" in which he sells his second-hand clothes.

Other

Throughout his career, John has battled addictions to alcohol and cocaine. By 1975, the pressures of stardom had begun to take a serious toll on him. During "Elton Week" in Los Angeles that year, John suffered a drug overdose. He also battled the eating disorder bulimia. In a CNN interview with Larry King in 2002, King asked if John knew of Diana, Princess of Wales' eating disorder. John replied, "Yes, I did. We were both bulimic."

A longtime tennis enthusiast, John wrote the song "Philadelphia Freedom" in tribute to long-time friend Billie Jean King and her World Team Tennis franchise of the same name. John and King also co-host an annual pro-am event to benefit AIDS charities, most notably John's own Elton John AIDS Foundation, for which King is a chairwoman. John, who maintains a part-time residence in Atlanta, Georgia, became a fan of the Atlanta Braves baseball team when he moved there in 1991.

Watford Football Club

John became chairman and director of Watford Football Club in 1976, appointing Graham Taylor as manager and investing large sums of money as the club rose three divisions into the First Division. The pinnacle of the club's success was finishing runners up in the First Division and reaching the FA Cup Final a year later. He sold the club to Jack Petchey in 1987, but remained their life-long president. In 1997 he re-purchased the club from Petchey and once again became chairman. He stepped down in 2002 when the club needed a full-time chairman although he continued as president of the club. Although no longer the majority shareholder, he still holds a significant financial interest. In June 2005 he held a concert at Watford's Vicarage Road ground, donating the funds to the club, and another concert in May 2010. For a time he was also a part-owner of the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League.

AIDS Foundation

John has been associated with AIDS charities since the deaths of his friends Ryan White and Freddie Mercury, raising large amounts of money and using his public profile to raise awareness of the disease. For example, in 1986 he joined with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder to record the single "That's What Friends Are For", with all profits being donated to the American Foundation for AIDS Research. The song won John and the others the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (as well as Song of the Year for its writers, Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager). In April 1990, John performed "Skyline Pigeon" at the funeral of White, a teenage haemophiliac he had befriended.

John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 as a charity to fund programmes for HIV/AIDS prevention, for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals, and for providing services to people living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. This cause continues to be one of his personal passions. In early 2006, John donated the smaller of two bright-red Yamaha pianos from his Las Vegas, Nevada show to auction on eBay to raise public awareness and funds for the foundation.

To raise money for his AIDS charity, John hosts annually a glamorous White Tie & Tiara Ball, to which many famous celebrities are invited. On 28 June 2007, the 9th annual White Tie & Tiara Ball took place. The menu consisted of a truffle soufflé followed by Surf and Turf (filet mignon with Maine lobster tail) and a giant Knickerbocker glory ice cream. An auction followed the dinner held by Stephen Fry. A Rolls Royce ‘Phantom’ drophead coupe and a piece of Tracey Emin's artwork both raised £800,000 for the charity fund, with the total amount raised reaching £3.5 million. Later on in the event, John sang "Delilah" with Tom Jones and "Big Spender" with Shirley Bassey. Tickets for the Ball cost £1,000 a head. The event raised £4.6 million for his AIDS Foundation in 2006.

Activism

On 1 April 2010, John joined Cyndi Lauper in the launch of her ''Give a Damn campaign'' to bring a wider awareness of discrimination of the LGBT community as part of her True Colors Fund. In the advertisement, John states: "Imagine walking down the street and wondering if this is the day you'll get beaten up, or even killed, simply because of who you are". The campaign is to bring straight people to stand up with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered community and stop the discrimination. Other names included in the campaign are Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Mraz, Judith Light, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Kardashian, Clay Aiken, Sharon Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne, and Anna Paquin.

He is an occasional columnist in the ''Guardian''.

Honours and awards

John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1994. He and Bernie Taupin had previously been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992. John was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1995. For his charitable work, John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 February 1998. In October 1975, John became the 1,662nd person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He became a recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor in 2004, and a Disney Legends Award in 2006. In 2010, Elton John was awarded with the PRS for Music Heritage Award, which was erected, on The Namaste Lounge Pub in Watford, where Elton performed his first ever gig.

Music awards include the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King (award shared with Tim Rice); the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1994 for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King (award shared with Tim Rice); and the Tony Award for Best Original Score in 2000 for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida (award shared with Tim Rice).

John has six Grammy Awards:

1987: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "That's What Friends Are For", performed by Dionne Warwick & Friends (award shared with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)

1991: Best Instrumental Composition for "Basque", performed by James Galway

1994: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight"

1997: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Candle In The Wind" 1997

1999: Grammy Legend Award

2001: Best Musical Show Album for ''Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida'' (award shared with Guy Babylon, Paul Bogaev & Chris Montan (producers), Tim Rice (lyricist) and the original Broadway cast with Heather Headley, Adam Pascal, and Sherie Rene Scott)

Elton John Band

Since 1970, John's band, of which he is the pianist and lead singer, has been known as the Elton John Band. The band has had multiple line-up changes, but Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone, and Ray Cooper have been members (albeit non-consecutively) since 1970 (Olsson) and 1972 (Johnstone and Cooper). Ray Cooper is on and off with the Elton John Band because he works with other musicians as a session and road-tour percussionist. Furthermore, John has also used a number of session musicians in the time of his career.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Empty Sky'' (1969)

''Elton John'' (1970)

''Tumbleweed Connection'' (1970)

''Madman Across the Water'' (1971)

''Honky Château'' (1972)

''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' (1973)

''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' (1973)

''Caribou'' (1974)

''Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'' (1975)

''Rock of the Westies'' (1975)

''Blue Moves'' (1976)

''A Single Man'' (1978)

''Victim of Love'' (1979)

''21 at 33'' (1980)

''The Fox'' (1981)

''Jump Up!'' (1982)

''Too Low for Zero'' (1983)

''Breaking Hearts'' (1984)

''Ice on Fire'' (1985)

''Leather Jackets'' (1986)

''Reg Strikes Back'' (1988)

''Sleeping with the Past'' (1989)

''The One'' (1992)

''Duets'' (1993)

''Made in England'' (1995)

''The Big Picture'' (1997)

''Songs from the West Coast'' (2001)

''Peachtree Road'' (2004)

''The Captain & the Kid'' (2006)

''The Union (with Leon Russell)'' (2010)

''TBA'' (2012)

;Soundtracks, scores & theatre albums

''Friends'' (1971)

''The Lion King'' (1994)

''Aida'' (1998)

''The Muse'' (1999)

''The Road to El Dorado (soundtrack)'' (2000)

''Billy Elliot'' (2005)

''Lestat'' (2005)

''Gnomeo & Juliet'' (2011)

;Films

''Elton John: Me, Myself & I'' (2007) autobiography as himself

''The Country Bears'', US (2002) as himself

''Spice World'', UK (1997) as himself

''Tommy'', UK (1975) as Pinball Wizard

''Born to Boogie'', US playing as himself with Marc Bolan and Ringo Starr

References

;Bibliography

''Elton John: A Visual Documentary'', Nigel Goodall, Omnibus Press, 1993 ISBN 0711930783

''His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John'', Elizabeth Rosenthal, Billboard Books, 2001, ISBN 0823088928

External links

Elton John's official website

Commentary by Elton John (''The Guardian'')

Category:1947 births Category:AIDS activists Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters Category:Brit Award winners Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians Category:British soft rock musicians Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:English football chairmen and investors Category:English-language singers Category:English musical theatre composers Category:English pop pianists Category:English rock pianists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English tenors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Knights Bachelor Category:LGBT composers Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:LGBT people from England Category:Living people Category:Musicians from London Category:People from Old Windsor Category:People from Pinner Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Religious skeptics Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rocket Records artists Category:Silver Clef Awards winners Category:Singers from London Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Watford F.C. directors Category:MusiCares Person of the Year Category:Grammy Legend Award

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