The Evil That Men Do (song)

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"The Evil That Men Do"
Theevilthatmendo-ironmaiden.jpg
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
B-side
  • "Prowler '88"
  • "Charlotte the Harlot '88"
Released1 August 1988
Recorded1988
Genre Heavy metal
Length4:33
Label EMI
Songwriters
Producer Martin Birch
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"Can I Play with Madness"
(1988)		"The Evil That Men Do"
(1988)		"The Clairvoyant (Live in 1988)"
(1988)
Music video
"The Evil That Men Do" on YouTube

"The Evil That Men Do" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the band's seventeenth single and the second from their seventh studio album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988). The single debuted at number six in the UK charts and quickly rose to number five. The single's B-sides are re-recordings of "Prowler" and "Charlotte the Harlot" which appear as tracks number one and seven/eight respectively on the band's debut album Iron Maiden .

Contents

The title of the song is taken from Marcus Antonius's speech while addressing the crowd of Romans after Caesar's murder (Act 3, scene 2, "The Forum") in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar : "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones." Bruce Dickinson may sometimes repeat this before playing the song, but with the order of the clauses reversed (as he did in Rock in Rio ). The poetic lyrics of the song are not related.

The guitar solo in "The Evil That Men Do" is played by Adrian Smith while the guitar solo in "Prowler '88" is played by Dave Murray. In "Charlotte the Harlot '88", the first guitar solo is played by Dave Murray followed by Adrian Smith.

The music video was filmed at The Forum in Inglewood, CA, during the Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour in 1988.

Track listing

7" Single
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Evil That Men Do" Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris 4:33
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."Prowler '88"Harris4:06
12" Single
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Evil That Men Do"Smith, Dickinson, Harris4:33
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."Prowler '88"Harris4:06
3."Charlotte the Harlot '88" Dave Murray 4:11

Covers

Versions

SongsCountry & YearCatalog NumberFormat
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88Germany 1988EMI 006 20 2751 7Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88Japan Promo 1988EMI PRP-1315Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88UK 1988EMI EM 64Black Labels Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88UK 1988EMI EM 64Silver Labels Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88UK 1988EMI EMG 64Gatefold Sleeve Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88EEC 1988EMI K60 20 2773 6Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88Greece 1988EMI 052 2027736Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88Italy 1988EMI 14 2027736Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88Portugal 1988EMI 2027736Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88UK 1988EMI 12 EM 64Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88UK 1988EMI EMP 64Shaped Picture Disc
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88Japan 1988EMI CDE12-5740CD Single
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88UK 1988EMI CDEM 64CD Single

Personnel

Production credits are adapted from the 7 inch vinyl, [3] 12 inch vinyl, [4] and picture disc covers. [5]

Iron Maiden
Production

Chart performance

SingleChart (1988)Peak
position		Album
"The Evil That Men Do" Dutch Singles Chart 23 [6] Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Irish Singles Chart 4 [7]
Norwegian Singles Chart 7 [8]
UK Singles Chart 5 [9]
SingleChart (1990)Peak
position		Album
"Can I Play with Madness / The Evil That Men Do" UK Albums Chart [note 1] 10 [10] —

Notes

  1. ↑ Re-release of both singles as part of The First Ten Years box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.

References

  1. ↑ "POWERWOLF - Blessed & Possessed/Wooden Box". shop.napalmrecords.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Kerrang!". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "The Evil That Men Do" 7 Inch Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 1 August 1988.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ↑ "The Evil That Men Do" 12 Inch Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 1 August 1988.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ↑ "The Evil That Men Do" Picture Disc Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 1 August 1988.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ "Iron Maiden - 'The Evil That Men Do'". MegaCharts . Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  7. ↑ "Irish Charts Archive". IRMA . irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "Iron Maiden - 'The Evil That Men Do'". VG-lista . Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive 20 August 1988". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  10. ↑ "Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive 21 April 1990". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 1 October 2011.
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