Twilight Zone (Iron Maiden song)

Last updated
"Twilight Zone"
Iron maidenTzone.jpg
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album Killers
A-side "Wrathchild" (double A-side) [1]
Released2 March 1981 (1981-03-02)
Genre Heavy metal
Length2:32
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"Women in Uniform"
(1980)		"Twilight Zone" / "Wrathchild"
(1981)		"Purgatory"
(1981)

"Twilight Zone" is the fourth single by Iron Maiden, released on 2 March 1981 and is the lead single to the 1981 LP Killers . The song did not appear in the original album in February, but was included in the U.S. release in June and the international 1998 remaster. At the time of its release, it was the band's second-most successful single, peaking at No. 31 in the UK Singles Chart. [1] It is the band's first single to feature guitarist Adrian Smith. In the 1990 box set, The First Ten Years , it is on the same CD and 12" vinyl as the previous single, "Women in Uniform".

Contents

History

"Twilight Zone" was a non-album single in the UK, but it did appear on the US and Canadian versions of the Killers album and as a bonus track on the Japanese version, although mistakenly entitled "Details of Twilight Zone". This came about because the band also sent a telex explaining the song to their Japanese colleagues, headlined "Details of Twilight Zone", which they mistook to be the name of the song itself. [2] It was released a month after the album, in the middle of the band's UK tour. [3] The song was originally intended to be the B-side of Wrathchild, but the band felt it was so strong that it deserved to be the A-side instead. [4] The single's other song, "Wrathchild", was also given 'A-side' status because, according to Steve Harris, "we had a live version of us doing 'Wrathchild' at the Rainbow, before Christmas, on video that we could use. We couldn't afford to pay for another video for 'Twilight Zone', so we did a double A-side, because we knew we were gonna be off touring a lot and, if by any chance they wanted us on Top of the Pops again, at least we'd got a video for 'Wrathchild' we could give them." [1]

Like their two previous single covers, the artwork for "Twilight Zone" was subject to criticism in the press, where it was interpreted as "gratuitous sexism." [5] [6] The media were offended by what appeared to be the band's mascot, Eddie, spying on a young girl in her bedroom. [1] Garry Bushell points out that the critics were mistaken, as the song lyrics and picture on the girl's dressing table insinuate that Eddie is dead and contacting his lover ("Charlotte") from beyond the grave, thus making it the band's first love song. [7] Derek Riggs painted the cover over the course of a weekend, on a CS-10 drawing board, on which he had difficulty painting; the girl was modeled after a friend of his. [8]

In an interview with eonmusic in 2020, Adrian Smith said that the song had been recorded "very quickly", stating that the tempo made the track "almost on the edge of being unplayable". Although uncredited as a writer, Smith also revealed that he had written the song's distinctive harmony section. [9]

The Red Vinyl. The same recording can be found on clear vinyl, as well as standard black vinyl. Red Vinyl.JPG
The Red Vinyl. The same recording can be found on clear vinyl, as well as standard black vinyl.

Track listing

7" single
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Twilight Zone" Dave Murray, Steve Harris 2:32
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."Wrathchild"Harris2:52

Personnel

Production credits are adapted from the 7 inch vinyl cover. [10]

Iron Maiden

Production

Charts

Twilight Zone

Chart (1981)Peak
position
French Singles(SNEP) [11] 27
UK Singles (OCC) [12] 31
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [13] 31

Women in Uniform/Twilight Zone

Chart (1990)Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) [14] 10

Related Research Articles

<i>The Soundhouse Tapes</i> 1979 EP by Iron Maiden

The Soundhouse Tapes is the debut EP by Iron Maiden, and features the first recordings by the band. Released on 9 November 1979, it features three songs taken from the demo tape recorded at Spaceward Studios on 30 and 31 December 1978. The three tracks appear in a rougher form than they would on the band's eponymous debut studio album and subsequent singles, as they were all recorded in one session.

<i>Live at the Rainbow</i> 1981 video by Iron Maiden

Live at the Rainbow is the first live video recorded by Iron Maiden on 21 December 1980 and released in 1981. It includes one of the band's earliest concerts with guitarist Adrian Smith as well as a very early version of "Killers", with lyrics that differ from the album version that would be released in 1981. Paul Di'Anno later admitted writing the lyrics five minutes before going on stage that night. This has been debunked as the same lyrics were performed by the band at the Reading Festival in August 1980.

<i>Powerslave</i> 1984 studio album by Iron Maiden

Powerslave is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 3 September 1984 through EMI Records in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in North America. It was re-released by Sanctuary and Columbia Records in the United States in 2002.

<i>Killers</i> (Iron Maiden album) 1981 studio album by Iron Maiden

Killers is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was first released on 16 February 1981 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and on 11 May in the United States by Harvest and Capitol Records. The album was their first with guitarist Adrian Smith, and their last with vocalist Paul Di'Anno, who was fired after problems with his stage performances arose due to his alcohol and cocaine use. Killers was also the first Iron Maiden album recorded with producer Martin Birch, who went on to produce their next eight albums until Fear of the Dark (1992).

<i>Live After Death</i> 1985 live album by Iron Maiden

Live After Death is a live album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, originally released in October 1985 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US. It was recorded at Long Beach Arena, California and Hammersmith Odeon, London during the band's World Slavery Tour.

<i>Rock in Rio</i> (album) 2002 live album and video by Iron Maiden

Rock in Rio is a live album and video by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, recorded at the Rock in Rio festival, Brazil in 2001 on the last night of the Brave New World Tour. The band played to approximately 250,000 people; the second largest crowd of their career and with the relatively recent return of lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the band, they recorded their fifth live release.

<i>Ed Hunter</i> 1999 compilation album & video game by Iron Maiden & Synthetic Dimensions

Ed Hunter is a greatest hits album and video game released in 1999 by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden and Synthetic Dimensions. The game objective consists of following Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie, through various levels depicting the band's past album covers. The accompanying CDs have the group's most popular songs, as selected by fans on the band's official website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Running Free</span> 1980 single by Iron Maiden

"Running Free" is the debut single by Iron Maiden, released on 8 February 1980 on the 7" 45 rpm vinyl record format. It was written by Steve Harris and Paul Di'Anno. The song appears as the third track on the band's debut album Iron Maiden. In 1985, a live version of the song was released as the first single from Live After Death. In 1990, the original single was reissued on CD and 12" vinyl as part of The First Ten Years box, in which it was combined with the band's next single, "Sanctuary". The 1985 live single was also released as part of this box set, combined with 1985's "Run to the Hills".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Smallwood</span> Musical artist

Roderick Charles Smallwood is an English music manager, best known as the co-manager of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. With his business partner, Andy Taylor, whom he met while studying at Trinity College, Cambridge, he founded the Sanctuary Records Group in 1979, which became the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world until its closure in 2007. Prior to managing Iron Maiden, Smallwood managed Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run to the Hills</span> 1982 single by Iron Maiden

"Run to the Hills" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as their sixth single and the first from the band's third studio album, The Number of the Beast (1982). It is their first single with Bruce Dickinson as vocalist. Credited solely to the band's bassist, Steve Harris, Dickinson contributed to the song but could not be credited due to a contractual agreement with his former band Samson. "Run to the Hills" remains one of the band's most popular songs, with VH1 ranking it No. 27 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs, No. 14 on their list of the Greatest Hard Rock Songs, and Rolling Stone ranking it No. 10 on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanctuary (Iron Maiden song)</span> 1980 single by Iron Maiden

"Sanctuary" is the second single released by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The single was released on 23 May 1980. Although originally issued as a non-album single, the song was added to the later US release of their debut studio record, Iron Maiden (1980). When the album was re-released in 1998, the song was added in all territories. In 1990, it was reissued on CD and 12" vinyl in The First Ten Years box set, in which it was combined with their first single, "Running Free".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Uniform</span> 1978 single by Skyhooks

"Women in Uniform" is a 1978 song by the Australian band Skyhooks; it was written by the band's bass guitar player, Greg Macainsh. It was released in February 1978 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Guilty Until Proven Insane and peaked at number 8 in Australian and number 73 in the UK.

<i>Beast over Hammersmith</i> 2002 live album by Iron Maiden

Beast over Hammersmith is a live album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 4 November 2002. Recorded 20 years previously, during The Beast on the Road tour at the Hammersmith Odeon, the footage was specially co-produced and mixed by Steve Harris and Doug Hall to be a part of the Eddie's Archive box set. Even though this album contains material from The Number of the Beast, it was actually recorded two days prior to its release, although "Run to the Hills" had already been released as a single. The album became officially available for the first time on vinyl as part of the Number of the Beast 40th anniversary special edition on 18 November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purgatory (song)</span> 1981 single by Iron Maiden

"Purgatory" is Iron Maiden's fifth single, released on 15 June 1981, and would be their last with singer Paul Di'Anno. It served as the second single from Killers. The single was reissued in 1990, on the same CD and 12" vinyl as the EP Maiden Japan, in the First Ten Years box set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight of Icarus</span> 1983 single by Iron Maiden

"Flight of Icarus" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was their eighth single, the first from their fourth studio album, Piece of Mind (1983), and their first in the United States, where it was one of their few with substantial airplay, peaking at a personal best No. 8 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart. It was a lesser success in the UK, peaking at No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter</span> 1989 song by Bruce Dickinson

"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" is the second single from the 1990 Iron Maiden album No Prayer for the Dying.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Slavery Tour</span> 1984–1985 concert tour by Iron Maiden

The World Slavery Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden in support of their fifth album, Powerslave, beginning in Warsaw, Poland on 9 August 1984 and ending in Irvine, California on 5 July 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Maiden Tour</span> 1980 concert tour by Iron Maiden

The Iron Maiden Tour was a 1980 concert tour by Iron Maiden in support of their eponymous debut album. The band's first solo headlining tour, it followed the co-headlined Metal for Muthas Tour from earlier in the same year. The tour commenced with a British leg from 1 April to 23 August, although this included one concert in Finland, before the band supported Kiss on their Unmasked Tour from 24 August to 16 October, immediately following which guitarist Dennis Stratton was sacked and replaced with Adrian Smith. After Smith was hired, the band decided to undertake another British tour, taking place from 21 November to 21 December.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killer World Tour</span> 1981 concert tour by Iron Maiden

The Killer World Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 17 February 1981 to 15 November 1981. This was the band's first world tour, including their debut shows in North America and Japan where they recorded the live release, Maiden Japan. On top of this, the band moved into larger venues in the United Kingdom, including the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metal for Muthas Tour</span> 1980 concert tour

The Metal for Muthas Tour was a 1980 concert tour headlined variously by Motörhead, Samson, and Saxon. Supporting the new wave of British heavy metal compilation album Metal for Muthas, the tour featured a large number of bands identified as the founders of the movement. During the tour, the three headlining bands were supported by twenty-two other bands, including a then-unknown Iron Maiden, who performed on the first 11 dates of the tour.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 190. ISBN   1-86074-542-3.
  2. ↑ "'Listen with Nicko · Part II'". Women in Uniform/Twilight Zone. Iron Maiden. EMI. 19 February 1990.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ↑ Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 186. ISBN   1-86074-542-3.
  4. ↑ Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 189. ISBN   1-86074-542-3.
  5. ↑ James, Darren (2005). "Rod Speaks". Metal Hammer Presents: Iron Maiden 30 Years of Metal Mayhem: 60.
  6. ↑ Bushell, Garry; Halfin, Ross (1985). Running Free, The Official Story of Iron Maiden (2nd ed.). Zomba Books. p.  89. ISBN   0-946391-84-X.
  7. ↑ Bushell, Garry; Halfin, Ross (1985). Running Free, The Official Story of Iron Maiden (2nd ed.). Zomba Books. p.  90. ISBN   0-946391-84-X.
  8. ↑ "That was supposed to be a portrait of a friend of mine called Sylvia. But because of all the other problems it doesn't lok like her and her head's too small... Oh well". derek.server311.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "Adrian Smith Iron Maiden eonmusic Interview August 2020".
  10. ↑ "Twilight Zone" 7 Inch Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 2 March 1981.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ↑ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – I". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012.Select Iron Maiden from the menu, then press OK.
  12. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "Iron Maiden Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  14. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.