"Be Quick or Be Dead" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released as the first single from their ninth studio album, Fear of the Dark, on 13 April 1992. The single peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and in Finland while reaching the top 10 in Denmark, Ireland, and Norway.
| "Be Quick or Be Dead" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Iron Maiden | ||||
| from the album Fear of the Dark | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 13 April 1992[1] | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 3:24[2] | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers | |||
| Producer(s) | Martin Birch, Steve Harris | |||
| Iron Maiden singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Synopsis
The song is about several political scandals taking place at the time of its release, including the Robert Maxwell banking scandal, European stock market crashes, and the BCCI case. It was released a month prior to the album and reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is faster and heavier than most Iron Maiden songs, and is the band's first single co-written by Janick Gers.
The B-side features two official songs and one hidden track, including an original blues number ("Nodding Donkey Blues") and Montrose cover ("Space Station No. 5"), and the unlisted "Bayswater Ain't a Bad Place to Be". The last is a spoken word comedy piece by Bruce Dickinson (along with acoustic guitar accompaniment from Janick Gers) in which he imitates and makes fun of Maiden manager Rod Smallwood. A similar mockery of Smallwood was released before, as a B-side titled "Sheriff of Huddersfield", which was available on the "Wasted Years" single.
Track listings
7-inch single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be Quick or Be Dead" | Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers | 3:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | "Nodding Donkey Blues" | Steve Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Dave Murray, Nicko McBrain | 3:11 |
12-inch single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be Quick or Be Dead" | Dickinson, Gers | 3:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | "Nodding Donkey Blues" | Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover) | Ronnie Montrose, Sammy Hagar | 3:47 |
UK 12-inch single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be Quick or Be Dead" | Dickinson, Gers | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Bayswater Ain't a Bad Place to Be" (Hidden Track) | Dickinson, Gers | 8:05 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3. | "Nodding Donkey Blues" | Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain | 3:11 |
| 4. | "Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover) | Montrose, Hagar | 3:47 |
CD single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be Quick or Be Dead" | Dickinson, Gers | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Nodding Donkey Blues" | Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover) | Montrose, Hagar | 3:47 |
UK CD single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be Quick or Be Dead" | Dickinson, Gers | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Nodding Donkey Blues" | Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover; includes hidden track "Bayswater Ain't a Bad Place to Be") | Montrose, Hagar | 11:57 |
French CD maxi-single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be Quick or Be Dead" | Dickinson, Gers | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Nodding Donkey Blues" | Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover) | Montrose, Hagar | 3:47 |
| 4. | "The French Message From Bruce Dickinson" | Dickinson | 1:02 |
Personnel
Production credits are adapted from the 7 inch single and picture disc covers.[2][3]
Iron Maiden
- Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
- Dave Murray – guitar
- Janick Gers – guitar
- Steve Harris – bass guitar, producer
- Nicko McBrain – drums
Production
- Martin Birch – producer
- Derek Riggs – sleeve illustration
- Mike Prior – photography
- George Chin – photography
Charts
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[4] | 47 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] | 47 |
| Denmark (IFPI)[6] | 5 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[7] | 12 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] | 2 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[9] | 32 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 10 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] | 27 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] | 12 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[14] | 3 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15] | 15 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] | 15 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[17] | 2 |