Be Quick or Be Dead

"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
  • "Nodding Donkey Blues"
  • "Space Station #5"
  • "Bayswater Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
Released13 April 1992 (1992-04-13)[1]
GenreHeavy metal
Length3:24[2]
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers
Producer(s)Martin Birch, Steve Harris
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter"
(1990)		 "Be Quick or Be Dead"
(1992)		 "From Here to Eternity"
(1992)

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

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Be Quick or Be Dead"Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers3:24
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."Nodding Donkey Blues"Steve Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Dave Murray, Nicko McBrain3:11

12-inch single

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Be Quick or Be Dead"Dickinson, Gers3:24
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."Nodding Donkey Blues"Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain3:11
3."Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover)Ronnie Montrose, Sammy Hagar3:47

UK 12-inch single

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Be Quick or Be Dead"Dickinson, Gers3:24
2."Bayswater Ain't a Bad Place to Be" (Hidden Track)Dickinson, Gers8:05
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
3."Nodding Donkey Blues"Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain3:11
4."Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover)Montrose, Hagar3:47

CD single

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Be Quick or Be Dead"Dickinson, Gers3:24
2."Nodding Donkey Blues"Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain3:11
3."Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover)Montrose, Hagar3:47

UK CD single

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Be Quick or Be Dead"Dickinson, Gers3:24
2."Nodding Donkey Blues"Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain3:11
3."Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover; includes hidden track "Bayswater Ain't a Bad Place to Be")Montrose, Hagar11:57

French CD maxi-single

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Be Quick or Be Dead"Dickinson, Gers3:24
2."Nodding Donkey Blues"Harris, Dickinson, Gers, Murray, McBrain3:11
3."Space Station No. 5" (Montrose Cover)Montrose, Hagar3:47
4."The French Message From Bruce Dickinson"Dickinson1:02

Personnel

Production credits are adapted from the 7 inch single and picture disc covers.[2][3]

Iron Maiden

Production

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

References
  1. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 April 1992. p. 19. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  2. "Be Quick or Be Dead" 7 Inch Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 13 April 1992.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. "Be Quick or Be Dead" Picture Disc Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 13 April 1992.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. "Iron Maiden – Be Quick or Be Dead". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. "Iron Maiden – Be Quick or Be Dead" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 24. 13 June 1992. p. 18. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 18. 2 May 1992. p. 37. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  8. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  9. "Iron Maiden – Be Quick or Be Dead" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Be Quick or Be Dead". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 21, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  12. "Iron Maiden – Be Quick or Be Dead" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  13. "Iron Maiden – Be Quick or Be Dead". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  14. "Iron Maiden – Be Quick or Be Dead". VG-lista. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  15. "Iron Maiden – Be Quick or Be Dead". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  16. "Iron Maiden – Be Quick or Be Dead". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
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