Fear of the Dark (song)

"Fear of the Dark" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Written by Steve Harris, the band's bass player and primary songwriter, it serves as the title track to Iron Maiden's 1992 album Fear of the Dark.

"Fear of the Dark"
Song by Iron Maiden
from the album Fear of the Dark
Released	11 May 1992 (1992-05-11)
Recorded	1991 – April 1992
Studio	Barnyard, Essex, England
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	7:16
Label	EMI
Songwriter(s)	Steve Harris
Producer(s)	Martin Birch Steve Harris

The Flight 666 version of the song was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series on 9 June 2009.

Lyrics

The song's lyrics tell the story of a man who has always been intensely afraid of the dark. He recalls the many times he has walked alone, and recollections of the feeling of being followed while walking at night. Strictly, the song is about paranoid ideas (fear of being watched or harmed by other persons) rather than phobia (fear of objects and situations), even though the latter is referred to in the lyrics ("Have a phobia that someone's always there"); darkness seems to be the context rather than the reason for the fear.

According to Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris wrote this song because he himself was really afraid of the dark.^[1]

Members

• Bruce Dickinson – vocals
• Dave Murray – guitar
• Janick Gers – guitar
• Steve Harris – bass
• Nicko McBrain – drums

Album appearances

Album title	Year	Type	Recording location and date
Fear of the Dark	1992	Studio	Barnyard – Essex, England (1991-92)
A Real Live One	1993	Live	Ice Hall – Helsinki, Finland (27 August 1992)
Live at Donington	1993	Live	Monsters of Rock – Donington Park – Leicestershire, England (22 August 1992)
Raising Hell	1994	Live	Pinewood Studios – Iver, England (28 August 1993)
Best of the Beast	1996	Live	Ice Hall – Helsinki, Finland (27 August 1992)
A Real Live Dead One	1998	Live	Ice Hall – Helsinki, Finland (27 August 1992)
Eddie's Head	1998	Studio/Live	Barnyard – Essex, England (1991-92) Ice Hall – Helsinki, Finland (27 August 1992) Monsters of Rock – Donington Park – Leicestershire, England (22 August 1992)
Ed Hunter	1999	Studio	Barnyard – Essex, England (1991-92)
Rock in Rio	2002	Live	Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001)
Edward the Great	2002/05	Live	Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001) Westfalenhallen – Dortmund, Germany (24 November 2003)
Visions of the Beast	2003	Live	Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001) Monsters of Rock – Donington Park – Leicestershire, England (22 August 1992)
The Essential Iron Maiden	2005	Live	Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001)
Death on the Road	2005	Live	Westfalenhallen – Dortmund, Germany (24 November 2003)
Flight 666	2009	Live	Estadio Ferro Carril Oeste – Buenos Aires, Argentina (7 March 2008)
From Fear to Eternity	2011	Live	Rock in Rio 3 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (19 January 2001)
En Vivo!	2012	Live	Estadio Nacional – Santiago, Chile (10 April 2011)
The Book of Souls: Live Chapter	2017	Live	Arena Castelão – Fortaleza, Brazil (24 March 2016)
Nights of the Dead	2020	Live	Palacio de los Deportes – Mexico City, Mexico (27–30 September 2019)

Covers

• Graveworm, for their 2001 album Scourge of Malice^[2] (often incorrectly attributed to Cradle of Filth or Children of Bodom).
• Alternative rock band Fightstar performed a cover of the song for the Kerrang! Maiden Heaven tribute album.
• Metal band Lonely The Brave covered the song and released as track 4 of Maiden Heaven Volume 2 tribute album in Kerrang Magazine Issue 1623.
• It was performed by Chuck Billy, Craig Goldy, Ricky Phillips, and Mikkey Dee for the tribute album Numbers from the Beast.
• The Finnish Metal/Rock band Sturm und Drang performed a cover of this song on their 2008 release Rock N' Roll Children as a bonus track ^[3]
• A cappella metal band Van Canto covered it on their second album Hero.
• Doro Pesch performed with Blaze Bayley on a Classical live version in 2004 at Wacken Open Air with strings and acoustic guitars.^[4]
• Pentagram (a.k.a. Mezarkabul) (only live).^[5]
• The Hungarian cover band Zorall created a version from the song Ha volna két életem (If I had two lives) of the Hungarian group Piramis with using the musical theme of Fear of the Dark underneath.^[6]

Live single

"Fear of the Dark (live)"
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album A Real Live One
B-side	"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" (live) "Be Quick or Be Dead" (live) "Tailgunner" (live) "Hooks in You" (live)
Released	1 March 1993 (1993-03-01)
Recorded	27 August 1992
Venue	Helsinki Ice Hall
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	7:22
Label	EMI
Songwriter(s)	Steve Harris
Producer(s)	Steve Harris
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"Wasting Love" (1992) "Fear of the Dark (live)" (1993) "Hallowed Be Thy Name (live)" (1993)

A live version of the song was released on 1 March 1993 to promote A Real Live One, a live album featuring recordings from various concerts throughout the Fear of the Dark Tour. This song was recorded at the Helsinki Ice Hall on 27 August 1992. It is the 26th single released by the band, reaching number 8 in the UK charts.

Different tracks taken from the same album served as B-sides, including "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter", "Be Quick or Be Dead", and "Tailgunner", in addition to "Hooks in You", recorded in 1990 during the No Prayer on the Road tour. The initial pressing of the 7" cut-to-shape vinyl picture disc listed "Hooks in You" as the B-side but actually played "Tailgunner". This mis-press was quickly corrected by EMI on future pressings.

"Fear of the Dark" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1994 in the "Best Metal Performance" category, but lost to "I Don't Want to Change the World" by Ozzy Osbourne.^[7]

The single's cover art features Eddie playing Steve Harris' signature Fender Precision Bass.

Track listing

7" poster bag single

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fear of the Dark" (live at the Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland, 27 August 1992)	Steve Harris	7:22

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
2.	"Tailgunner" (live at Patinoire de Malley, Lausanne, Switzerland, 4 September 1992)	Bruce Dickinson Harris	4:10

7" picture disc

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fear of the Dark" (live at the Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland, 27 August 1992)	Harris	7:22

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
2.	"Hooks in You" (live at Wembley Arena, London, England, 17 December 1990)	Dickinson Adrian Smith	3:45

Italy 12" maxi single

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fear of the Dark" (live at the Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland, 27 August 1992)	Harris	7:22
2.	"Be Quick or Be Dead" (live at Super Rock festival, Mannheim, Germany, 15 August 1992)	Dickinson Janick Gers	3:20

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
3.	"Hooks in You" (live at Wembley Arena, London, England, 17 December 1990)	Dickinson Adrian Smith	3:45

UK CD maxi single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fear of the Dark" (live at the Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland, 27 August 1992)	Harris	7:22
2.	"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" (live at the Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland, 27 August 1992)	Dickinson	5:30
3.	"Hooks in You" (live at Wembley Arena, London, England, 17 December 1990)	Dickinson Smith	3:45

Italy and The Netherlands CD maxi single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Fear of the Dark" (live at the Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland, 27 August 1992)	Harris	7:22
2.	"Be Quick or Be Dead" (live at Super Rock festival, Mannheim, Germany, 15 August 1992)	Dickinson Gers	3:20
3.	"Hooks in You" (live at Wembley Arena, London, England, 17 December 1990)	Dickinson Smith	3:45

Chart performance

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8]	6
Irish Singles Chart[9]	17
UK Singles Chart[10]	8

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[11]	Gold	50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[12]	Gold	15,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[13]	Gold	25,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[14]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[15]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

In popular culture

Film

In Fear Street Part One: 1994, the character Josh Johnson wears an Iron Maiden shirt and is shown listening to the song Fear of the Dark.

Video Games

In February 2024, Iron Maiden collaborated with the asymmetrical horror video game Dead by Daylight, which gave killers Eddie-inspired cosmetics and survivors Iron Maiden band shirts. This song was used as lobby music upon the launch of the collaboration, audible whenever characters had Iron Maiden cosmetics equipped.