The Number of the Beast (song)

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"The Number of the Beast"
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album The Number of the Beast
B-side
  • 1982
  • "Remember Tomorrow" (live)
  • 2005 CD
  • "The Number of the Beast" (live)
  • "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (live)
  • 2005 7"
  • "The Number of the Beast" (live)
  • 2005 12"
  • "The Number of the Beast" (live)
  • "Remember Tomorrow"
Released
  • 26 April 1982
  • 3 January 2005
Recorded1981
GenreHeavy metal
Length4:49
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Steve Harris
Producer(s)Martin Birch
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"Run to the Hills"
(1982) 		"The Number of the Beast"
(1982) 		"Flight of Icarus"
(1983)
"Rainmaker"
(2003)
"The Number of the Beast (reissue)"
(2005)
"The Trooper (live in 2003)"
(2005)
Music video
"The Number of the Beast" on
YouTube

"The Number of the Beast" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is Iron Maiden's seventh single release, and the second single from their 1982 studio album of the same name. It was reissued in 2005 and also prior to that in 1990 in The First Ten Years box set on CD and 12" vinyl, in which it was combined with the previous single, "Run to the Hills".

Upon release in 1982, the song caused controversy in the United States where its subject matter caused outrage amongst religious groups. In spite of this, it remains one of the band's more popular songs, reaching No. 18 in the UK Singles Chart on its original release, and No. 3 on two successive occasions in 1990 and 2005. It has been performed on almost all of their concert tours. Additionally, the song has been covered numerous times and has appeared in several video games and films.

Writing and recording

According to the song's writer, bassist and band-founder

Damien: Omen II late at night,[1] in addition to the poem "Tam o' Shanter" by Robert Burns.[2]

The song opens with a spoken word passage, read by English actor Barry Clayton,

Revelation 13:18. According to lead vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, the band originally asked Vincent Price to read the intro, but decided to hire Clayton after Price refused to do it for anything less than £25,000.[4]

The track is known for its very long, high-pitched and guttural wail at the end of the intro, which AllMusic describes as "the most blood-curdling Dickinson scream on record".[5] In the Classic Albums documentary based on The Number of the Beast album, Dickinson states that it came about through frustration with producer Martin Birch, who forced him to sing the introduction repeatedly for hours on end.[2]

The promotional video was filmed in March 1982 in Newcastle City Hall and directed by David Mallet. The video added footages from notable horror and thriller films such as Nosferatu, Mothra vs. Godzilla, The Crimson Ghost, and How to Make a Monster. Near the end of the music video, a giant Eddie appeared on-stage for the first time.[6]

Single details

The single's

Eddie
and Satan are depicted in battle. The single was also released in red vinyl.

The live version of "Remember Tomorrow" was recorded during the

The Beast on the Road tour in 1982.[9]

In 2005, to tie in with the 2004 DVD The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days, "The Number of the Beast" was re-released, along with live versions of the song and "Hallowed Be Thy Name", recorded in 2002.[10]

Legacy

"The Number of the Beast" is one of the band's most popular songs, appearing at No. 7 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs[11] and No. 6 in Martin Popoff's book The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time, a list said to be compiled from 15,000 votes submitted by musicians, music journalists and the general public.[12]

Since its release, the song has been covered by

String Quartet Tribute to the band.[19]

The song has been featured in video games, such as

Rock Band (originally offered as a cover version, the original master recording complete with spoken introduction was also uploaded along with "Run to the Hills" and a live performance version of "Hallowed Be Thy Name").[22] On top of this, it can be heard in the film Murder by Numbers[23] and the British TV series Sherlock.[24] In 2017, the song was featured in the episode "Sons a Witches" of the American animated television series South Park. The Netflix film Rebel Ridge
opens with the main character listening to the song on a "metal mix" on his phone while cycling.

Controversy

In addition to the album's artwork and title, the song was a prominent target of religious groups in the United States who accused Iron Maiden of being a

their 1982 tour,[2][25] although this would only serve to give the band more publicity.[5][26] Harris has since commented that the accusations made against them were mad. "They completely got the wrong end of the stick. They obviously hadn't read the lyrics. They just wanted to believe all that rubbish about us being Satanists".[27]

On their following album, Piece of Mind, the band placed a backmasked message at the beginning of the song "Still Life," in which the band's drummer, McBrain, gives a drunken impression of Idi Amin.[28] According to McBrain, the message, in which he says "'What ho', said the t'ing wid the t'ree bonce, 'Don't meddle wid t'ings yo don't understand'", was directed at those who had labelled Iron Maiden as devil worshippers, commenting, "We thought, if people were going to be stupid about this sort of thing, we might as well give them something to be really stupid about, you know?".[28]

When "The Number of the Beast"'s music video was first shown on MTV, Eddie's appearance at the end was edited out after complaints from frightened viewers.[29]

Track listing

7" single
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Number of the Beast"Steve Harris4:49
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."Remember Tomorrow" (live at Palasport di Padua, Padua, 29 October 1981)
5:26
2005 enhanced CD
Compact disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Number of the Beast"Harris4:53
2."The Number of the Beast" (live at the Brixton Academy, London, 19–21 March 2002)Harris4:48
3."Hallowed Be Thy Name" (live at the Brixton Academy, London, 19–21 March 2002)Harris7:39
4."The Number of the Beast" (video)HarrisUnknown
5."The Number of the Beast" (video – live at the Brixton Academy, London, 19–21 March 2002)Harris4:48
2005 7" red vinyl
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Number of the Beast"Harris4:49
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."The Number of the Beast" (live at the Brixton Academy, London, 19–21 March 2002)Harris4:48
2005 12" picture disc
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Number of the Beast"Harris4:49
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."The Number of the Beast" (live at the Brixton Academy, London, 19–21 March 2002)Harris4:48
3."Remember Tomorrow" (live at Palasport di Padua, Padua, 29 October 1981)
  • Harris
  • Di'Anno
5:26

Personnel

Production credits are adapted from the 7-inch vinyl[30] and reissue picture disc covers.[31]

Iron Maiden
Additional personnel
  • Barry Clayton – spoken word introduction[3]
Production

Charts

Single Chart (1982) Peak
position 		Album
"The Number of the Beast"
UK Singles Chart
 18[32] The Number of the Beast
Irish Singles Chart 19[33]
Single Chart (1990) Peak
position 		Album
"Run to the Hills / The Number of the Beast" UK Albums Chart[a] 3[34] —
Single Chart (2005) Peak
position 		Album
"The Number of the Beast"[b]
Finnish Singles Chart
 2[35] —
French Singles Chart
 78[36]
German Singles Chart
 76[37]
Greek Top 50 Singles Chart 3[38]
Irish Singles Chart 11[39]
Italian Singles Chart
 5[40]
Norwegian Singles Chart 13[41]
Swedish Singles Chart 40[42]
Swiss Singles Chart
 42[43]
UK Singles Chart 3[32]

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[44] Gold 35,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[45] Gold 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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.
  2. ^ Re-release of original studio version along with 2002 live version.

References

  1. ISBN 1-86074-542-3
    .
  2. ^ a b c Classic Albums: Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast (DVD). Eagle Vision. 4 December 2001.
  3. ^ a b "The 10 Mightiest Intros in Metal". NME. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Bruce Dickinson: Iron Maiden on tour in 2005". Blabbermouth.net. 8 June 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  5. ^
    Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  6. ^ Iron Maiden (2015-08-07). Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast (Official Video). Retrieved 2024-09-28 – via YouTube.
  7. ISBN 978-0-9575700-2-3
    .
  8. ISBN 1-86074-542-3
    .
  9. ISBN 1-86074-542-3
    .
  10. ^ "Iron Maiden To Release 'The Number of the Beast'". Blabbermouth.net. 16 November 2004. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  11. ^ "VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs", 1–4 May 2006, VH1 Channel, reported by VH1.com; last accessed 10 September 2006.
  12. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 October 2002). The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time. ECW Press.
  13. ^ "Avulsed - Discography". Metal Storm. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  14. ^ "A Tribute to the Gods". Iced Earth. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  15. Amazon.com
    . Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  16. ^ "'Metre': Powderfinger". Amazon. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  17. ^ "Djali Zwan Official Myspace". Myspace. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  18. Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  19. ^ "Anatomy of Evil: A string quartet tribute to Iron Maiden". Amazon UK. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  20. ^ "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 soundtrack". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  21. ^ "Guitar Hero 3". Amazon UK. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  22. RockBand.com. Archived from the original
    on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  23. IMDb
    . Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  24. ^ Mellor, Louisa (17 January 2017). "Sherlock: 38 nerdy spots in The Final Problem". Den of Geek.
  25. ^
    Bibcode:2006S&T...112f..54K
    .
  26. ^ The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days (DVD). EMI. 23 November 2004.
  27. ISBN 1-86074-542-3
    .
  28. ^
    ISBN 1-86074-542-3
    .
  29. ^ Various dates in Iron Maiden history
  30. ^ "The Number of the Beast" 7 Inch Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 26 April 1982.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  31. ^ "The Number of the Beast" Reissue Picture Disc (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 3 January 2005.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. ^ a b "Iron Maiden Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  33. ^ "Search the charts". IRMA. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
  34. ^ "UK Albums Archive- 17 March 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  35. Finland's Official List
    . finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  36. SNEP
    . lescharts.com. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  37. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  38. ^ "IFPI Greece archive". Archived from the original on 2005-09-24. Retrieved 2005-09-24.
  39. ^ "Iron Maiden discography". IRMA. Irish-charts.con. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  40. FIMI
    . Italiancharts.com. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  41. ^ "Iron Maiden discography". VG-lista. Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  42. ^ "Iron Maiden discography". Sverigetopplistan. Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  43. Swiss Music Charts
    . Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  44. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  45. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast". Radioscope. Retrieved 9 March 2025. Type The Number of the Beast in the "Search:" field.
  46. ^ "British single certifications – Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
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