Man on the Edge

"Man on the Edge"
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album The X Factor
B-side	"The Edge of Darkness" "Judgement Day" "Justice of the Peace" "I Live My Way" "Blaze Bayley Interview"
Released	25 September 1995
Format	CD single 12" picture disc
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	4:11
Label	EMI
Writer(s)	Blaze Bayley Janick Gers
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"Hallowed Be Thy Name (live)" (1993) "Man on the Edge" (1995) "Lord of the Flies" (1996)

"Man on the Edge" is a single from the Iron Maiden album The X Factor. It was released in 1995. The song is based on the film Falling Down, starring Michael Douglas. It was the first single the band released with Blaze Bayley on vocals.

In addition to an interview with Bayley and another track from The X Factor, the single features three originals that did not make the album's final cut. It is one of two Blaze Bayley era songs to make it onto the Edward the Great compilation, along with Futureal, as well as one of three to make it onto Best of the Beast along with Sign of the Cross and Virus.

Iron Maiden frequently played this song during the Ed Hunter tour in 1999, making it one of 5 Bayley era songs to survive in concerts after his departure (The others being Lord of the Flies, Sign of the Cross, Futureal, and The Clansman).

A live version of this song from 1999 is featured on the 2000 single release of The Wicker Man, with Bruce Dickinson on vocals.

There were three videos made for this song. One is filmed on location at Masada, Israel, the second is a more cinematic video of the band performing as a man throws himself off a building, and the third is a 'sneak-peek' promo video consisting only of clips of 'pratfalls' from black and white silent movies was used for promotional purposes prior to release. This third version appears as an 'Easter Egg' on the 'Visions of the Beast' DVD.

The song was featured in the video game Carmageddon 2.

A live version (with Dickinson) of this song is featured on the From Fear to Eternity compilation album.

Track listing

CD 1

1. "Man on the Edge" (Blaze Bayley, Janick Gers) – 4:13
2. "The Edge of Darkness" (Steve Harris, Bayley, Gers) – 6:39
3. "Judgement Day" (Bayley, Gers) – 4:06
4. "Blaze Bayley Interview, Part I" – 5:41

CD 2

1. "Man on the Edge" (Blaze Bayley, Janick Gers) – 4:13
2. "The Edge of Darkness" (Steve Harris, Bayley, Gers) – 6:39
3. "Justice of the Peace" (Harris, Dave Murray) – 3:33
4. "Blaze Bayley Interview, Part II" – 5:56

12" disc

1. "Man on the Edge" (Blaze Bayley, Janick Gers) – 4:13
2. "The Edge of Darkness" (Steve Harris, Bayley, Gers) – 6:39
3. "I Live My Way" (Harris, Bayley, Gers) - 3:48

Personnel

• Blaze Bayley – vocals
• Dave Murray – guitar
• Janick Gers – guitar, backing vocals
• Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Nicko McBrain – drums

Chart performance

Year	Single	Chart	Position	Album
1995	"Man on the Edge"	Finnish Singles Chart	1[1]	The X Factor
		French Singles Chart	33[2]
		Norwegian Singles Chart	18[3]
		Swedish Singles Chart	23[4]
		UK Singles Chart	10[5]

References

1. ^ "Iron Maiden- Finnish Charts". http://finnishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
2. ^ "Iron Maiden- French Charts". http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
3. ^ "Iron Maiden- Norwegian Charts". http://norwegiancharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
4. ^ "Iron Maiden- Swedish Charts". http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
5. ^ "Official UK Singles Archive 7th October 1995". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1995-10-07/. Retrieved 2011-10-17.