Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter

"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter"
Song by Bruce Dickinson
from the album A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Released August 1989
Recorded 1989
Genre Heavy metal
Length 4:57
Label Jive
Songwriter(s) Bruce Dickinson
Producer(s) Chris Tsangarides
"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter"
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album No Prayer for the Dying
B-side
Released 24 December 1990
Genre Heavy metal
Length 4:42
Label EMI
Songwriter(s) Bruce Dickinson
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"Holy Smoke"
(1990) 		"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter"
(1990) 		"Be Quick or Be Dead"
(1992)
Alternate cover

"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" is the second single from the 1990 Iron Maiden album No Prayer for the Dying.

The song was originally recorded and released by Bruce Dickinson for the soundtrack to A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, but Steve Harris liked it so Iron Maiden rerecorded it. It is the only UK number-one single for the band to date, in spite of the fact that it received very little airplay on the BBC. The song also topped the Finnish Singles Chart and reached number six in Ireland.

Background

In 1989, while Iron Maiden were taking a break from touring, Zomba asked Dickinson to write a song for A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. Teaming up with former Gillan (and future Iron Maiden) guitarist Janick Gers, Dickinson recorded the song, which he claims he wrote "in about three minutes," and the project was expanded into an album, Tattooed Millionaire. Upon hearing the completed track, Steve Harris decided that it would be "great for Maiden" and convinced Dickinson not to put it on his solo album.

The original version of the song, which won a Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst Original Song" in 1989, is, according to Dickinson, "substantially different to the Iron Maiden version," explaining that "the arrangement is identical, but mine's kind of... slinky. Maiden's just really goes for it." Dickinson's original version was included on disc 2 of The Best of Bruce Dickinson in 2001.

Bruce Dickinson said "We're going to release this as a single on Christmas Eve to scare the living daylights out of Cliff Richard". This led to the song competing with Cliff Richard's "Saviour's Day" for the 1990 Christmas number-one, but due to not being officially released until the week after Christmas, went straight to number one on the UK Singles Chart on 30 December 1990. This was in spite of a ban by the BBC, who refused to play the song on Radio 1 and showed at least 2 minutes of the live clip for Top of the Pops. The B-side features cover versions of "I'm a Mover" (originally by Free) and Led Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown".

In addition to the standard 7" and 12" editions, the single was also released as a special edition 7" flip-top "brain pack" edition.

The video clip features footage from The City of the Dead/Horror Hotel (John Llewellyn Moxey, 1960).

Like most songs from the No Prayer for the Dying album, "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" was rarely played live following the supporting tour, No Prayer on the Road, with the band only performing it on selected dates in 1992, 1993 and 2003.

Track listing

7-inch single

Side One
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" Bruce Dickinson 4:42
Side Two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
2. "I'm a Mover" (Free Cover) Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers 3:26

12-inch single

Side One
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" Dickinson 4:42
Side Two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
2. "I'm a Mover" (Free Cover) Fraser, Rodgers 3:26
3. "Communication Breakdown" (Led Zeppelin Cover) Jimmy Page, John Bonham, John Paul Jones 2:42

Personnel

Production credits are adapted from the 7 inch vinyl, and picture disc covers.

Iron Maiden

Production

Versions

Songs Region and year Catalog number Format
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover Australia 1990 EMI 2552-7 Single 7"
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover EEC 1990 EMI 204171 7 Single 7"
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover UK 1990 EMI EMS 171 Single 7"
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover/Communication Breakdown EEC 1990 EMI 060 20 4171 6 Maxi Single 12"
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover/Communication Breakdown UK 1990 EMI 12 EMP 171 Maxi Single 12"
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover UK 1990 EMI EMPD 171 Picture Disc 7"
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover/Communication Breakdown UK 1990 EMI 12 EMPD 171 Picture Disc 12"
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover/Communication Breakdown Netherlands 1990 EMI CDEM 171 CD Single
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover/Communication Breakdown Japan Promo 1990 EMI TOCP-6572 CD Single
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover/Communication Breakdown Japan 1990 EMI TOCP-6572 CD Single
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover/Communication Breakdown UK 1990 EMI EMS 171 CD Single
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover/Communication Breakdown USA Promo 1990 EMI Epic ESK 4007 CD Single
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter/I'm a Mover UK 1990 EMI TCEM 171 Cassette Single

Charts

Chart (1990–1991) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 8
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 1
Ireland (IRMA) 6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 30
Netherlands (Single Top 100) 17
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 47
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 19
UK Singles (OCC) 1