"Man on the Edge" is a single from the

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

album ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' released in 1995. The song is based on the film ''

Falling Down ''Falling Down'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Ebbe Roe Smith, and starring Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall. Set in Los Angeles, the film tells the story of William Foster, a disgruntled, une ...

'', starring

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

. It was the first single the band released with

Blaze Bayley Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of I ...

on vocals.

Synopsis

In addition to an interview with Bayley and another track from ''

'', the single features three originals that did not make the album's final cut. It is one of two Blaze Bayley

era An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

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 A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

". 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 ''Lord of the Flies'' is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves that led to ...

", "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 ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy (film director), Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Christopher Lee. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer (writer ...

" and on the compilation '' From Fear to Eternity'' from 2011, with

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dickinson has performed in the band across two stints, from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present d ...

on vocals. There were three videos made for this song. One is filmed on location at

Masada Masada ( ', 'fortress'; ) is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BCE, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising ov ...

, 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 movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...

s was used for promotional purposes prior to release. This third version appears as an '

Easter Egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

' on the '' Visions of the Beast'' DVD. The song was featured in the video game '' Carmageddon 2''. On the cover of CD 1, Eddie's brain was cut in half, though on CD 2 he still has his brain attached. The 12" Picture Disc was the same as CD 1 though because it moved within the sleeve it could look very different, very much like an "X" in the right position.

Track listing

;CD single 1 ;CD single 2 ;12" picture disc

Personnel

Production credits are adapted from the CD and picture disc covers. ;Iron Maiden *

– vocals * Dave Murray – guitar *

Janick Gers Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1990. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith (musician) , Adrian ...

– guitar * Steve Harris – bass guitar, producer, mixing * Nicko McBrain – drums ;Production *Nigel Green – producer, mixing *Ronal Whelan – mastering

Charts

Cover versions

* Middle Island, NY metal band Iron Rainbow recorded a cover of ''Man on the Edge'' that was featured on the 199
Metal Injection (A Lethal Dose of Heavy Metal Mayhem)
compilation album.

References

External links

Music video
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Man On The Edge Iron Maiden songs 1995 singles Songs written by Blaze Bayley Songs written by Janick Gers Number-one singles in Finland Music based on films