The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend, released in 1989, is an adaptation of Ted Hughes’ story The Iron Man, produced and largely composed and performed by Pete Townshend of The Who. It also stars Roger Daltrey, Deborah Conway, John Lee Hooker, and Nina Simone.
The three then-surviving members of The Who (Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Townshend) performed as a group in two songs, “Dig” and “Fire”, although the latter was not penned by Townshend. (The Who would later perform “Dig” live during their 1989 reunion tour.)
“A Friend is a Friend” and “I Won’t Run Anymore” were released as singles; “Fire” was also issued as a promo-only in the United States.
A stage version was mounted at the Young Vic theatre in London in 1993. On the strength of this, Warners optioned the story for a movie which, with a very different adaptation of the story, became The Iron Giant; Townshend received an Executive Producer credit.
Tracks
1 I Won’t Run Anymore (Pete Townshend) 04:51
2 Over The Top (Pete Townshend) 03:31
3 Man Machines (Pete Townshend) 00:42
4 Dig (Pete Townshend) 04:08
5 A Friend Is A Friend (Pete Townshend) 04:46
6 I Eat Heavy Metal (Pete Townshend) 03:58
7 All Shall Be Well (Pete Townshend) 04:02
8 Was There Life (Pete Townshend) 04:19
9 Fast Food (Pete Townshend) 04:26
10 A Fool Says (Pete Townshend) 02:51
11 Fire (Arthur Brown; Mike Finesilver; Peter Ker; Vincent Crane) 03:47
12 New Life – Reprise (Pete Townshend) 06:06
13 Dig (Bonus Track) 04:08
14 Man Machines (Bonus Track) 04:32
15 Heavy Metal (Bonus Track) (Pete Townshend) 04:00
Musicians
| Bass | Chucho Merchan |
| Drums | Simon Phillips |
| Guitar | Pete Townshend |
| Keyboards | Pete Townshend |
| Programming | Jules Bowen |
| Programming | Pete Townshend |
Other Musicians
1 I Won’t Run Anymore
2 Over The Top
3 Man Machines
4 Dig
| Bass | John Entwistle |
| Brass | John Barclay |
| Brass | Peter Beachill |
| Vocals | Roger Daltrey |
5 A Friend Is A Friend
| Drums | Charlie Morgan |
| Piano | John Bundrick |
6 I Eat Heavy Metal
7 All Shall Be Well
| Vocals | Deborah Conway |
| Vocals | Chyna Gordon |
9 Fast Food
| Drums | Charlie Morgan |
| Vocals | Nina Simone |
10 A Fool Says
11 Fire
| Bass | John Entwistle |
| Vocals | Roger Daltrey |
12 New Life – Reprise
| Sax | Patrick Clahar |
| Vocals | Chyna Gordon |
| Vocals | Nicola Emmanuel |
Choir
Chorus/Vocals: Children Of Orleans School, Children Of St. Stevens School, Derek Green, Earnestine Pearce, Gina Foster, Janice Hoyte, Julian Littman, Michael Nicholls, Raymond Simpson, Ruby James
Liner Notes
Producer – Pete Townshend
Co-producer – Jules Bowen
Producer (Executive) – Nicola Joss
Arranged By – Chucho Merchan
Directed By (Vocals) – Billy Nicholls
Engineer (Recording) – Jules Bowen
Engineer (Remix) – Bill Price
Engineer (Assistant) – Ashley Alexander, Darren Westbrook, Nigel Gilroy
Mixed By – Bill Price
Recorded By – Keith Grant, Jules Bowen
Recorded By (Strings) – Keith Grant
Technician – Roger Knapp
Design – Dewynters
Photography – Maxwell Newton Harris, Millie Strom, David Redfern, David Bailey, Andre Csillag
Phonographic Copyright Eel Pie Recording Productions Ltd
Copyright Eel Pie Recording Productions Ltd
The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend, released in 1989, is an adaptation of Ted Hughes’ story The Iron Man, produced and largely composed and performed by Pete Townshend of The Who. It also stars Roger Daltrey, Deborah Conway, John Lee Hooker, and Nina Simone.