Killers

Album: Killers (1981)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The title track to Iron Maiden's second album, "Killers" was written by group leader Steve Harris and their lead singer Paul Di'Anno, who was replaced by Bruce Dickinson for their next album.

    In a Songfacts interview with Di'Anno, he explained: "It was about a psychotic killer, what he's thinking about while he's doing it."

    This is in line with early Iron Maiden; their debut album has songs like "Prowler" and "Iron Maiden" that deal with some unsavory characters.
  • The band performed this song at the Rainbow Theatre in London on December 21, 1980 during a show that would be released as the Live at the Rainbow home video. The band hadn't yet recorded the song, and Di'Anno hadn't written lyrics for it, but Harris was adamant about performing it, which made Di'Anno come up with some words in a hurry.

    "I had a rough idea, but I made up the words as we went along - live on stage, in front of all those bloody people," he told us. "They're different to how they are on the album."

Comments: 1

  • Dean from Aurora ColoradoIn the beginning, gods created the beast that will soon light the planet on fire...
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Steven Tyler of AerosmithSongwriter Interviews

Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"They're Playing My Song

Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" Album

Arrested For Your Art - The Story Of 2 Live Crew's "Obscene" AlbumSong Writing

In the summer of 1990, you could get arrested for selling a 2 Live Crew album or performing their songs in Southern Florida. And that's exactly what happened.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

David Sancious

David SanciousSongwriter Interviews

Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.