The Iron Man: The Musical
Studio album by Pete Townshend
Released	27 June 1989 (1989-06-27)
Recorded	1986–1989
Studio	Eel Pie Studios (The Boathouse, Twickenham)
Genre	Rock
Length	45:36
Label	Atlantic (US)
Producer	Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend chronology
Another Scoop (1987) The Iron Man: The Musical (1989) Psychoderelict (1993)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Hi-Fi News & Record Review	A*:1/2[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend is the sixth solo studio album byPete Townshend ofthe Who, released in 1989 as aconcept album adaptation ofTed Hughes' science fiction novelThe Iron Man (1968). It also starsRoger Daltrey,Deborah Conway,John Lee Hooker, andNina Simone.

The three then-surviving original members of the Who (Roger Daltrey,John Entwistle, and Townshend) performed as a band on two songs, "Dig" and "Fire", although the latter was a cover ofthe Crazy World of Arthur Brown's hit (the Who would later perform "Dig" live during their1989 reunion tour).

"A Friend Is a Friend" and "I Won't Run Anymore" were commercially released as singles; "Fire" was issued as a promo-only single in the United States.Cashbox said that "A Friend is a Friend" "finds Pete in an uplifting vein, withfalsetto vocals and strummed guitar."^[4]

A stage version was mounted at theYoung Vic theatre inLondon in 1993. On the strength of this,Warner Bros. optioned the story for a film that, with a very different adaptation of the story, becameThe Iron Giant (1999); Townshend received an executive-producer credit.

• Hogarth:Pete Townshend
• The Vixen:Deborah Conway
• The Iron Man:John Lee Hooker
• The Space Dragon:Nina Simone
• Hogarth's Father:Roger Daltrey
• The Crow: Chyna
• The Jay:Nicola Emmanuelle
• The Frog:Billy Nicholls
• The Owl:Simon Townshend
• The Badger:Cleveland Watkiss

All tracks are written byPete Townshend, except where noted.

1. "I Won't Run Any More" – 4:51Vocals byPete Townshend withDeborah Conway
2. "Over the Top" – 3:31Vocals byJohn Lee Hooker
3. "Man Machines" – 0:42Vocals bySimon Townshend
4. "Dig" – 4:07Performed bythe Who
5. "A Friend Is a Friend" – 4:44Vocals by Pete Townshend
6. "I Eat Heavy Metal" – 4:01Vocals by John Lee Hooker
7. "All Shall Be Well" – 4:02Vocals by Pete Townshend with Deborah Conway and Chyna
8. "Was There Life" – 4:19Vocals by Pete Townshend
9. "Fast Food" – 4:26Vocals byNina Simone
10. "A Fool Says..." – 2:51Vocals by Pete Townshend
11. "Fire" (Arthur Brown,Vincent Crane, Mike Finesilver, Peter Ker) – 3:47Performed by the Who
12. "New Life/Reprise" – 6:00Vocals by Chyna with Pete Townshend and Nicola Emmanuel. Contains small extract of a live performance of "Magic Bus"

13. "Dig" (Simon Townshend vocal version) – 4:09
14. "Man Machines" (long version) – 4:34
15. "I Eat Heavy Metal" (demo) – 4:04

13. "A Friend Is a Friend" (live at theFillmore West, 1996)
14. "All Shall Be Well" (live at the Fillmore West, 1996)

1. "Real World" (instrumental released on 12" andCD singles of "A Friend Is a Friend", a different mix of it was onScoop 3 in 2001)
2. "Penny Drop" (appeared on theTimothy White Radio Show; promo copies of the interview were pressed on vinyl by DIR Broadcasting)
3. "Dig" (demo released on the 1989 UK CD single of "I Won't Run Anymore")
4. "Iron Man Recitative", "Can You Really Dance?", and "Man and Machines (demo)" appeared onScoop 3 in 2001
5. "Dig" (concert version appeared onthe Who's 1989 reunion tour concert albumJoin Together)

• The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend atDiscogs (list of releases)
• Liner notes on songs – "Dig", "Fire"

• 1989 albums
• 1980s concept albums
• Pete Townshend albums
• 1993 musicals
• Rock operas
• Rock musicals
• Atlantic Records albums
• Albums produced by Pete Townshend
• British musicals
• Adaptations of works by Ted Hughes

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