I'm Not Scared (song) explained

I'm Not Scared
Cover:I'm_not_scared.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Eighth Wonder
Album:Fearless
B-Side:J'ai pas peur
Released:[1]
Studio:PWL (London)
Genre:
Length:
  • 4:30 (album)
  • 3:49 (single)
  • 7:58 (disco mix)
Label:CBS
Producer:
Prev Title:When the Phone Stops Ringing
Prev Year:1987
Next Title:Cross My Heart
Next Year:1988

"I'm Not Scared" is a song by British pop band Eighth Wonder, released in February 1988 by CBS as the first single from their debut album, Fearless (1988). The song achieved success in France, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and West Germany, where it was a top-10 hit. Written by the Pet Shop Boys, the original version contains several words in French. "J'ai pas peur" is the French adaptation of "I'm Not Scared" and is included as the B-side to the 7-inch and 12-inch singles. The 12-inch "disco mix" combines the two versions into one long mix. Pet Shop Boys also released their own version of the song, with Neil Tennant vocals, on the album Introspective.

Critical reception

In his review of the song, John Wilde from Melody Maker wrote, "It is entirely meaningless and is exactly what you expect it to be. This doesn't stop it roving through an empty space with a fair amount of scarlet charm."[4] Another Melody Maker editor, Chris Roberts, complimented the single as "fine".[5] Jerry Smith of Music Week considered that it was not surprising that "I'm not Scared" sounds like Pet Shop Boys and Phil Harding production, as the song was written and produced by them, noted "Kensit's distinctive, breathy vocal" and deemed the song a potential hit.[6] James Hamilton from Record Mirror wrote in his dance column, "Patsy Kensit-lisped and French-spoken lethargic Eurobeat-ish ultimately quite haunting 0--0bpm slinker produced by the Pet Shop Boys and Phil Harding".[7]

William Shaw from Smash Hits felt the song "definitely bears all the hallmarks of Eurodisco — all the little insistent keyboard tunes, all the thumping bass bits, all the chattering drum machines. But where most Eurodisco records tend to be lyrically a bit daff and musically lightweight, this is a work of genius. An extremely girlie sounding Patsy Kensit strides through a city full of dogs singing a beautifully mournful melody about how she's not afraid of them, first in English, and then (just to add a touch of Euro-flavour) in French. Strange indeed, but mighty compelling."[8]

Retrospective response

Slant Magazine ranked the song at number 62 on its "100 Greatest Dance Songs" list in 2006, writing, "'I'm Not Scared' is unmistakably a Lowe/Tennant composition, with sharp staccato synth lines, a fluctuating bassline, histrionic lyrics ending in curly, figurative question marks [...], andon the extended Disco Versiondramatic string stabs".[9]

Track listings

  1. "I'm Not Scared" – 3:49
  2. "J'ai pas peur" – 5:48
  1. "I'm Not Scared" (10-inch remix) – 5:30
  2. "J'ai pas peur" – 5:48
  1. "I'm Not Scared" (disco mix) – 7:58
  2. "I'm Not Scared" – 4:30 (album version)
  3. "J'ai pas peur" – 5:48

A1. "I'm Not Scared" (long Euro mix) – 7:58

A2. "J'ai pas peur" – 5:48

B1. "I'm Not Scared" (Little Louie Vega mix) – 7:17

B2. "Baby Baby" (Dusted mix) – 6:00

  1. "I'm Not Scared" (disco mix) – 8:00
  2. "J'ai pas peur" – 5:51

Credits

Original version

Little Louie Vega mix & Dub version

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1988)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Denmark (Hitlisten)[18] 18
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[19] 12
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[20] 4
Italy (Musica e dischi)[21] 1
Japan (Oricon)[22] 100
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[23] 4
Spain (AFYVE)[24] 2
Sweden (Trackslistan)[25] 10
UK Dance (Music Week)[26] 7

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)! scope="col"
Position
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 7
UK Singles (Gallup)[28] 80
West Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 51

Cover versions

Notes and References

  1. 6 February 1988. Index: Wonder Stuff. Record Mirror. 2.
  2. Book: Blythe, Daniel . 2002 . The Encyclopaedia of Classic 80s Pop . . 0-7490-0534-3 . 133 . Yes, it's the one with Patsy Kensit—who, halfway through 'Im Not Scared', an enjoyable piece of atmospheric synth-pop, delivers some French lyrics in a deliciously good accent..
  3. Book: Arena, James . 2017 . Europe's Stars of '80s Dance Pop: 32 International Music Legends Discuss Their Careers . Appendix: The Record Shop–Noteworthy Tracks . 225–230 . . 978-1-4766-7142-0 . https://books.google.com/books?id=zMYtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA226.
  4. John. Wilde. Singles. Melody Maker. 13 February 1988. 26. 28 October 2023.
  5. Chris. Roberts. Albums. Melody Maker. 30 July 1988. 31. 30 October 2023.
  6. Jerry . Smith . Singles . . 20 February 1988 . 21 . 28 December 2020 .
  7. James. Hamilton. BPM: Hi-NRG. Record Mirror. 16 January 1988. 20. James Hamilton (DJ and journalist).
  8. William. Shaw. Singles. Smash Hits. 27 January 1988. 41. 8 March 2023.
  9. 100 Greatest Dance Songs . . 30 January 2006 . 16 April 2011.
  10. I'm Not Scared. Eighth Wonder. 1988. UK 7-inch single sleeve. CBS Records. SCARE 1.
  11. I'm Not Scared. Eighth Wonder. 1988. US cassette single sleeve. WTG Records. 31 T68939.
  12. I'm Not Scared. Eighth Wonder. 1988. UK 10-inch single vinyl disc. CBS Records. SCARE Y1.
  13. I'm Not Scared. Eighth Wonder. 1988. UK 12-inch single vinyl disc. CBS Records. SCARE T1.
  14. I'm Not Scared. Eighth Wonder. 1988. UK CD single liner notes. CBS Records. SCARE C1.
  15. I'm Not Scared. Eighth Wonder. 1988. European mini-CD single liner notes. CBS Records. CBS 651359 8.
  16. I'm Not Scared. Eighth Wonder. 1988. US 12-inch single vinyl disc. WTG Records. 41 68820.
  17. I'm Not Scared. Eighth Wonder. 1988. Japanese mini-CD single liner notes. Epic Records. 10・8P-3012.
  18. Danish Charts Archive. April 1988.
  19. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles . . 5 . 22 . 28 May 1988 . 24 . 29800226 . World Radio History.
  20. Book: Pennanen, Timo . Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . fi . 1st . Helsinki . . 2006 . 978-951-1-21053-5.
  21. Top 3 in Europe . Music & Media . 5 . 28 May 1988 . 28 . 29800226 . World Radio History.
  22. Book: Okamoto, Satoshi . 2011 . Single Chart Book: Complete Edition 1968–2010 . ja . Roppongi, Tokyo . . 978-4-87131-088-8.
  23. Web site: Eighth Wonder – I'm Not Scared . nl . . 15 December 2020.
  24. Book: Salaverrie, Fernando . September 2005 . Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 . es . 1st . Madrid . . 84-8048-639-2.
  25. Sweden Charts Archive. 2 April 1988.
  26. Top Dance Singles . . 16 April 1988 . 14 . World Radio History . 28 August 2023.
  27. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988 . hitparade.ch . de . 7 January 2021.
  28. Top 100 Singles – Year-End Chart 1988 . Music Week Awards . . 4 March 1989 . 12 . 0265-1548 . World Radio History.
  29. Web site: Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1988 . de . GfK Entertainment . 15 December 2020.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "I'm Not Scared (song)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.