I'm Not Scared (song)

"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.

"I'm Not Scared"
Single by Eighth Wonder
from the album Fearless
B-side	"J'ai pas peur"
Released	8 February 1988 (1988-02-08)^[1]
Studio	PWL (London)
Genre	Synth-pop^[2] dance-pop^[3]
Length	4:30 (album) 3:49 (single) 7:58 (disco mix)
Label	CBS
Songwriter(s)	Neil Tennant Chris Lowe
Producer(s)	Phil Harding Neil Tennant Chris Lowe
Eighth Wonder singles chronology
"When the Phone Stops Ringing" (1987) "I'm Not Scared" (1988) "Cross My Heart" (1988)
Music video
"I'm Not Scared" on YouTube

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 0-105+5⁄6-0bpm 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 [...], and – on the extended Disco Version – dramatic string stabs".^[9]

Track listings

• 7-inch single and cassette single^[10][11]

1. "I'm Not Scared" – 3:49
2. "J'ai pas peur" – 5:48

• 10-inch single^[12]

1. "I'm Not Scared" (10-inch remix) – 5:30
2. "J'ai pas peur" – 5:48

• UK 12-inch and CD single, European mini-CD single^[13][14][15]

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

• US 12-inch single^[16]

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

• Japanese mini-CD single^[17]

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

Credits

Original version Artwork by Stylorouge Photography by Eamon J. McCabe Produced by Pet Shop Boys and Phil Harding Programmed by Ian Curnow Written by Tennant and Lowe

Little Louie Vega mix & Dub version Edited by Tony Moran Assistant: Chris Trevett Recording by Mike Rogers Remixed by Hugo Dwyer Keyboards by Mac Quayle Produced by "Little" Louie Vega

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "I'm Not Scared" Chart (1988) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[18] 20 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[19] 16 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)^[20] 12 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[21] 4 France (SNEP)^[22] 8 Ireland (IRMA)^[23] 14 Italy (Musica e dischi)^[24] 1 Japan (Oricon)^[25] 100 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)^[26] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[27] 27 Spain (AFYVE)^[28] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[29] 2 UK Singles (OCC)^[30] 7 UK Dance (Music Week)^[31] 7 West Germany (Official German Charts)^[32] 5

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "I'm Not Scared" Chart (1988) Position Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[33] 7 UK Singles (Gallup)^[34] 80 West Germany (Official German Charts)^[35] 51

Cover versions

• The Pet Shop Boys included their own version of the song on their 1988 album Introspective.
• Swedish Pet Shop Boys tribute group West End Girls covered the song for their 2006 debut album Goes Petshopping.

References

1. "Index: Wonder Stuff". Record Mirror. 6 February 1988. p. 2.
2. Blythe, Daniel (2002). The Encyclopaedia of Classic 80s Pop. Allison & Busby. p. 133. ISBN 0-7490-0534-3. 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. Arena, James (2017). "Appendix: The Record Shop–Noteworthy Tracks". Europe's Stars of '80s Dance Pop: 32 International Music Legends Discuss Their Careers. McFarland & Company. pp. 225–230. ISBN 978-1-4766-7142-0.
4. Wilde, John (13 February 1988). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 26. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
5. Roberts, Chris (30 July 1988). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 31. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
6. Smith, Jerry (20 February 1988). "Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 21. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
7. Hamilton, James (16 January 1988). "BPM: Hi-NRG". Record Mirror. p. 20.
8. Shaw, William (27 January 1988). "Singles". Smash Hits. p. 41. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
9. "100 Greatest Dance Songs". Slant Magazine. 30 January 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
10. I'm Not Scared (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Eighth Wonder. CBS Records. 1988. SCARE 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. I'm Not Scared (US cassette single sleeve). Eighth Wonder. WTG Records. 1988. 31 T68939.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. I'm Not Scared (UK 10-inch single vinyl disc). Eighth Wonder. CBS Records. 1988. SCARE Y1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
13. I'm Not Scared (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Eighth Wonder. CBS Records. 1988. SCARE T1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. I'm Not Scared (UK CD single liner notes). Eighth Wonder. CBS Records. 1988. SCARE C1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
15. I'm Not Scared (European mini-CD single liner notes). Eighth Wonder. CBS Records. 1988. CBS 651359 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
16. I'm Not Scared (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Eighth Wonder. WTG Records. 1988. 41 68820.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
17. I'm Not Scared (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Eighth Wonder. Epic Records. 1988. 10・8P-3012.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
18. "Eighth Wonder – I'm Not Scared" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
19. "Eighth Wonder – I'm Not Scared" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
20. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 22. 28 May 1988. p. 24. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
21. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
22. "Eighth Wonder – I'm Not Scared" (in French). Les classement single.
23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I'm Not Scared". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
24. "Top 3 in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5. 28 May 1988. p. 28. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
25. Okamoto, Satoshi (2011). Single Chart Book: Complete Edition 1968–2010 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. ISBN 978-4-87131-088-8.
26. "Eighth Wonder – I'm Not Scared" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
27. "Eighth Wonder – I'm Not Scared" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
28. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
29. "Eighth Wonder – I'm Not Scared". Swiss Singles Chart.
30. "Eighth Wonder: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
31. "Top Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 16 April 1988. p. 14. Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
32. "Offiziellecharts.de – Eighth Wonder – I'm Not Scared" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
33. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2021.
34. "Top 100 Singles – Year-End Chart 1988" (PDF). Music Week Awards. Music Week. 4 March 1989. p. 12. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
35. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1988" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 15 December 2020.