"On the Dark Side" is a song by fictional American rock band

Eddie and the Cruisers ''Eddie and the Cruisers'' is a 1983 American musical drama film directed by Martin Davidson with the screenplay written by the director and Arlene Davidson, based on the novel by P. F. Kluge. The sequel '' Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! ...

, released as a tie-in to the 1983 film of the same name. When initially released in September 1983, the song peaked at No. 64 on the ''Billboard'', while the film itself was pulled after three weeks in the theaters. When the film was released to

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

and pay cable outlets in early 1984, the film as well as the song received renewed interest and the single was re-released. This time, the song reached No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 19 on Canada's ''RPM'' 100. It also spent five weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Rock Tracks chart. John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band served as the real-life, officially uncredited stand-ins for the fictional Cruisers on the recording (as they did for the rest of the soundtrack album); only one member of the band, saxophonist Michael Antunes, appeared in the film, and none of the other actors playing Eddie and the Cruisers were musicians. The band performed the songs in the style of

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

.Muir, John Kenneth. ''The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia.'' Applause Books, 2007. p.86

Chart performance

First US release (1983)

US re-release (1984)

Year-end charts

References

{{Reflist 1983 songs 1984 singles John Cafferty songs Scotti Brothers Records singles