A huge thank you to everyone who checked out our debut episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden! In this episode, we covered in detail the early years of the band. From Steve’s first band Smiler, to a roundabout of guitarists and drummers, we broke everything down. First we covered the Paul Mario Day years and a great recent live version of “Running Free”. We moved on to the Dennis Wilcock era and the turmoil that ensued! From swords to keyboards, Iron Maiden were all but derailed! Finally we turn to Paul Di’Anno, the first officially recorded lead vocalist of Iron Maiden.
With Di’Anno, there are several official releases to talk about from this era: the legendary Soundhouse Tapes, BBC Archives, Metal For Muthas, and Axe Attack. There is a rare, little known demo version of “Running Free” on one edition of Axe Attack, and Harrison will tell you how to get it.
We hope you enjoy this fully immersive look at the early years of Iron Maiden. See you next week for the EMI debut, the singles, and Johnny Clauser from My Music Corner.
SHOW NOTES:
Steve Harris originally formed Smiler.
The first lineup of Iron Maiden:
Steve Harris
Paul Mario Day
Terry Rance
Dave Sulivan
Rob “Rebel” Matthews
Paul Day still performs songs today, with former members of early Maiden. A strong vocalist. Powerful voice. Sounds a bit like Di’Anno, with a growl. Can sing clean, but can also really growl. Powerhouse vocals – level 10. Absolutely awesome version of “Running Free”, as good as any Maiden versions with Paul?
Paul Day left – “not enough on stage charisma”
Replaced by Dennis Wilcock, not a great singer but had the bloody sword trick.
Maiden breaks up so Harris can be rid of Rance and Sulivan.
Got in Dave Murray and Bob Sawyer
1977, Matthews, Murray and Sawyer were all fired
Terry Wapram (guitar) and Tony Moore (keyboards) replace the guitarists. Barry Purkis/Thunderstick on drums with black leather mask.
This lineup played one show before Harris fired Moore. Keyboards didn’t fit.
There is a very slow, very different version of “Charlotte the Harlot” with this lineup. A bluesy rock n’ roll version of “Another Life” with a completely different kind of beat. Sounds more like Aerosmith.
Murray returns. Wapram leaves, down to one guitar again. Wilcock and Thunderstick leave and are replaced by Paul Di’Anno and Doug Samson who Steve had played with pre-Iron Maiden.
Rapid turnover of second guitarists:
Paul Cairns joins late 1978, plays on Soundhouse Tapes, lasts 3 months
Paul Todd – June 1979 – lasts one week. Girlfriend wouldn’t let him play shows. Later joined Paul Day in a band called More.
Tony Parsons joins Sep 1979 – Dec 1979, plays on BBC sessions. Fired due to lack of ability compared to Murray. Joined Dennis Wilcock in Gilbraltar.
Dennis Stratton comes aboard.
Doug Samson can’t handle touring schedule, and is replaced by Clive Burr, a friend of Dennis
– The Soundhouse Tapes
Iron Maiden – different, more straight ahead groove. Not as driving or ahead of the beat. Low end is more present. Vocal is more laid back.
Invasion – less frantic and speedy than the B-side version. Vocals on the chorus are heavily layered and produced. Can’t save the song for me.
Prowler – Brilliant version, with the high guitar part laying clean on the top. Great scream from Paul. More straightforward than the album version. Slower groove.
Strange World – Sounds unfinished compared to the other songs, a prototype of the skeleton without the atmosphere. Slow bluesy solo (Paul Cairns?)
– BBC Archives (four-song radio rock show)
Iron Maiden, Running Free, Transylvania, Sanctuary.
Tony Parsons on second guitar.
Strange to think they bothered with an instrumental for this recording session.
Really well recorded versions, with vocal overdubs. The drums really cut through and the guitars sound great. Of all the versions heard so far, these are closest to the final album.
Iron Maiden has really energetic, frantic drums lending it an extra punch. Vocals are nicely layered as on album.
Running Free is missing that pick scratching sound effect.
– Metal for Muthas (Sanctuary & Wrathchild)
Also with Tony Parsons.
Sanctuary – Very close to final version. Guitar solo is very different – similar to BBC Archives version. Tony Parsons lead – a little on the simpler side but very fast and catchy.
Wrathchild – Slower, more “heavy metal” groove. Vocal is double-tracked throughout. Nice impactful version, if less powerful.
– Axe Attack Running Free Demo – A really different sounding version. Doug Sampson on drums, a different feel. Guitars sound sharper. The middle section with the pick scratching is much better – a solid chug. Just overall more groovy. A little clean. Vocal harmonies intact. I love when Paul yelps. Snare drum could use more beef but it’s a demo.
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode one: The Soundhouse Tapes and more! 1975-1980
A special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 debut episode
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #85
50 years ago, Steve Harris departed his previous band Smiler, and formed the first lineup or Iron Maiden: Steve Harris, Paul Mario Day, Terry Rance, Dave Sulivan and Ron “Rebel” Matthews.
Today, Harrison Kopp and Mike Ladano are proud to debut their new series, 50 Years of Iron Maiden.
We begin with their first lineup and run through all the changes. We cover every officially released recording available prior to their first releases on EMI, of which several exist. These include Metal For Muthas, the BBC Archives, The Soundhouse Tapes, and Axe Attack. There are also existent recordings of Iron Maiden with Dennis Wilcock on vocals, and Paul Mario Day playing Iron Maiden songs. Iron Maiden with a keyboardist instead of a second guitarist? Steve Harris on lead vocals? Tonight on this special live episode, we will cover it all.
While most episodes in this Maiden series will be recorded in advance, tonight’s debut will indeed be live. Grab A Stack of Rock is usually a live show, but in 2025 we have some very special guests lined up for this series. This requires scheduling, which makes recording in advance necessary. We will continue to release shows on Fridays at 7:00 PM eastern standard time, and there will be the occasional live one sprinkled in.
It’s 50 Years of Iron Maiden, and the celebrations commence tonight. Like and subscribe to Grab A Stack of Rock on YouTube, and hit that “notify” bell so you don’t miss a single episode. We will be discussing every studio album, and we won’t be neglecting the official – and unofficial – live releases either. From the compilations to box sets, you will see our entire collections throughout this comprehensive series. Hit the gas, and here we go!
Friday January 10 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
RECORD STORE TALES #1173: I Like Iron Maiden…A Lot
In 1984, I “rebooted” my musical taste and started from ground zero. Out went Styx for almost two decades. Out went Joey Scarbury, and Kenny Rogers. In came KISS, W.A.S.P., and of course, Iron Maiden. I don’t think there was ever a time that Iron Maiden were my #1 favourite band, because Kiss almost always held that spot. It is safe to say that Maiden were always in the top five.
In grade school, I rocked Iron Maiden while being scolded by Catholic school teachers for doing so. It didn’t stop me. Through highschool, I proudly had their posters in my locker. It didn’t matter that Maiden weren’t hip with the cool kids. I was never cool, and never really intended to be. I was happy to be one of the Children of the Damned, not having to fit my personality into any particular shoebox.
There was a time I wavered, which I shall now admit to you. There was one Iron Maiden album that I didn’t intend to own. I reversed my decision within four months, but it was in the fall of 1990 that Iron Maiden may have faltered in my eyes. The album was the “back to basics” No Prayer For the Dying. My favourite member, Adrian Smith was out. I loved Janick Gers’ work with Bruce Dickinson, but I don’t think he quite fit with Maiden immediately. I also didn’t like the growly, un-melodic way that Bruce Dickinson was singing. I thought maybe this time, I would just buy the CD singles, and not worry about the album. I came to my senses. No Prayer wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the return that we hoped for. I didn’t really want Maiden to get “back to basics” but was willing to go along for the ride.
My enthusiasm returned in 1992 with Fear of the Dark, a partial return to form with some solid tracks. It could have been better, but I was happy. Then the roof fell in. Suddenly, Bruce Dickinson was out. Meanwhile, the entire world had been sent into a grunge upheaval. Bands like Iron Maiden were dismissed as irrelevant in this new angry world. Bands who played their instruments with seasoned pride were being replaced by groups with punk aesthetics. Maiden seemingly had no place in this new world, and now the lead singer was gone. Just like Motley Crue, who were suffering a similar fate.
By the year 1999, Bruce was back. And so was Adrian. Maiden have never been bigger. They have continued to issue albums, never being shy to play new material and deep cuts live.
That’s why I’m telling you this story. 2025 marks 50 Years of Iron Maiden, and there will be a lot happening. 2025 will launch the Run For Your Lives tour, and Bruce has promised that they will play some songs they’ve never done before. It will also be the debut of new drummer Simon Dawson, from Steve Harris’ British Lion. Nicko McBrain, on the drum stool since 1983, has finally taken a bow from the live stage. It can’t be easy doing what he does.
This week, we lost the monolith of metal known as Paul Di’Anno. Born as Paul Andrews, he gripped the world in 1980 fronting the almighty Iron Maiden. The spark was brief but bright. His two Iron Maiden albums, plus some EPs and singles, carved an identity. Those who get it loved him. Some of them followed Paul into solo outings and new bands. And this show has a wealth of appreciation for it all.
With Professor Pete Jones on board as surprise guest, we talked about all things Paul. Pete was there from the very beginning, buying the first album in store upon sight. He goes deep into the music and the early Iron Maiden sound, supplanted by the late great Clive Burr on drums. Harrison Kopp, in a mighty return to Grab A Stack of Rock after nearly nine months away, gave us a run through Paul’s career, highlighting live songs and memorable tracks suck as “Marshall Lockjaw”. Johnny Metal and Metal Roger contributed their own personal stories and what Paul’s music meant to them. As John said so well: thank you.
Meanwhile, I let the boys do most of the talking. Instead, I presented an interview I did with Paul’s old guitar player Steph Honde. He tells a tale of picking up Paul at the airport, and playing live without rehearsal. I also played Bruce Dickinson’s tribute to Di’Anno, and friend Brian Richards’ thoughts about the tribute from the perspective of an audience member that night. Finally, I read a loving statement from friend Thor Blackmore, towards the end of the show.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 75: Paul Di’Anno Tribute
We had a completely different show planned this week. Then, in the early hours of Monday morning, John Snow informed us that former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno had passed.
It was like that moment the record scratches and the needle comes off. The shock set in, and then I realized, we need to change the show this week. We need to pay tribute to (not the original singer, but) the first recorded Iron Maiden lead singer. Paul filled some shoes: Paul Mario Day and Den Wilcock preceeded him in Iron Maiden, but it was Di’Anno who helped put them on the center stage. Paul’s punk look and snarl differentiated Iron Maiden from the rest of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. They were clearly different from the pack, and their intense and sweaty live shows proved it.
This week on Grab A Stack of Rock, Harrison Kopp will make an early unscheduled return, joining myself, John Clauser, and Metal Roger in tribute. 24 hours after our show, Roger will be seeing Iron Maiden themselves in Toronto. All of us will be talking about the man, the myth, and the albums! As an added bonus we will also be running a clip from my 2021 interview with his former guitar player Steph Honde, on playing live with Paul! We will also be playing Bruce Dickinson’s tribute to Paul from Minnesota.
“I know you’d have gone insane if you saw what I saw,” but tonight, please join us and see our Tribute to Paul Di’Anno. As usual there will be lots of physical products, including two VERY RARE Iron Maiden box sets, some vinyl, and double CD sets.
Friday October 25 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
Paul Di’Anno was one of the first singers I knew and loved. He’s running free now, with Clive Burr, and no longer in pain.
Paul has clearly not been in good physical shape lately. Once walking with a cane, Paul had been in a wheelchair for some time now. Paul has now lost his wheels, and is free to fly.
When Iron Maiden released their debut album in 1980, they were building on five years of battles in the clubs, building their repertoire and their reputation. Much of it had to do with Paul Di’Anno, the short(er) haired lead singer with the punk rock attitude. His sneer was embedded in those first two Maiden albums, both legendary. Replacing him seemed impossible at the time!
I can’t believe we have to do this, but on Friday we will be paying tribute to Paul on Grab A Stack of Rock.
BRUCE DICKINSON – “Resurrection Men” (2024 BMG CD single)
The Mandrake Project is a dense album. It takes a lot of time to absorb and understand. The concept goes way over my head, but the songs are heavy and the direction is metal. Bruce Dickinson is nothing if not ambitious, and of course that means taking the new album on the road. His live band this time out includes the always reliable Dave Moreno on drums, and Whitenake bassist Tanya O’Callaghan. Bruce has released two singles from the album with exclusive B-sides, and the second is “Resurrection Men”.
“Resurrection Men” is long for a single, at almost six and a half minutes. It is loaded with drama, and the acoustic intro really sets a mood. Then it goes into something more western, like from a Clint Eastwood film, with interesting percussion. That soon subsides and we go full electric. This song lunges all over the place, from slow grinding verses to quiet bass-driven parts, and a powerhouse chorus. Ultimately it’s not really single material, but that’s one thing that makes this release so interesting. It’s also impressive how Bruce continues to sing with such lung power.
Live from Sao Paolo comes “Afterglow of Ragnarok“, the first single from The Mandrake Project. A song about “what happens after the end of the world,” according to Bruce. It is tight, and does not deviate far from the original cut. The live setting is unforgiving, but even without multitracked vocals, Bruce nails it. The stage energy is palpable, and Moreno kills it on drums.
The most exciting track is the very first live version of “Abduction” from Tyranny of Souls. This one absolutely smokes, with breakneck pace, lightning drum fills, and melodic guitar harmonies. A lot of solo Bruce stuff could almost be considered Iron Maiden made modern, louder and more intense. “Abduction” falls into that category. This live version has some really cool guitar solo work, very different from Roy Z’s on the album.
It is truly wonderful to see artists such as Def Leppard, Deep Purple, and Bruce Dickinson releasing physical singles with actual B-sides in 2024. Keep it up.
In 1992, we gave Iron Maiden’s Fear of the Dark album a generous 3.75/5 star rating. Fear was the second in a row of underwhelming Iron Maiden albums. After losing melodic songwriter Adrian Smith, the band struggled to achieve the heights of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. New member Janick Gers was also a songwriter, but Maiden struggled to match their previous mojo. Several songs from Fear were never played live: “Fear Is the Key”, “Childhood’s End”, “The Fugitive”, “Chains of Misery”, “The Apparition”, “Judas Be My Guide”, and “Weekend Warrior”. Meanwhile, the title track is a concert staple, played on almost every tour since.
What can we do to improve this album?
1. Tone down the keyboards
As the last Maiden album co-produced by Martin Birch, perhaps the metal maven was getting a little tired. Fear isn’t as punchy as past albums. Since Somewhere in Time, Maiden had become increasingly reliant on synths or keyboards. Even the back-to-basics No Prayer for the Dying had keyboards. Let’s not get rid of all the keyboards, let’s just tone them down. On some tracks, such as “Afraid to Shoot Strangers”, they are little more than sonic wallpaper. Let’s mix them a little lower for this experiment, and bring the drums up in the mix.
2. Remix the drums
Something about Nick McBrain’s drums on this album sound a little dead. A tad too much like they’re in the back of a cave. We should try making them a little more lively, and maybe just a tad louder in the mix. Aim for something more like the Piece of Mind era drums sound.
3. Edit the album down, and re-sequence it
Let’s go for a nine track song list. Clearly, the 12 on Fear were too many since they didn’t play the majority live. Fear was a long album. As the CD rose to dominance, albums grew longer. CDs were initially made to be 74 minutes long so you could put long classical pieces on it without breaks. 74 minutes was never intended to be the standard album length, though Fear is shy of that at 58:34. Still too long for a single record. Classic Maiden albums were shorter than this. We’ll go with nine songs. Number of the Beast had eight, and Piece of Mind had nine. Fear already had the perfect openers and closers, so we won’t touch those.
Side one
“Be Quick or Be Dead”
“Chains of Misery”
“From Here to Eternity”
“Judas Be My Guide”
“Wasting Love”
Side two
“Afraid to Shoot Strangers”
“The Fugitive”
“Weekend Warrior”
“Fear of the Dark”
It was a real struggle to include “Weekend Warrior”, as I don’t think this ode to soccer hooliganism is a particularly good song. However, I committed to nine, and I find “Fear is the Key” and “The Apparition” a tad dull. “Childhood’s End” is the other deleted song, and really it could have been one or the other. I went with “Weekend Warrior” because it’s different for Maiden. (Not that “The Apparition” isn’t, but these songs aren’t really that great. That’s why they weren’t played live.)
We maintain the kicking opener, high speed and going for the throat of big business. Then we have anthemic shout-along rock in “Chains of Misery”. “Wasting Love” acts as a side closer as it does on the proper album. Kicking off side two with “Afraid to Shoot Strangers” is a bit of a risk, as it is a bit ballady to start, and coming off a ballad gives you two in a row. However, it would work brilliantly as a side opener. “Fear of the Dark” of course should close. That’s what it’s built for.
This makes the album a perfect 44 minutes and 24 seconds!
4. Get rid of the tree Eddie!
Regular Maiden artist Derek Riggs had a falling out with Maiden’s management over his sketches for this album. Instead, for the first of many times, Maiden went with the legendary sci-fi and fantasty artist Melvyn Grant, who didn’t really understand Eddie yet, or the continuity established on prior album covers. From Number of the Beast to No Prayer for the Dying, there seemed to be an ongoing story with Eddie being manipulated, captured, and killed. He is reborn, borgified, and gives birth, only to be reborn again. Then, suddenly he’s a tree. The lightning from Eddie’s eyes is gone, replaced by evil red peepers. For our improved version of this album, the cover has to go. Cover art is so important to Iron Maiden, and Fear had one of their most disappointing covers to date (with No Prayer by Riggs coming in second).
In Sum
Little can be done to improve some of the actual songs on this album. Fear had filler, and a lot of it. Even at nine songs, tracks like “The Fugitive” and “Weekend Warrior” are dangerously close to filler material. Perhaps our hypothetical remix can liven them up, but shortening the album will do it some wonders. Maiden rarely record original material for B-sides, and don’t put cover songs on their records. There is no extra material we can substitute.
Doing the best with what we have at hand, what would you do to improve Fear of the Dark?
RECORD STORE TALES #1151: An Egg of a Day: End of August Scores
I have a coworker whose parents recently passed. This is always sad, but the time came for my coworker to purge her mom’s music collection. Periodically when this happens, people come to me to ask my opinion. Essentially, she wanted to know: “is there anything here that I shouldn’t take to the local Beat Goes On because it might be worth more?” She didn’t think much of her chances, but wanted to be sure.
“Sure, I’ll pop over and have a look,” I said. “I can’t promise you anything but I can at least have a look.”
That was good enough for her.
“I bet I find a bunch of Lawrence Welk!” I joked to Tim Durling and Jex Russell. You know the kind of record collection I mean.
Indeed, I did find Lawrence Welk in the very first box of vinyl. I had a laugh and kept digging. To everyone’s surprise, I found things that might indeed have been valuable, and they had no idea how it got into that collection.
First of all, she had a really nice stack of 78s. Big Crosby was the first one I saw. I have no idea on value of 78s, but this were stored well and all seemed in good condition. It might have been my first time handling a stack of 78’s like that. They are thicker than an LP, and much heavier. They require a special stylus as well as a turntable that can go up to 78. I used to have that equipment. She even had a cylinder, whether Edison or a competing brand, that was out for professional appraisal. So, this collection I was looking at had these formats:
LPs
45s
78s
Cassettes
8-tracks
CDs
and one cylinder
Pretty wild scope. The genres were all over the place, from easy listening and country (the usual suspects) to disco, jazz, oldies, and even progressive rock and heavy metal, as you’ll see. This, I did not expect.
Then I spied an album called Egg. Something about it jumped out at me. I flipped it around and there were black and white photos of long haired guys jamming. That struck me as out of place in this collection, so I set it aside. Somebody looked it up, and it can sell for easily over $100. Everyone seemed really impressed by my ability to sniff this out. I am no expert, folks. Not at all. But it looked out of place, which is why I took a second glance. It turns out Egg were an English progressive rock band, and the album was released in 1970. Very surprising, but they felt that this one find justified me coming over and looking at their records, so I was happy.
Original price: $6.99
I found some things I wanted for myself and made an offer. I left with the following titles:
Guns N’ Roses – “You Could Be Mine” 1991 Geffen cassette single. I own it on CD, but never on cassette. Why not? In this day and age of owning everything on every format, why not?
The Best Of ZZ Top 1977 Wea Music cassette. A staple, but one that I somehow have never owned before on any format. Stone cold classic compilation.
John Williams and the Boston Pops – Pops In Space 1980, Philips, made in Holland. This contains music from some of Williams science fiction classics: Superman, The Empire Strikes Back (which was brand new in 1980), Star Wars, and Close Encounters. I haven’t seen this one before.
Oscar Peterson – The Trio – Live from Chicago 1961 Verve/1986 Polygram CD. My second Oscar Peterson score this summer. You rarely find Oscar in the wild, and never this one.
Johnny Cash – His Greatest Hits, Volume II1971 Columbia 8-track. This was the Cash album I grew up with in the car with my dad, albeit on cassette. This cartridge is in great shape, and resides in a bright red shell. This is my first red shell 8-track tape.
When I called my dad to tell him of my musical scores, he was surprised at the 8-track. While he clearly remembers that Cash album, he asked me “Do you have anything that plays an 8-track?” This is a common question that we collectors get. No I do not. I don’t have a way to play a Minidisc, a DAT, or a DCC either but I would love to have some in my collection. My collecting desires are no longer strictly just to have music to play. Now I collect music I can’t even play too! Just to have a piece of history.
After we completely examined the collection and left some advice, I departed with my treasures. Since we were in the neighbourhood, I decided to visit the old Toys R Us/HMV store. There, I finally decided to pick up Iron Maiden’s Powerslave on vinyl, edging me closer to completing the 1980s collection. Now, all I should need are the first two Di’Anno albums (I think). Powerslave was $36 and hard to pull the trigger on, since I can distinctly remember a time when Sam the Record Man was swinning in new copies for $6.99 each, and that sticks with you. I finally have it now.
A successful Saturday. Time to listen to some music!
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