Oooh yeah, here we go with one of my favourite bands of all time, Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden formed in 1975 by bass player extrodinaire Steve Harris (same year as Motorhead). The band played a lot of shows around the regular gig circuit of the time. As with a lot of bands at the time there were a multitude of lineup changes. Again it took a while before Maiden got a record out but they did get a 7 inch called “The Soundhouse Tapes” released which got some radio play in 1978.
IRON MAIDEN DEBUT ALBUM
It was really the 1980 released self titled debut which launched Iron Maiden into the stratosphere. The lineup for this one consisted of :
- Paul Di’Anno – lead vocals
- Dave Murray – guitar
- Dennis Stratton – guitar, backing vocals
- Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
- Clive Burr – drums
The Album itself featured some classic songs including the title track “Iron Maiden” and “Sanctuary” which is still played live to this day. “Iron Maiden” having been played at every show since the bands inception. It also featured the bands iconic mascot “Eddie” on the cover who again has been a mainstay of the bands album covers since the beginning of the band.
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For a more complete review of Iron Maiden’s debut album “Iron Maiden” album, be sure to read our review here |
The album went to number 4 on the UK charts basically cementing the band as a major force in the wider music as well as probably the biggest metal band of the time. The only other metal band at this point to have charted in any meaningful fashion would have been Black Sabbath (unless you count Kiss as metal) and to a lesser degree a few Motorhead singles did chart..
Iron Maiden also continued a trend (I guess started by Motorhead) in having a mascot. Iron Maiden’s mascot, Eddie the head was a stroke of genius as far as the band is concerned making Iron Maiden album covers and tee shirts recognisable the world over. The mascot also serving as free publicity tool when many parents took offence at the bands album covers and tee shirts.
Anyway here’s the debut album, oddly enough called “Iron Maiden”, stream it nice and loud and if you like go buy it, its a mandatory addition to any metalhed’s collection!
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