Iron Maiden in the 80s

***Iron Maiden (1979-1980)***

### 1980

Personnel: Paul Di'Anno – vocals; Dave Murray – guitar; Dennis Stratton – guitar, backing vocals; Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals; Clive Burr – drums (Doug Sampson on "Burning Ambition", b-side of "Running Free")

#### February 8, 1980: "Running Free"

* From Iron Maiden (1980)
* UK #3

#### May 23, 1980: "Sanctuary"

* Non-album single but appeared on the US release of Iron Maiden (1980) and the 1998 re-release
* UK #29

#### October 27, 1980: "Women in Uniform"

* Non-album single
* UK #35

***"Women in Uniform"*** is a 1978 song originally recorded by the Australian band Skyhooks. Iron Maiden's cover of the song was the band's last recorded work to feature guitarist Dennis Stratton. It was released to promote the second British leg of their Iron Maiden Tour. "Women in Uniform" would also be the basis of the band's first music-video, directed by Doug Smith and filmed at the Rainbow Theatre.

The single cover features an image of Margaret Thatcher with a Sterling submachine gun, preparing to attack the group's mascot, Eddie. According to the band, the cover was a joke which was meant to ask whether her motive was through jealousy or revenge (following the infamous "Sanctuary" artwork that featured Eddie killing Thatcher), which managed to cause further controversy as, according to the Liverpool Daily Post, a group of "screaming, chanting, banner-carrying feminists" led a demonstration during Iron Maiden's show at Leeds University on November 22, 1980.

### 1981

#### March 2, 1981: "Twilight Zone"

* Non-album single but appeared on the US release of Killers (1981) and the 1998 re-release
* UK #31

#### June 15, 1981: "Purgatory"

* From Killers (1981)
* UK #52

### 1982

#### February 12, 1982: "Run to the Hills"

* From The Number of the Beast (1982)
* UK #18

#### April 26, 1982: "The Number of the Beast"

* From The Number of the Beast (1982)
* UK #18

### 1983

#### April 11, 1983: "Flight of Icarus"

* From Piece of Mind (1983)
* UK #11, US Rock #8

#### June 20, 1983: "The Trooper"

* From Piece of Mind (1983)
* UK #12, US Rock #28

### 1984

Lineup: Bruce Dickinson - vocals; Dave Murray - guitar; Adrian Smith - guitar; Steve Harris - bass guitar; Nicko McBrain - drums

#### August 6, 1984: "2 Minutes to Midnight"

* From Powerslave (1984)
* UK #20, US Rock #25

***"2 Minutes to Midnight"*** was the band's first single to exceed five minutes in length, remaining the band's longest single until the release of "Infinite Dreams" five years later.

A protest song about nuclear war, the song was written by Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson. The title references the Doomsday Clock, the symbolic clock used by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which represents a countdown to potential global catastrophe. In September 1953 the clock reached two minutes to midnight, the closest it ever got to midnight, when the United States and Soviet Union tested H-bombs within nine months of one another. The atomic clock, set at 12 minutes to midnight in 1972, regressed thereafter among US/Soviet tensions, reaching three minutes to midnight in 1984 -- the year this track was released -- and the most dangerous clock reading since 1953. According to Dickinson, the song critically addresses "the romance of war" in general rather than the Cold War in particular.

The first B-side is a cover of British progressive rock band Beckett's "Rainbow's Gold", which was featured on their self-titled album released in 1974. Another B-side, entitled "Mission from 'Arry", is a recording of an argument between bassist Steve Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain, which took place after a show during the band's World Piece Tour. During the concert, Harris' bass gear broke down, so he asked the nearest roadie to tell McBrain to extend the solo. The crew member was unable to communicate the message effectively, which unfortunately distracted McBrain and had a negative impact on his solo, causing him to yell at the roadie afterwards. Vocalist Bruce Dickinson states that he found the ensuing argument so amusing that he decided to record it with a concealed tape recorder.

#### September 3, 1984: Powerslave

* UK #2, Gold; US #21, Platinum

***Powerslave*** is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

It is notable for its Ancient Egyptian theme displayed in the cover artwork, lifted from the title track, which was carried over to the album's supporting tour. "The World Slavery Tour" is widely regarded as being the band's longest and most arduous to date – and also led to the live album Live After Death.

The release also contains a musical re-telling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", which uses pieces of the original poem as lyrics. At 13 minutes and 45 seconds in length, it was Iron Maiden's longest song for over 30 years, until it was surpassed by the 18-minute "Empire of the Clouds" from the 2015 album, The Book of Souls.

Powerslave is also notable as being the band's first album to feature the same personnel as their previous studio release. This lineup would remain intact for two further studio releases. Also, it is their last album to date to feature an instrumental piece.

Listen to Powerslave on Deezer.

#### October 22, 1984: "Aces High"

* From Powerslave (1984)
* UK #20

***"Aces High"*** is a song written by Iron Maiden's bassist Steve Harris. The first B-side is a cover of Nektar's "King of Twilight", from their 1972 album A Tab in the Ocean. Their cover is actually a medley of the songs "Crying in the Dark" and "King of Twilight", the last two songs on the album.

The song's lyrics are written from the viewpoint of a British RAF pilot fighting against the German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain (1940), the first military engagement to be fought entirely with aircraft.

### 1985

#### September 13, 1985: "Running Free (Live)"

* From Live After Death (1985)
* UK #19

#### December 2, 1985: "Run to the Hills (Live)"

* From Live After Death (1985)
* UK #26

### 1986

#### September 6, 1986: "Wasted Years"

* From Somewhere in Time (1986)
* UK #18

#### November 22, 1986: "Stranger in a Strange Land"

* From Somewhere in Time (1986)
* UK #22

### 1988

Personnel: Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals; Dave Murray – guitar; Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals; Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals; Nicko McBrain – drums, plus Michael Kenney - keyboards ("The Clairvoyant, Live")

#### March 20, 1988: "Can I Play With Madness"

* From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
* UK #3, US Rock #47

#### August 1, 1988 (UK); August 13, 1988 (US): "The Evil That Men Do"

* From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
* UK #5

####  November 7, 1988: "The Clairvoyant"

* From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
* UK #6

***"The Clairvoyant"*** debuted at number six in the British charts. The single contains three live performances ("The Clairvoyant", "The Prisoner", and "Heaven Can Wait") from Maiden's 1988 headlining performance at the Monsters of Rock festival in Donington Park. The promotional video for the song, although set to the studio version, features live clips from the Donington performance.

#### 1989

Personnel: Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals; Dave Murray – guitar; Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals; Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals; Nicko McBrain – drums, plus Michael Kenney - keyboards

#### November 6, 1989: "Infinite Dreams (Live)"

* From Maiden England (1989 video album)
* UK #6

***"Infinite Dreams"*** is a live single and the only single to be released in sync with a home video; 1989's Maiden England. The performance was recorded in Birmingham, England on November 27-28,1988 towards the end of the massive world tour to support Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. It would be the final single to feature Adrian Smith for an entire decade.

The song, written by Steve Harris, is about how the character of the song sees disturbing visions about afterlife and other mystic things in his dreams, but is scared about if he will ever be able to wake up again. It starts with a soft guitar solo, which is then joined by Bruce Dickinson's singing as well as the rest of the band. The song starts out quite peaceful, but gets progressively heavier towards the song's climax and the following final verse.

#### November 8, 1989: Maiden England (video album)

* US #6, Gold

***Maiden England*** is a live video made during the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son world tour, dubbed Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour.

It was recorded at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England on November 27 & 28, 1988, released on VHS in November 1989, followed by a limited VHS/CD edition in 1994. The video was directed and edited by Steve Harris, Iron Maiden's founder and bassist.

Listen to the the CD version of the video, Maiden England '88 on Deezer.