Iron Maiden (1979-1980)

### The Soundhouse Tapes (1979)

In the midst of punk rock's peak in the UK, Iron Maiden struggled to secure gigs out of the East End of London and decided that a demo would be an ideal way to try to remedy this.

***The Soundhouse Tapes*** is Maiden's debut EP and features the very first recordings by the band. Released on November 9, 1979, it features three songs taken from the demo tape recorded at Spaceward Studios on New Year's Eve 1978. The three tracks - "Prowler", "Invasion" and "Iron Maiden" - appear in a rougher form than they would on the first Iron Maiden album and subsequent singles as they were all recorded in one session.

Although major retail chains tried to order large quantities of the record, the band only distributed 5,000 copies, available by mail order alone, which eventually sold out in just a few weeks. Because of this, the EP is now a valuable collectors item, which has been sold at up to £800 online.

Bassist Steve Harris and guitarist Dave Murray presented a copy of the tape to a DJ named Neal Kay, then running a heavy metal club in Kingsbury, North West London called the Bandwagon Soundhouse. Impressed with the demo, Kay began playing the tape heavily and eventually "Prowler" reached No. 1 in the Soundhouse charts, which were published in Sounds magazine. In addition to gaining the band exposure in Sounds, the demo tape also reached Rod Smallwood, who would soon become the group's manager and help them acquire their record deal with EMI in December 1979.

#### Lineup

* Paul Di'Anno - vocals
* Dave Murray - guitar
* Paul Cairns - guitar (uncredited)
* Steve Harris - bass guitar
* Doug Sampson - drums

### Metal for Muthas (1980)

***Metal for Muthas*** is the name given to a series of heavy metal compilations made during the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM).

The original compilation was Metal for Muthas, released on February 15, 1980. The compilation was a sampling of various better-known artists of the NWOBHM, primarily known for having some of the earliest recorded material by heavy metal legends Iron Maiden ("Sanctuary" and "Wrathchild"). The original Metal for Muthas album reached No. 12 on the British LP charts and became the basis of a tour by the artists who contributed songs to the compilation. Iron Maiden, who headlined the tour, became largely intertwined with the history of Sanctuary Records (whose namesake was the similarly named Iron Maiden track on the compilation), now a major metal label.

#### Lineup

* Paul Di'Anno - vocals
* Dave Murray - guitar
* Steve Harris - bass guitar
* Doug Sampson - drums

### Live!! +one (1980)

***Live!! +one*** is a live EP that was initially released November 1980 in Japan only. All the tracks were recorded live at the Marquee Club in London on July 4, 1980. The recordings of "Sanctuary" and "Drifter" available on this EP cannot be found anywhere else although the other tracks can be found as b-sides.

In 1984 the EP was released in Greece with an expanded track list, but only "I've Got the Fire" was recorded at the Marquee Club. The other added tracks were taken from the Maiden Japan EP and "Prowler" was taken from the band's self-titled debut album.

#### Lineup

* Paul Di'Anno – lead vocals
* Dave Murray – guitar
* Dennis Stratton - guitar, backing vocals
* Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals
* Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Clive Burr – drums