Iron Maiden Rocks The BBC

“Somebody please tell me that I’m dreaming,

Its not so easy to stop from screaming.

But words escape me when I try to speak,

Tears they flow but why am I crying.

After all I am not afraid of dying,

Don’t believe that there is never an end.

As the guards march me out to the courtyard,

Someone calls from a cell, ‘God be with you…’

If there’s a God, then why has he let me die?”

--Steve Harris of Iron Maiden from the song “Hallowed Be Thy Name” from the album The Number of the Beast 1982.



Well it has been a while.

Workloads, other hang-ups, lifestyle changes with women (yeah—all those women—right), and the hustle and bustle of the real world (and road rules and other insipid shows) have slowed me down.

But summer’s here and the time is right for rockin’ in the heat.

I plan on updating my CD list in the near future in case we have any traders out there. I plan on reviewing the latest and greatest Ye Olde Metal book by Martin Popoff and I will be adding a slight criticism of my Metal friend (uh-oh!) but it is an honest trifle to be honest. Martin has thick skin.

Over the last six weeks or so, I have rediscovered my enjoyment of the Kings of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) Iron Maiden.

Via the joys of Amazon, I snagged what I consider one of the best live albums and certainly my favorite live album of Iron Maiden: The BBC Archives. Originally this was part of the Eddie Archives along with the B-Sides and Live From Hammersmith. Each was a two disk set; and I own all six now. Lots of researching and scouring for these as the Eddie Archives is a long out of print collection.

The first disk contains four tracks from the Paul Di’Anno years from the BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show from November 14, 1979. I like Di’Anno’s voice quite a bit. His versions of Phantom of the Opera (not on this disk) are nothing short of incredible. Running Free kicks from the set.

The rest of the disk contains the BBC production of the reading Festival from August 28, 1982 featuring Bruce Dickinson on vocals. This was from the Number of the Beast Tour. This is the BEST live set and best versions of Dickinson’s live repertoire ever recorded. Amazingly he treats the form Di’Anno songs (The Prisoner, Wrathchild) with as much care as he does the then-new material of Hallowed Be Thy Name (their greatest song) and Number of the Beast. The Maiden classic album is well-represented as Children of the Damned (humorous intro by Dickinson), 22 Acacia Avenue and Run To The Hills are played with a new-found pulse and glory.

Disk two features an earlier version of the Reading Festival from August 24, 1980 with Di’Anno shredding through such Maiden classics as Remember Tomorrow, Iron Maiden, and Prowler (and again oddly no Phantom of the Opera even though Dickinson owns the song on the previous disk).

Disk two closes with the highlights from the Donington Monster of Rock Festival from August 20, 1988. Highlights include The Trooper, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Iron Maiden.

Since Maiden has been one of the rare bands that can transfer their complex studio moments so passionately on stage in the live forum, one cannot but be amazed at their ability to play as a band. Clever lyrics, a nod and a wink to the culture of metal, and incredible musicianship make them an unstoppable unit.

This one simply kicks their careers into another gear, for any who may have doubted their ability.