363 Hello Iron Maiden - Running Free

Chart  entered :  23  February  1980

Chart  peak : 34

Number  of  hits : 32  ( a  live  version  featuring  a  60%  different  line  up  reached  19  in  1985 )

The  stats  are  impressive  but  if  you  asked  me  which  band  had  been  the  most  consistently  awful  for  the  greatest  number  of  years  I'd  probably  nominate  this  lot.

Iron  Maiden  were  founded  on  Christmas  Day  1975  by  bass player  Steve  Harris . Born  in  Essex  in  1956  Steve  was  a  handy  footballer  in  his  youth  and  apparently  interested  West  Ham  United  but  decided  to  pursue  a  career  in  music  instead.  He  bought  a  bass  in  1971  and  taught  himself  to  play. He  joined  local  bands  including  Smiler  in  February  1974. He  started  writing  material  for  them  but  when  it  was  rejected  as  too  complicated  he  decided  to  form  his  own  band. Steve  himself  was  the  only  member  from  the  original  line  up  who  got  to  the  point  of  making  a  record.

In  1976  the  original  singer  Paul  Day  was  replaced  by  Dennis  Willcock  who  brought  in  his  guitarist  friend  Dave  Murray. Dave was  born  in  1956   in  London. His  family  were  impoverished  and  he  joined  a  skinhead  gang  in  his  early  teens  until  turned  on  to  rock  music  by  hearing  Voodoo  Chile. He  formed  his  first  band  Stone  Free , named  after  a  Hendrix  B-side  in  1973  with  his  friend  Adrian  Smith  who  would  join  Iron  Maiden  himself  in  due  course. They  didn't  last  long  and  Dave  started  answering  ads  in  Melody  Maker.

Dave's  arrival  caused  the  other  two  guitarists  to  quit then  a  few  months  later  he  himself  had  to  leave  after  falling  out  with  Willcock. He  joined  Adrian's  band  Urchin  and  played  on  their  second  and  final  single  "She's  A  Roller"  in  April  1978.  It's  a  reasonable  piece  of  pop  metal  let  down  by  Adrian's  rather  weedy  vocal. Shortly  afterwards  Willcock  quit  Iron  Maiden  and  Dave  was  immediately  reinstated.  The  band  now  needed  a  new  singer  and  drummer  Doug  Sampson  suggested  they  try  out  a  friend  of  his,  Paul  Di'Annio.

Paul  was  born  Paul  Andrews  in  Chingford  , 1959. He  adopted  the  Di'Annio  stage  name  to  claim  Italian  descent. He  had  sung  in  various  local  rock  bands  but  his  snarly  singing  voice  was  more  suited  to  punk  than  metal. He  joined  the  band  in  November  1978. On  New  Year's  Eve  they  recorded  four  songs  in  a  Cambridge  studio  for  use  as  a  demo  tape.  They  presented  it  to  DJ  Neal  Kay  who  ran  a  heavy  metal  club  in  London  called  the  Bandwagon  Soundhouse   and   contributed  to  Sounds  magazine. He  loved  it . So  did  Rod  Smallwood  who  became  their  manager  and  was  soon  talking  to  EMI  about  signing  the  band.

They  decided  to  release  the  tape  as  an  EP  on  their  own  Rock  Hard  label, dropping  one  song  where  they  felt  the  sound  quality  wasn't  up  to  scratch. "The  Soundhouse  Tapes"  showcased  their  punk / metal  meld  of  sound  on  three  misanthropic  songs  - "Prowler"'s  celebration  of  rape  is  particularly  objectionable - played  with  frantic  energy. It  quickly  sold  out   its  5,000  copies  mainly  by  mail  order. The  band  decided  to  leave  it  there  , rewarding  their  first  fans   with  a  collectible  item  now  worth  a  three  figure  sum.  

 Feeling  they  needed  a  second  guitarist  they  approached  Adrian  but  he  decided  to  stay  with  Urchin  for  the  time  being. They  then  turned  to  Dennis  Stratton  ( born  1956 )  who  had  briefly  been  on  the  books  of  West  Ham . He  was  playing  with  Remus  Down  Boulevard  who  had  supported  Status  Quo  but  never  got  a  deal. He  joined  in  October  1979. Just  weeks  later  Sampson  quit  for  the  good  of  his  health  and  was  quickly  replaced  by  Clive  Burr  (born  1957 ) .  Burr  was  a  friend  of  Dennis's  and  had  been  in  NWOBHM  rivals  Samson .

In  December  1979  they  signed  a  major  deal  with  EMI  and  "Running  Free"  became  their  first  single. It  was  written  by  Steve  and  Paul  with  the  latter  writing  the  teen  rebel  lyrics  which  he  snarls  out  like  The  Saints'  Chris  Bailey. Clive  provides  the  introductory  drum  roll  before  Steve  comes  in. Now  I've  no  doubt  Steve  is  a  highly  proficient  player  but  I  hate  that  completely  dry  thudding  tone  he  favours  and  as  it's  omnipresent  on  most  of  their  songs  that's  one  of  the  barriers  to  my  appreciating  their  work. Otherwise  it's  a  reasonably  enjoyable  metal  single  with  Dennis  a  particularly  good  backing  vocalist  with  a  high  tone  that  complements  Paul  well  . There's  not  much  of  a  tune  ( another  perennial  IM weakness )  which  probably  prevented  it  climbing  higher.  Despite  featuring  three  long  gone  members  it  remains  a  band  favourite  that  they  still  perform.