That song was 'Run To The Hills' by Iron Maiden.
It's fair to say that this changed my whole musical outlook.
Favourite bands at the time were The Jam, Human League and Ultravox - with a side-order of Slade
My appreciation of The Jam remained constant, but was now coupled with an equal fixation for all things Iron Maiden.
Basically I was a Heavy Metal Mod, a combined Mod and Rocker. In the words of Ringo Starr, I was a Mocker.
The Iron Maiden fixation continued until 1990 and the release of 'No Prayer For The Dying'. It was still Iron Maiden in all their bombastic pomp and glory, but it just didn't move me in the way they had before.
At this point me and Iron Maiden parted company. Apart from the purchase of Fear Of The Dark in 1992 (I was going to Monsters Of Rock, Maiden were headlining and they were bound to concentrate on tracks as it was part of the tour in support of the album), no more Maiden product was added to the collection.
Until last week ...
Last Thursday was my birthday, and is is usual for such occasions I was presented with a selection of gift wrapped items.
One of the 5" square parcels contained CD copies of 'Powerslave' (Iron Maidens 1984 album) and 'The Final Frontier', their latest album released in 2010.
Listened to The Final Frontier this morning, and it was like the return of a long lost friend.
The sound and the song construction was familiar, and inspired me to go back and exhume the vinyl copies. Because of the elapsed time since last listening, it all sounded fresh & new (in spite of the fact I could still remember all the words to the songs). Even 'No Prayer For The Dying' (the album which caused the split) was an enjoyable listen. It contains the single 'Holy Smoke' which is currently lodged in my head/ear and will not go away.
The next few Amazon orders are likely to be Iron Maiden-centric, and for the purpose of completeness the Blaze Bayley-years will be included
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