The Soundhouse Tapes is an EP by Iron Maiden. The Soundhouse Tapes are the very first recordings of Iron Maiden. Released on 9 November 1979, it features three songs taken from the demo tape Spaceward. The songs were recorded by the band on New Year's Eve 1978/79. The three tracks - "Prowler", "Invasion" and "Iron Maiden" - appear in rougher form than they would later be heard on the first Iron Maiden album and subsequent singles. The fourth song from the demo - "Strange World" - would also appear on Iron Maiden. The song was not included in The Soundhouse Tapes because the band wasn't happy with the recording quality. A demo of Transylvania, presumably from the same recording sessions (or at least the same era), has been floating around on the internet for some time as well.

The EP was extremely successful, selling all 5,000 copies of its initial pressing by mail order in less than a week.

The Soundhouse Tapes have been bootlegged several times, as well as being re-released by the band in full on the 4 LP vinyl version of the Best of the Beast box set, and spread over singles and the two CD version released around the same time.

The Soundhouse Tapes' title was taken from The Soundhouse club. This was a heavy metal disco run primarily out of the Prince of Wales pub in Kingsbury, North West London by NWOBHM pioneer Neal Kay. Iron Maiden would play regular gigs at The Soundhouse and the venue was instrumental in gaining the band a wider following.

It is the only Iron Maiden record to feature the band as a four piece (with Dave Murray as its only guitarist).

In 2002, when the band reissued its catalogue, they held a special promotion in which a fan could collect proofs of purchase from the remasters and send them in along with shipping and handling to receive a CD of these recordings (this is, to date, the ONLY time the Soundhouse Tapes recordings have (officially) been released on CD.)

Swedish death metal band Opeth released a live album in 2007 called The Roundhouse Tapes in homage to this title.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Steve Harris.

1. "Iron Maiden" – 4:01
2. "Invasion" – 3:07
3. "Prowler" – 4:20

[edit] Credits

• Paul Di'Anno - Vocals
• Dave Murray - guitar
• Steve Harris - bass guitar
• Doug Sampson - drums

SUE ,
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO POST ANYWHERE. YOU HAVE ENOUGH RESPECT POINTS AND YOU'VE BEEN A MEMBER LONG ENOUGH.

GO TO WHERE YOU WANT TO POST AND THEN LOG IN. UNTIL YOU LOG IN YOU WILL GET A MESSAGE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH RESPOECT POINTS.

SUE ,
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO POST ANYWHERE. YOU HAVE ENOUGH RESPECT POINTS AND YOU'VE BEEN A MEMBER LONG ENOUGH.

GO TO WHERE YOU WANT TO POST AND THEN LOG IN. UNTIL YOU LOG IN YOU WILL GET A MESSAGE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH RESPOECT POINTS.

Published: September 2, 2008

From The Independent:

RAF pilots flown home courtesy of Iron MaidenBruce Dickinson, the singer with heavy metal outfit Iron Maiden, has in the past performed for British troops in Iraq. On Sunday, he did his bit for our boys in Afghanistan.

Dickinson, a qualified pilot for British airline Astraeus, was behind the controls of a Boeing 747 that the Ministry of Defence had chartered to transport a group of RAF pilots back home.

"A lot of them recognised him because they are Maiden fans, but he was there in his professional capacity as a pilot," says an RAF spokesman. "He gave out lots of signatures to the guys."

And from The Mirror:

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson takes the pilot's seat of a Boeing 757Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, 50, shocked 106 members of the RAF returning from Afghanistan, when he took control of a Boeing 757 and flew them from Cyprus to RAF Wittering, Cambs, on Sunday.

But don't panic, he's a trained pilot.

Then, look what he did....

Iron Maiden singer rescues stranded UK tourists

Posted Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:48pm AEST
Updated Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:47pm AEST

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson has flown to the rescue of holiday-makers left stranded abroad after Britain's third largest tour operator collapsed, newspapers have reported.

The heavy metal hero is also a Boeing 757 pilot and flew a specially-chartered Monarch Airlines flight from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to London Gatwick Airport.

XL Leisure Group went into administration Friday, leaving some 85,000 British tourists stranded abroad.

Since then almost 12,000 people have been brought back as part of an airlift mission conducted by the aviation regulator.

"I was just doing my job. I was called out like a lot of other pilots to help and I was obviously happy to do that," The Mail on Sunday newspaper quoted rocker Dickinson as saying.

"Some of the people on the flight were obviously frustrated by the situation they had found themselves in but everyone was pretty good-natured about it all."

Dickinson, 50, said he was off to the Greek island of Kos next to rescue some more stranded holiday-makers.

The Iron Maiden frontman has been a captain with Astraeus, having worked for the British charter airline for nine years.

Dickinson has also competed in fencing at international level.

- AFP

Published: September 2, 2008

From The Independent:

RAF pilots flown home courtesy of Iron MaidenBruce Dickinson, the singer with heavy metal outfit Iron Maiden, has in the past performed for British troops in Iraq. On Sunday, he did his bit for our boys in Afghanistan.

Dickinson, a qualified pilot for British airline Astraeus, was behind the controls of a Boeing 747 that the Ministry of Defence had chartered to transport a group of RAF pilots back home.

"A lot of them recognised him because they are Maiden fans, but he was there in his professional capacity as a pilot," says an RAF spokesman. "He gave out lots of signatures to the guys."

And from The Mirror:

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson takes the pilot's seat of a Boeing 757Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, 50, shocked 106 members of the RAF returning from Afghanistan, when he took control of a Boeing 757 and flew them from Cyprus to RAF Wittering, Cambs, on Sunday.

But don't panic, he's a trained pilot.

Then, look what he did....

Iron Maiden singer rescues stranded UK tourists

Posted Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:48pm AEST
Updated Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:47pm AEST

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson has flown to the rescue of holiday-makers left stranded abroad after Britain's third largest tour operator collapsed, newspapers have reported.

The heavy metal hero is also a Boeing 757 pilot and flew a specially-chartered Monarch Airlines flight from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to London Gatwick Airport.

XL Leisure Group went into administration Friday, leaving some 85,000 British tourists stranded abroad.

Since then almost 12,000 people have been brought back as part of an airlift mission conducted by the aviation regulator.

"I was just doing my job. I was called out like a lot of other pilots to help and I was obviously happy to do that," The Mail on Sunday newspaper quoted rocker Dickinson as saying.

"Some of the people on the flight were obviously frustrated by the situation they had found themselves in but everyone was pretty good-natured about it all."

Dickinson, 50, said he was off to the Greek island of Kos next to rescue some more stranded holiday-makers.

The Iron Maiden frontman has been a captain with Astraeus, having worked for the British charter airline for nine years.

Dickinson has also competed in fencing at international level.

- AFP

MAIDEN WOULD NEVER BE WHO THEY ARE WITH OUT DICKINSON. HE IS ONE OF THE BEST METAL VOCALISTS.  BUT DIANNO WAS GREAT ALSO. MAYBE HE DIDN'T HAVE THE BEST VOICE BUT HE KNEW HOW TO USE IT AND HE USED IT WELL. ALMOST LIKE BON SCOTT. KILLERS IS STILL ONE OF THE GREATEST METAL ALBUMS OF ALL TIME AND FIRST MAIDEN ALBUM HAS SOME GREAT THINGS ON IT ALSO.