Iron Maiden - A Quiet Night In (2024)

EARLY MAIDEN BROADCAST RECORDING FROM 1981 Formed on Christmas Day, 1975, by bassist Steve Harris, and after months of rehearsal, Iron Maiden made their debut appearance at St. Nicks Hall in Poplar on 1 May 1976. The original line-up was short-lived, with vocalist Paul Day being the first casualty as, according to Harris, he lacked "energy or charisma on stage". Replaced by Dennis Wilcock, a Kiss fan who used make-up and fake blood during live performances, Wilcock's friend, Dave Murray, was invited to join, much to the dismay of the band's guitarists Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance. Their frustration led Harris to temporarily disband Iron Maiden in 1976, though the group reformed soon after with Murray as the sole guitarist. Harris and Murray remain the band's longest-standing members and have performed on all of their releases. Harris, Murray, and drummer Dave Sampson spent the summer and autumn of 1978 rehearsing while they searched for a singer. A chance meeting at the Red Lion pub in Leytonstone evolved into a successful audition for vocalist Paul Di'Anno In December 1979, the band secured a major record deal with EMI, and shortly afterwards, Doug Sampson left due to health issues, and was replaced by ex-Samson drummer Clive Burr. Iron Maiden released their eponymous self-titled album in 1980, which debuted at No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart. In 1981, Iron Maiden released their second studio album, Killers. Containing many tracks written prior to their debut release, only two new songs were written for the record. The album was followed by the band's first world tour, which included their debut performance in the United States. On 28th April 1981, the band played at De Vereeniging, in Nijmegen, Netherlands, performing an extraordinary early show which was recorded for live FM Broadcast in the Netherlands. Previously unreleased, this superb gig is now available in its entirety on this CD for the first time.