DISC 1 - RUNNING FREE - SANCTUARY

1. RUNNING FREE

Just sixteen, a pick up truck
Out of money, out of luck
I've got nowhere to call my own
Hit the gas and here I go

I'm running free yeah, I'm running free
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free

Spend the night in an L.A. jail
Listen to the sirens wail
But they ain't got a thing on me
I'm running wild, I'm running free... yeah !

[Chorus]
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free

Get out of my way !

[Chorus]

Pulled her at the Bottle Top
Whisky dancing, disco hop
And all the boys are after me
And that's the way it's gonna be... yeah !

[Chorus] (x3)


2. BURNING AMBITION

So you think you can own me, well you'd better just think again
You'd better watch your steps now woman, 'cause I ain't like those other men
There's something burning inside me that makes me want to be free
And when I get these feelings honey, you better keep away from me

There's things in life now baby, that I know I've got to do
And I need your love now baby, to help me see it through
So you think you can own me, well you'd better just think again
You'd better watch your steps now woman, 'cause I ain't like those other men

Look out... yeah !

So you think you can own me, well you'd better just think again
You'd better watch your steps now woman, 'cause I ain't like those other men
There's something burning inside me that makes me want to be free
And when I get these feelings honey, you better keep away from me


3. SANCTUARY

Out of the winter came a warhorse of steel
I've never killed a woman before but I know how it feels

[Chorus #1]
I know you'd have gone insane if you saw what I saw
So now I've got to look for sanctuary from the law

I met up with a stranger last night, to keep me alive
He spends all his time on gambling and guns to survive

[Chorus #1]

[Chorus #2]
So give me sanctuary from the law
And I'll be alright
Just give me sanctuary from the law
And love me tonight... tonight

[Chorus #1]

I can laugh at the wind, I can howl at the rain
Down in the canyon or out on the plains

[Chorus #1]

[Chorus #2]

Love me tonight...


4. DRIFTER

Walk away !

Look out now, baby won't you take me away
Sittin' here it's gonna be a new day
Gotta get my song and I can't go wrong
Gotta keep on roaming, gotta sing my song

What you feeling when you hold me tight
I'm gonna cuddle up with you tonight
Gonna get to feeling so secure
Listen child, don't you see there's a cure

[Chorus]
Anywhere got to get you away
Feels so good, think it's gonna be a new day
I'm gonna get my song 'till I can't go on
I'm gotta keep on roaming, gotta sing my song

What you feeling when you hold me tight
I'm gonna cuddle up with you tonight
Gonna get to feeling so secure
Listen child, don't you see there's a cure

[Chorus]

Gotta sing my song, yeah !
And it won't take long
I'm gotta sing my song, yeah !
And won't you sing it along ?

I want you to sing it, sing it, sing it, sing it along (x4)

'Cause I'm a drifter drifting you...


5. I'VE GOT THE FIRE

If you're looking for someone that you can keep then, baby, pass me by
And if you wanted something that's twenty years deep, baby, don't even try
And if you wanted someone to take your soul I'll lift you up little bit higher

I've got the fire

So you think I'm skinny, don't you sell me cheap, I'm as wide as a country-mile
Some like it wide, I like it deep, guess which one is my style
So you think you can beat me by my own game, maybe I call you a liar

I've got the fire
I've got the fire... !
I've got it !


6. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART I

....What ho sed de ting!

How you doing, you lot out there? Gosh! You, I guess you are now the proud owners of the very first little box set of the re-released singles from Iron Maiden. Well, I've got to say this, welcome to not a lot of people know that, part 1. Cause here, I'm about to tell you a few stories now and in the next nine releases of this here box sets, over the period of the next ten weeks. Now look here, first of all, my goodness, it's ten years almost to the day... Ooh little chickadees out there, oh you've got your grubby little hands on "Running Free", "Burning Ambition", oh gosh! The very first single! "Sanctuary", "Drifter", and "I've Got The Fire", the second singles... gosh! The first one was released, as I said, almost ten years to the very day on February 8, 1980.

Eh, I'll tell you something, right? You know 'Arry... 'Arry Harris, right, he had a band called Gypsy's Kiss ...disgusting... and you know what that rhymes with doncha? Well if you don't, I'm not gonna tell ya anyway so there. He had this song called "Burning Ambition", which I suppose was a real drive for 'Arry then because he was, you know, full of ambition to get his music out and play it for people, and he had this song. And he was in this band Gypsy's Kiss, well they were, cause they couldn't handle this song. And they turned around and said : "'Arry you know look at all these chord changes and time changes", as he's famous for, and I should know... come on, give us a break. So, he took the song... the band and they're going : "Come on 'Arry, Gypsy's Kiss off will ya, I can't play that!". And he said, "Allright, I've had enough of this then, I'm gonna go find some people that can, so kiss you and all". So anyway, that's what he did. Not kiss them, no, he did the other thing, you know, what it rhymes with... mm off. I'll say it, he pissed off, so there you go. Whatever. Now he went out and he formed a band, and um... uuh, "Burning Ambition" was actually recorded late in 1979 and originally featured the original drummer in fact of... in fact I think there was one guy before him... but Doug Sampson was on drums in those days. Dave double tracked on guitars... You know, he double tracked and all... He doesn't have to though, does he? You know what I'm saying.

Well, OK, "Running Free" as well was also the first art work from Riggsy... Riggsy!!! I tell people I'm actually from another planet you know cause I'm a bit off the wall, well I'll tell you this guy owns the other planet, my goodness! No god bless him, he's a diamond guy, I love him, what an artist! He first brought Eddie into the first sleeve on this the "Running Free" single, and Eddie if you remember rightly was standing in the shadows, you never really saw him. But uh, oh my goodness, he brought him out didn't he, on the first album all in his glory and splendour, Eddie comes out and goes "Yeeeeh I'm here," so watch out folks. Well there, what can you say about it, "Running Free", it's a song the band still to this day plays, it's one of the truly great Iron Maiden songs, I mean not only just because it was their first single, but... what a crack.

And now then, well we've gone through that, "Burning Ambition" we talked about, on the other side we got "Sanctuary"... On the other single rather, we've got "Sanctuary", "Drifter" live, and "I've Got The Fire", an old Montrose song. Well this... this was the first top-30 entry actually, it made number 29 and uh, oh you know the boys were really happy it was released 23rd of May 1980. God dearie me, it was a couple within a few months of one another... You lucky boys and girls! Woah, as I said you've got one every week for ten weeks coming out here... Ah, oh well. This was recorded by the way... The live "Drifter" and "I've Got The Fire" was recorded in the Marquee in April 1980. And that was a good year, I've got a good drop of wine at home made in 1980, yeah still got half a bottle left, it's really good. "I've Got The Fire", it's an old Montrose song as I said, and Steve liked it so he recorded it live, and it used to be a set opener for the band in those days, but on the back of that they kind of got into the deal of like not recording Iron Maiden songs on the B's, this was when the beginnings when B-sides were other people's songs that the band decided to play.

Anyway around this time, they uh, they didn't get Top of the Pops ...rotten buggers... but we all know why, it's the bleedin' BBC isn't it? Well you know we'll work out some sort of abbreviation for that later on... but anyway they couldn't get on because there was some sort of reaction, strikes and all that good stuff, you know what the BBC usually like to do...

You! Move the broom! Well, is he a labourer? No he fucking well ain't! Well that's it, we're going on strike. Put your teacups up to your face lads, lets go out to the canteen and have another drink... You know, whatever... Well what can you say, what can you say, strikes all around. So the boys didn't get to play Top of the Pops. That's no biggie, you know they never play the band anyway do they? Poxy BBC... Anyway funnily enough, around this time it the very first gig I ever did with Iron Maiden, no not actually playing with them like as a band... a full band. I played in a band called McKitty, and these guys in McKitty... a guy called Donnovan McKitty himself, we did a gig in Belgium, and it was in fact... not a lot of people know this... but it was in fact Maiden's very first European gig, how about that, and I was there! So there! Hmm! Stuff that up your fucking pipe and smoke it! Right! So there you go. I was really privileged to be there, and that's when I really first met the band, we got on so well and we had such a riot.... Eh, what can I say?

Anyway, you remember the "Sanctuary" sleeve, you lot? Yeah... Maggie Thatcher... Well, can you believe it, she was there, you know what she was trying to do... Stupid cow... She was trying to pull down an Iron Maiden poster off the wall. Well, what can you say about that? Not a lot, believe me! She was... I dunno why they called her the iron maiden, do you? Nothing like this.... I know why! Maybe because she's like Eddie! Hahahaha!

Listen! By the way I've got to tell you this little story real quick, alright, I'm running out of time on this one but nevertheless... You remember Eddie, right? Of course you remember Eddie! Well this is the origin of Eddie, right. The band used to have this backdrop which featured this theatrical mask and it sort of spat out all this red die and smoke and all that gobby stuff and here's poor old Clive sitting under it getting gobbed on every night... "Oy! What's all this?!". He's going, "What's all this red st... you know, this shit coming over my head, I've had enough of that". Eh... anything you could find, anything they could find they'd sling in it. Anyway, they called him Eddie the Head, see, and it's after an old East-End joke that goes as follows:

Eddie was very unfortunate, he was born without a body. So nevertheless, his parents loved him dearly and took him home and placed him on the mantelpiece one day. Well, his family gave him lots of love and attention and he always got loads of presents on his birthday kind of... blowing things, and hats and all that kind of stuff, wow... Anyway one year he was about 16, and the hospital phoned up Eddie's parents and they said to them, "Look, due to modern technology and all those good things that we can do with this stuff nowadays, we are now... we are now able to build Eddie a body". So, the parents were so excited, they couldn't believe it, and they couldn't wait to tell Eddie, I mean this is it, Eddie's gonna have a body! Weeeha! However, as it was close to his birthday, they decided to tell the doctors to go ahead and build his body, and then they would surprise him, you know they weren't far away from his birthday... Well, a good birthday present, so anyway... A few weeks later the big day arrived, yes, Eddie's birthday. So his parents go up to him, and walked up to the mantelpiece and "Hello Eddie, how you doin'? This year is gonna to be the best birthday yet! Have we got something for you, such a wonderful present!" And his mum's going "Oh goodness Eddie we're so pleased!". And Eddie's going, "Oh no!" said Eddie, "Not another fucking hat!".

Hahahahaha! Oh, I think it's funny! Shit, it is! It's pretty good isn't it! Anyway, after this... Anyway, Derek came up with the creature Eddie and the body and that on the record covers, and the name was just carried over and the rest is history isn't it? And Eddie's out there, yet he's got to have a bit of nookie before long, that's all I can say.


DISC 2 - WOMEN IN UNIFORM - TWILIGHT ZONE

1. WOMEN IN UNIFORM

Beehive hairdo, 45 on the hip
Patrolwoman Saunders, don't you give her no whip
Took me to the station for a breath test
Then back to the bedroom for some house-arrest

[Chorus]
Women in uniform
Sometimes they look so cold
Women in uniform
But oh ! They feel so warm

Coming back to London on a 747
Stewardess made me feel like I'm in Heaven
Looking up the aisle to see what I could see
She leaned over, said give it to me

White apron, brown leather shoes
The nurse at the clinic left my heart all bruised
Gave me a massage, sprained my right
Now she takes my temperature every night

[Chorus]

Women in uniform (x4)

Commando raid on the lebanese border
Sergeant Anita, she gives the order
Khaki jacket and a love gun
Baby, I surrender, let's have some fun

[Chorus] (x2)

Women in uniform (x4)

Women in uniform
Can't live by the rule
Women in uniform
Coming up to you

Women in uniform
Sometimes they look so cold
Women in uniform
But oh yeah ! Oh yeah !

Women in uniform
Can't live by the rule
Women in uniform
Coming up to you

Women in uniform
Sometimes they look so cold
Women in uniform
Look out ! Look out !


2. INVASION

The Vikings are coming
You'd better get ready for, we're having a fight
The longboats are coming
It's looking like their in the dead of the night

Muster the men from all the villages
You'd better get ready to fight with your enemies

Beacons are burning
I'm giving the word to get ready to fight
The battle is nearing
You'd better get ready to fight for your lives

Muster the men from all the villages
You'd better get ready to fight with your enemies

[Chorus #1]
The Norsemen are coming, The Norsemen are coming
The warnings are given, The Norsemen are coming
The Norsemen are coming, The Norsemen are coming
The warnings are given, The Norsemen are coming

[Chorus #2]
Raping and pillaging
Robbing and looting the land
Raping and pillaging
Robbing and looting the land
Viking raiders from afar

[Chorus #1]
[Chorus #2]


3. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

I've been looking so long for you now, you won't get away from my grasp
You've been living so long in hiding, in hiding behind that false mask

You know and I know that you ain't got that long to last
Your looks and your feelings are just the remains of your past

Standing in the wings there, you wait for the curtain to fall
Knowing the terror and holding you have on us all

And I know that you're gonna scratch me and maim me and maul
And you know I'm helpless from your mesmerising cat call

Keep your distance, walk away
Don't take this bait, don't you stray, don't fade away

Watch your step, he's out to get you, come what may
Don't you stray from the narrow way

I'm running and hiding, in my dreams you are always there
You're the phantom of the opera, you're the devil, you're just out to scare

You damaged my mind and my soul just floats through the air
You haunt me, you taunt me, you torture me back at your fair

...Torture me back at your fair !


4. TWILIGHT ZONE

She lays in bed at night and that is when I make my call
But when she stares at me, she can't see nothing at all
Because, you see, I can't take no shape or form
It's been three long years since I've been gone

I can't get used to purgatory, you know it really makes me cry
I'll never know the reason why I had to go

Oh, oh, I'm crying
Oh, oh, oh, deep inside of me
Oh, oh, oh, can't you see me ?
Ah, ah, ah, can't you see me ?

I'm looking forward to her spirit coming over to me
I feel so tempted to bring her over to see
Just what it's like to be hanging to the other side
I feel so lonely, it's a long time since I died

I try to show her that she's never gonna be alone
Because my spirit is imprisoned in the twilight zone

Oh, oh, I'm crying
Oh, oh, oh, deep inside of me
Oh, oh, oh, can't you hear me ?
Ah, ah, ah, can't you see me ?


5. WRATHCHILD

I was born into a scene
Of angriness and greed
Of dominance and persecution

My mother was a queen
My dad I've never seen
I was never meant to be

[Chorus #1]
Now I spend my time looking all around
For a man that's nowhere to be found
Until I find him, I'm never gonna stop searching
I'm gonna find my man, gonna travel round

[Chorus #2]
'Cause I'm a wrathchild
Well, I'm a wrathchild
Yeah, I'm a wrathchild
I'm coming to get you, oh yeah, yeah !

Some say I shouldn't matter
Ain't nothing gonna alter
The course of my destination

But I know I've gotta find
Some serious peace of mind
Or I know I'll just go crazy

[Chorus #1]
[Chorus #2]


6. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART II

... What ho hahahaha!

Well, welcome once again to the not a lot of people know that, part II. Or in other words, Nick's verbal diarrhoea for the second time running. You lucky lot! Now you're out there holding in your sweaty palms and all them grubby little fingers and hands, ooh the second re-released singles box set from Iron Maiden, the second weeks now we're running, now we're onto a cruise. "Women In Uniform"! You've just listened to it! "Invasion"! You've just listened to it! "Phantom Of The Opera"! You've just listened to it! Ohh, and "Twilight Zone" and "Wrathchild", both 'Arry Harris... bomber Harris compositions of the most outstandingly stunning performances! Marvellous!

Well, look here! Look here! "Women In Uniform", mmm. Now then 'Arry, you slipped up... Listen, don't tell him but you know it wasn't a song by 'Arry, see, but he knows that doesn't he. Wot? Anyway, "Women In Uniform", written by the Macainah brothers... I think I pronounced that right lads... If you're listening, well too fucking bad if I ain't, I'm very sorry but anyway, nevertheless. Aussie band, Skyhooks I believe they were called, the name of the band, first originally recorded this "Women In Uniform". The boys decided to do it, and released this single 27th of October 1980. And uh, well, great song, you know... doo doo ah dee dee... Good song, and all that. And as I say, you've got "Invasion" and "Phantom Of The Opera" live. My goodness, aren't you lucky people... Gosh I don't even have this stuff at home. You know what, I tell ya, one of the reasons that we're releasing all these bits and pieces, not only to celebrate ten years with such a great company as EMI, but not a lot of us have got a complete set of the singles and all that stuff so it's really so we can get the old collection going. Yeah, so anyway, nevertheless!

Alright, now Mike Kenny made his debut in the video as Eddie I do believe, on the very first promo video. Well, I say the first promo, the "Invasion" video, was the first rock promo, one of the first rock promos by a British rock band. I suppose you think Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" was close to that, you know, I think they were probably the very first. But it was quite visionary if you think of the importance of videos now, you get it... vision... quite visi... yeah, alright ok, we cut the crap and get on with it. So there you go, first song the band's ever released in A-side is by somebody else, and uh yeah, that's cool. And by the way, "Invasion" was part of the band's you know the stage set that the boys used to use in the late 70's, and originally it was released on the "Soundhouse Tapes". Oh, we all know about the "Soundhouse Tapes"... Take that if you don't! wooh, I'll give you... I wanna hit you so hard... Anyway! "Invasion" was on the "Soundhouse Tapes", and Steve and the guys decided to record a proper studio version of this song, so that's why that was re-done basically. And "Phantom" was recorded at the Marquee in July 1980, oh yes you lucky Maidenettes and Maiden guys and all that out there! Four dates in one week to wind up their summer UK tour in 1980, can you remember that? What a great time! Did Top Of The Pops live, again, by the way, and the guys did the sound check... This is, not a lot of people know this... and the did the sound check in the afternoon. And a minute before the performance the sound monitor engineer turned around and says "I'm not gonna have this... You're too loud, we're gonna turn it down". And they messed around with all the twiddly knobs and everything, on the desk... on the desk!!! right? And it totally poxed it all up. So the boys vowed never to play... um... I said Top Of The Pops, didn't I? Well you know that company on the last thing I was trying to think of an abbreviation for, right? Well you know what I'm talking about right? Well it's the Bleeding Bojack Company, right, that's what it is, and that's what they done to 'em so it's on the videos now and that's it. Boom.

So you lucky lot. Oooh, "Twilight Zone" and "Wrathchild", both as I said, 'Arry Harris compositions... released the 2nd of March 1981, got to chart position 31. Not bad, eh! Oh, by the way, the "Women In Uniform" and "Invasion" and that got to 35, I think I forgot to mention that. If I did mention it, too fucking bad, alright. So, "Twilight Zone" and "Wrathchild", that was recorded as part of a "Killers" session at the turn of '80 and '81. Now Martin, he actually couldn't be there at this particular session, so the boys produced "Twilight Zone" themselves. Quite clever when you think about it, aren't they, playing and producing it at the same time. Amazing! Anyway, hahaha, so they decided to release this "Twilight Zone" on the "Killers" album. And so the boys and Rod sent a telex over to Japan, see, and they explained all the details of the song. So the Japanese, they're a funny lot aren't they, they took it literally, and the song was printed as "Details Of Twilight Zone". My goodness, that's a cracker isn't it? Hah!

By the way, boys and girls, if you know your trivia. Mr. H. Adrian Smith joined the band in that particular time, didn't he? Yeah, now "Twilight Zone", this happened to be Adrian's first single with the band. Now not a lot of people would remember that, but then again, probably they would, so I'll stuff it in the pipe and smoke it. H. joined the band in September 1980, and as you know, on the back of this as it's a double A-side, it was "Wrathchild", and Adrian had to learn "Wrathchild" as part of his audition, you know. He also had to show the boys that he could kick a football and down a pint of beer in five seconds. He managed both of them no problem, now "Wrathchild" he had to do the business. Well all I can say is this... he must have done a fucking good job didn't he, eh? Cause he's steaming and he's right there, see? So, not a lot of people knew that either. So anyway, that's H's audition out of the way, and he was always happening and he went out on the tour in 1980 and 1981 and all this. And, well, there you go. As it happens, as I said, the session that they did with "Twilight Zone" and "Wrathchild" came out so well that they released it as a double A-side... By the way, as we're talking about musicians, I've got a joke for ya. I'm not gonna like it very much, but you might, alright, so here it is: what do you call somebody that hangs around with musicians? Aww no, not that one! Surely! Alright, a bloody drummer!

Alright, now I've said it and all the boys are at me, I've got that one out of the way. Thanks a lot Rod, hmmm. There you go. Oh by the way, I was in a band called Trust around that period of time, and in fact, the boys, we came out with Iron Maiden on their "Killers" Tour of Great Britain. And not a lot of people know that either. But uh, we had a great time, we did about three and a half weeks with the band, and we had a serious... It was great! Well, what can I say? Not a lot anymore, I think I've just about covered all that one. Um, so I'm going down the pub to have a beer. Tada!


DISC 3 - PURGATORY - MAIDEN JAPAN

1. PURGATORY

Thinking of an age old dream
Places I've never seen
Fantasies lived times before
I split my brain, melt through the floor

Over clouds my minds will fly
Forever now I can't think why
My body tries to live my soul
Or is it me, I just don't know

Memories rising from the past
The future's shadow overcast
Something's clutching at my head
Through the darkness I'll be led

[Chorus #1]
Oh, another time, another place
Oh, another smile, another face
When you see me floating up beside you
You get the feeling that all my love's inside of you

Please take me away, take me away, so far away (x3)

(All the song : 2 times)


2. GENGHIS KHAN

Instrumental


3. RUNNING FREE

Just sixteen, a pick up truck
Out of money, out of luck
I've got nowhere to call my own
Hit the gas and here I go

I'm running free yeah, I'm running free
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free

Spend the night in an L.A. jail
Listen to the sirens wail
But they ain't got a thing on me
I'm running wild, I'm running free... yeah !

[Chorus]
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free

Get out of my way !

[Chorus]

Pulled her at the Bottle Top
Whisky dancing, disco hop
And all the boys are after me
And that's the way it's gonna be... yeah !

[Chorus] (x3)


4. REMEMBER TOMORROW

Unchain the colours before my eyes
Yesterday sorrows, tomorrow white lies
Scan the horizon, the clouds take me higher
I shall return from out of the fire

Tears for remembrance and tears for joy
Tears for somebody and this lonely boy
Out in the madness the all seeing eye
Flickers above us to light up the sky

Unchain the colours before my eyes
Yesterday sorrows, tomorrow white lies
Scan the horizon, the clouds take me higher
I shall return from out of the fire


5. KILLERS

You walk through the subway, his eyes burn a hole in your back
A footstep behind you, he lunges prepared for attack
Scream for mercy, he laughs as he's watching you bleed
Killer behind you, his blood lust defies all his needs

My innocent victims are slaughtered with wrath and despise
The mocking religion of hatred that burns in the night
I have no one, I'm bound to destroy all this greed
A voice inside me compelling to satisfy me

I can't see what a knife's meant to be
And you'll never know how I came to foresee, see, see

My faith in believing is stronger than lifelines and ties
With the glimmer of metal my moment is ready to strike

The death call arises, a scream breaks the still of the night
Another tomorrow, remember to walk in the light !
I have found you and no there is no place to run
Excitement shakes me, oh God help me, what have I done ?

Oh, yeah ! I've done it...

You walk through the subway, my eyes burn a hole in your back
A footstep behind you, he lunges prepared for attack
Scream for mercy, he laughs as he's watching you bleed
Killer behind you, my blood lust defies all my needs

Oh, look out ! I'm coming for you...


6. INNOCENT EXILE

My life is so empty, nothing to live for
My mind is all confusion 'cause I defied the law
When you weren't there to help me, I lost my mind and ran
I never had no trouble before this all began

My life is so empty, nothing to live for
My mind is all confusion 'cause I defied the law
When you weren't there to help me, I lost my mind and ran
I never had no trouble before this all began

I'm running away, I've nowhere to go
I'm lost and tired and I just don't know, yeah !
They say I killed a woman, they know it isn't true
They're just trying to frame me, and all because of you, yeah !

Long I'm running...


7. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART III

Hey Nicko, wake up the tape's rolling...

Ah! ok now, well! What you doing letting me go to sleep now? Yeah, ah! Did you say the tape's rolling? Well look here, I mustn't... I can't go to sleep in the studio... Time costs money, don't it? You know what I mean. It's what she said last night... Hahahaha! Yes, she cleaned me out, she did, I tell ya. Don't tell the wife though... Be in you know proverbial shit creek without a paddle, or should I say without the old pussy. Ooh ooh! You know, no nookie for a year, watch out. Might not even have any nookie ever, cause she'll probably chop my head off. Hmmm, yeah, that's a bit... that's a thought... gotta watch out.

Anyway! Lucky you, welcome to not a lot of people knew that, or know that, or even still don't know it: notes number three. Ding! Love it! "Purgatory" and "Genghis Khan" are in your proud possession. And you have probably just had an assortment of audible boosting out of those speakers right into your lug holes. And you've also got "Killers", "Innocent Exile", "Remember Tomorrow" and "Running Free"... Maiden Japan, released 14th of September 1981, that little lot was... We'll get to that in a minute.

Anyway, "Purgatory", eh, "Genghis Khan"... Well the boys, didn't they... they had the only non-top-50 single ever? Where was I? Hmm. Anyway! Well that's enough of that. Uh, released the 15th of June, "Purgatory" and "Genghis Khan" were, or was, hmm. And it's just been released again, hasn't it? Cause you are the proud owner of it, and you're listening to me again... Oh no, they say... Oh no... Ten sick toads to bail me out... Oh no, it's Nicko... Oh! Well look here, it's a little bit of trivia for you on this one. I know that not a lot of people know this, cause I even didn't know this, and I'll admit this... I did not know this, all right. I'll say it again, I did not know this. "Purgatory" was originally called "Floating", hmm, and it was part of Iron Maiden's live show between '76 and '77, would you believe! It was originally played at a very much slower tempo than what is being played at on you know past excursions, so to speak. Well, Steve... he likes to play a little bit faster, he does, see... likes it oooh, and I like that too. And he decided, he said to the band: "look, I like uh... you know... I like this song, you like it to don't ya?". They said "sure"... Well they had to didn't they? And uh, hahaha! So, anyway they rearranged it and beefed it up for the "Killers" album, and c'est la vie, or as it is, c'est quoi, or say what, there it is. "Purgatory". As it happens, at the right tempo... boom! Love it! Cause Steve... you know, there's certain songs that are written... We'll get onto that later on, there's a little story I'll tell you about that too.

But uh, here you go, "Genghis Khan"... that was sort of a filling song, if you like. It was written on short notice... That's why it's a short song! Hahahah! Stupid idiot. Maiden discovered they were short of a song on the "Killers" album. So, they sat down and sort of went "here, let's think of something". And it was given a working title of Jenkin's Barn... god knows why, "Genghis Khan"... Jenkin's Barn... I suppose it rhymes, doesn't it? Anyway, I dunno, soppy sod... works in mysterious ways, this music business, don't it? Anyway, the sleeve for the "Purgatory" single was originally "The Number Of The Beast" album art work. And the band decided it was too good to keep for the... you know... too good to keep! It was best... It was too good so they wanted to keep it... Oh, wake up! They wanted to keep it for the next album... cor, that hurt. Dave, what'd you do that for, man? Anyway... They wanted to keep it for the next album, cause it fitted perfectly with the old NOB. Well, now look, that's rephrase that... NOB being an abbreviation for "Number Of The Beast". Now we'll get into that later on right so. "Number Of The Beast", yes. And, it felt... you know... Steve had this song with him and... "Yeah... that's what we'll do, we'll keep this artwork for the album". So Derek did a new Eddie and he did the Eddie-devil sleeve for the single which you all know, which you're standing looking at, or sitting looking at, or lying on the floor or on top of your missus or she's on top of you, looking at it... I don't know what you're doing but... but you're having it in your hand ain't ya? No, the sleeve, silly! The sleeve! Right! Now as I said, it didn't make the top... It didn't get over 50... It got chart position 52. As I said, where was I? It'd been up number one and all... ahm, nevermind. Ah, hahaha, Jesus.

Anyway! Maiden Japan! What can you say about this? This actually was recorded on the band's very first Japanese tour. And uh, the actual Japanese version of this record was titled "Heavy Metal Army" and there was no equivalent words in the Japanese language for Maiden Japan. I would have thought they just should have said it "Maiden Japan" and called it that! Well nevertheless. This was the last Maiden release to feature Paul Di'Anno, as we know. What a great singer, he was with the band for a few years, many, you know, quite a number of years, a few years there. But, Paul went on to different pastures, green and blue and white and yellow, whatever they were. Um, but any... Oh, by the way on the Japanese sleeve it says "Pray roud". Hahaha, Jeez! Pray roud! It don't take a degree in English science to work that one out, does it? Eh? Does it? What do you mean what does it mean? Pray roud! Right, that's enough of that. Anyway, by the way, Rod took all the photographs for this band... Uh, for this single, the single you know, all the live shots uh... for the Maiden Japan. And he went down, he went down the old duh duty free racket market, you know like "Oh ah, you give me money, oh, think of me Rod-san, you can have this!". So anyway, he bought a Cannon camera on the cheap, as usual. And actually this is definitely where Ross got his inspiration from... I mean what can I say, Rod actually astounded the photo world with his prowess behind the lens. What a great... what a c... what a cracker! What a cracker. Anyway, by the way, one little point... this got to number 43 on the charts, this Maiden Japan, released 14th of September 1981, and again if I said it already, to fucking bad.

Now. Oh yes, this is a joke for ya. If the answer to the question is "my cock Robin", what's the question? "What's that... in my arse Batman!" Hahahahah!


DISC 4 - RUN TO THE HILLS - THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

1. RUN TO THE HILLS

White man came across the sea
He brought us pain and misery
He killed our tribes, he killed our creed
He took our game for his own need

We fought him hard, we fought him well
Out on the plains, we gave him Hell
But many came, too much for cree
Oh, will we ever be set free ?

Riding through dust clouds and barren wastes
Galloping hard on the plains
Chasing the redskins back to their holes
Fighting them at their own game
Murder for freedom, the stab in the back
Women and children and cowards attack

[Chorus]
Run to the hills, run for your lives
Run to the hills, run for your lives

Soldier blue in the barren wastes
Hunting and killing their game
Raping the women and wasting the men
The only good Indians are tame
Selling them whiskey and taking their gold
Enslaving the young and destroying the old

[Chorus] (x3)


2. TOTAL ECLIPSE

Cold as steel the darkness waits, its hour will come
A cry of fear for the chosen worshipping the sun
Mother natures black revenge on those who waste her life
War babies in the garden of Eden shall turn our ashes to ice

[Chorus]
Sunrise is gone, freezing up the fires
Sunrise is gone, numbing all desires

Sunrise is gone (x2)

Around the world the people stop with terror-stricken eyes
A shadow cast upon them all to crush them like a fly
In the icy rain and whiplashed seas there's nowhere left to run
The hammer blows of winter fall like a hurricane

[Chorus]

Around the world the nations wait for some wise words from their leading light
You know it's not only madmen who listen to fools
"Is this the end ?" the millions cried clutching their riches as they died
Those who survive must weather the storm

Gone are the days when man looked down
They've taken away his sacred crown
To be so free, it took so long
It's not the journey's end, it's just begun


3. THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

"How to you, oh Earth and Sea, for the devil sends the Beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short... Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the Beast for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty six"
(Revelations, chapter XIII, V. 18)

I left alone, my mind was blank
I needed time to get the memories from my mind
What did I see, can I believe that what I saw
That night was real and not just fantasy
Just what I saw in my old dream were they
Reflections of my warped mind staring back at me
'Cause in my dreams it's always there,
The evil face that twists my mind and brings me to despair

Night was black, was no use holding back
'Cause I just have to see was someone watching me
In the mist, dark figures move and twist
Was all this for real or just some kind of Hell

666, the number of the Beast
Hell and fire was spawned to be released

Torches blazed and sacred chants were praised
As they start to cry, hands held to the sky
In the night the fires are burning bright
The ritual has begun, Satan's work is done

666, the number of the Beast
Sacrifice is going on tonight

This can't go on, I must inform the law
Can this still be real or some crazy dream
But I feel drawn towards the chanting hordes
They seem to mesmerise me... Can't avoir their eyes

666, the number of the Beast
666, the one for you and me

I'm coming back, I will return
And I'll possess your body and I'll make you burn
I have the fire, I have the force
I have the power to make my evil take its course


4. REMEMBER TOMORROW

Unchain the colours before my eyes
Yesterday sorrows, tomorrow white lies
Scan the horizon, the clouds take me higher
I shall return from out of the fire

Tears for remembrance and tears for joy
Tears for somebody and this lonely boy
Out in the madness the all seeing eye
Flickers above us to light up the sky

Unchain the colours before my eyes
Yesterday sorrows, tomorrow white lies
Scan the horizon, the clouds take me higher
I shall return from out of the fire


5. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART IV

What ho.... sed de ting! I'm back, nyah! You thought you got away with it, didn't you? But you didn't. No, not on your fourth little box set of "Run To The Hills", "Total Eclipse", "Number Of The Beast", and "Remember Tomorrow" live. Aah! Box number four. Do you like it so far? What a great set of singles and all that good stuff... Original art work and all that good stuff! Well, you are again the proud owner of number four, "Run To The Hills - Total Eclipse", released the 12th of February 1982. And welcome once again to not a lot of... not a lot of people know that. Haha, oh dear, it's getting worse isn't it? Well I have been in here for two or three days and they won't let me out! No. They've left me stuck in this here studio and what can I do but mumble on and jumble on and get the words back to front and front to back and all that good stuff. "Run To The Hills", chart position number 7, got there. Released 12th of February 1982, If I said that already, too fucking bad! Ah, it was first released, as I said, whenever it was, featuring Bruce on vocals. Now Bruce had joined the band in September '81, and if you think about it it's almost a to the day a year after Adrian joined, September 1980. Hmm. It was the band's first single, as it happens, to reach the top ten. Great! Well, what can you say about that? Thank you guys and fans and girls... guys and girls... all the people out there that bought that, I mean puh, got it to number seven. And also it was one of the favourites of you guys the fans, when we play it it's great, we start of and Bruce introduces the song and everyone's right there with us to know the words and sing along like you do with a lot of our songs, but I think that definitely because it was such a popular first top ten single as well such a popular song. Also the video for "Run To The Hills" was... the out takes... remember the bit with the Indians there, and he's sitting on a penny farthing, you know and they're all getting shot with a bow and the guy in the back with about six million arrows hanging out of his hat... And the guy goes and gets scalped, and the geezer goes up behind the Indian, oh no, the Indian goes up behind the guy right. Oh yeah, I got it right that time. And he scalps him! And he pulls his hair off, and he's got a bloody toupe on his... He's got no hair! He's got a bald head! And the guy... whew, I think they're really great. Well it's a Buster Keaton movie actually, but Buster they couldn't show him because he'd have got... they'd have got copyright problems and all that. And it was also fun enough, a big MTV favourite. Now, music television was released over in the United States before we got it on cable or satellite which is now happening in England. And uh, this was in the days when they had some serious, you know, they had some good taste, these guys. I mean, they were playing rock 'n' roll and there was heavy metal. Now, they're... they're just like what's that, that other lot, the Bleedin' Bojack Company! You know, I'll find an abbreviation for the MTV mob, don't you worry have no friggin' fear! I shall get there! There you go, brilliant success, great story.

Now moving on to the other single in the set, you've got "Number Of The Beast", haven't ya? Well if you haven't there's a mistake. Get onto EMI and have a word... Slap 'em around the back of the head like that for an opener, or a punch in the chops would be good. You know. "Number Of The Beast", 'Arry Harris composition again, "Remember Tomorrow" live, 'Arryis 'Arry 'Arrisssizzzz and Paul Duh... Duh... Duh... Di'Anno. Chart position 18 it got to, that was released on 26th of April 1982. And it was off of the album of the same name, "Number Of The Beast"! Alright? Got that? Alright. You know what I said earlier on as well, I think it was not a lot of people know that part three, or it might have even been part two, I don't know. I can't really remember, it was too many days ago... Remember I told you they kept me in here for a few weeks... few days. Um, it was released off of the album of the same name. When they were recording the album, which was at Battery Studio in London, Mr. Martin Birch had a car crash, and all the old equipment in the studio kept breaking down. All this kind of things were going on. But after he got the bill presented to him, through the accident that he'd had, his car... the damage bill was six hundred and sixty six quid, sixty six p! No on my life, I am not pulling the dinger! I am telling ya, this is god's honest truth. Well after the release of the album, the band were branded as satanists only to boot! What a bunch of prats! I mean these people have no idea, and they've got their noses stuck up, you know, probably up each others bum, you know. Or whatever. Anyway, it's all about Steve having a nightmare, I mean he has them pretty often... Poor guy, you know, I mean I pity the wife... "God Steve, what's the matter!". "Uh oh uh oh uh oh uh! Oh god, it's coming for me! Oh, Eddie! Eddie! Get away!". Hahahaha! Poor old low, never mind. Anyway... It's horrible though... No, you can't make fun of nightmares. No they're not very nice things, but Steve had a nightmare what could actually happen if he got involved with all this sort of satanist stuff, and all that mumbo jumbo and all that mean gear. Well you know, there you go. So basically that was the inspiration to the song, and out of that came NOTB, and outta NOTB came the album. Hahahaha. Wonder what the wife looked like? Hahaha, Jesus. I don't know, it's my sense of humour, you probably don't understand, I don't care anyway.

Anyway, by the way, the video was shot at the Newcastle city hall. And Rod and the boys asked the local radio station, or asked the ballroom dancers to come up and feature in the video. They did. Puh, pretty good isn't it? By the way, it was my uh... I was still with Trust at that time, and um, we actually did a ten or twelve date... I think it was ten dates of European tour with Maiden on "The Number Of The Beast" tour when they were in Europe. And, just... after this, a couple of months after this period of time on the tour, the band did a Belgian TV show, and in fact this was my very, very, very first performance with Iron Maiden... Not a lot of people know that... and we played "Number Of The Beast", I guess it was, I think it was "Killers" and "Run To The Hills", something like that. I might have been wrong, and then again too bad if I am! So what you gonna do about it! Take that! So! Hahahaha, sorry Dave. Oh gosh, oh my microphone!

Anyway, ah! "Remember Tomorrow". Well, this was recorded in Italy... Well you can remember tomorrow if you like, I can't even remember yesterday or even today, so it's up to you. Hahaha. Heh. Anyway, "Remember Tomorrow" was recorded in Italy during Bruce's very first live dates with Maiden. And they went out there to do some gigs with Bruce and break him in, so to speak. He fell... he fell into a vat of starch the night before. Hahahaha! Oh god! And he did a few dates before the small U.K. tour at the end of 1981, and that's uh, that's where "Remember Tomorrow" was recorded. That's why hence it's "Remember Tomorrow" live. And I say, it got to chart position 18, released 26th of April. Good stuff! Anyway, by the way I've gotta go, so look, if I don't see you in the spring which ain't too far away right, I'll see you in a mattress! Hahahahaha! Toodle-do! Bye.


DISC 5 - FLIGHT OF ICARUS - THE TROOPER

1. FLIGHT OF ICARUS

As the sun breaks, above the ground
An old man stands on the hill
As the ground warms, to the first rays of light
A birdsong shatters the still

His eyes are ablaze
See the madman in his gaze

[Chorus]
Fly, on your way, like an eagle
Fly as high as the sun
On your way, like an eagle
Fly and touch the sun

Now the crowd breaks and a young boy appears
Looks the old man in the eye
As he spreads his wings and shouts at the crowd
In the name of God my father I fly

His eyes seems so glazed
As he flies on the wings of a dream
Now he knows his father betrayed
Now his wings turn to ashes to ashes his grave

[Chorus]

Fly, on your way, like an eagle
Fly as high as the sun
On your way, like an eagle
Fly as high as the sun

On your way, like an eagle
Fly and touch the sun
On your way, like an eagle
Fly... Fly as high as the sun !


2. I'VE GOT THE FIRE

If you're looking for someone that you can keep then, baby, pass me by
And if you wanted something that's twenty years deep, baby, don't even try
And if you wanted someone to take your soul I'll lift you up little bit higher

I've got the fire

So you think I'm skinny, don't you sell me cheap, I'm as wide as a country-mile
Some like it wide, I like it deep, guess which one is my style
So you think you can beat me by my own game, maybe I call you a liar

I've got the fire
I've got the fire... !
I've got it !


3. THE TROOPER

You'll take my life but I'll take yours too
You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through
So when you're waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand, there's no turning back

The bugle sounds and the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of acrid smoke and horse breath
As I plunge into a certain death

[Chorus]
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh !
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh !

The horse he sweats with fear, we break to run
The mighty roar of the russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall

We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And the Russians fire another round
We get so near, yet so far away
We won't live to fight another day

[Chorus]

We get so close, near enough to fight
When a Russian gets me in his sights
He pull the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds take my horse below

And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body's numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan

[Chorus]


4. CROSS-EYED MARY

Who would be a poor man a beggerman a thief
If he had a rich man in his hand
And who would steal the candy from a laughing baby's mouth
If he could take it from the money man

[Chorus #1]
Cross-eyed Mary goes jumping in again
She signs no contracts but she always plays the game
She dines in Hampstead village on expense accounted gruel
And the jack knife barber drops her off at school

Laughing in the playground get no kicks from little boys
Would rather make it with a letching gray
Or maybe her attention is drawn by aqualung
Who watches through the railings as they play

[Chorus #2]
Cross-eyed Mary finds it hard to get along
A poor man's rich girl and she'll do it for a song
A rich man's stealer but her favour's good and strong
She's the Robin Hood of highgate helps the poor man get along

Laughing in the playground get no kicks from little boys
Would rather make it with a letching gray
Or maybe her attention is drawn by aqualung
Who watches through the railings as they play

[Chorus #1]

Cross-eyed Mary
Oh, Mary !
Oh, cross-eyed Mary...


5. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART V

What ho.... sed de ting!

Welcome to not a lot of people know that, part 5. Yes, you lot out there, ah you're so lucky! How can you be getting so lucky, my God! "Flight of Icarus" in those grubby dirty by now horribly sticky little fingers and hands and grubby palms, and oh what else is grubby, I don't know. "Flight Of Icarus", "I've Got The Fire"! Woo, I have right now thinking about this, oh my goodness the memories for this, my very first exotic jaunt over to the island of Jersey, followed by a swift little airplane ride 3000 kilometres due... East of ah... well no, no, got that wrong, due west of Watford. My goodness, I go the wrong way and get to bleedin' Russia, it'd be all over. Yes, due west of Watford, 3000 odd bloody miles, forget this kilometre stuff, what do you think you are, bleedin' France? No thanks very much, I'm right here!

Anyway, "Flight of Icarus", doo doo doo! "Flight Of Icarus", my first single, released the 11th of April 1983, chart position number 11... Da de de da! Didn't quite get to number ten, did it? Anyway, my first record with the band... I starred in the video! Did you see that? Did you see that handsome geezer with the blue chops? Wasn't half cold out there! Anyway no! We did this... Ah, fantastic! First trip from Jersey to Nassau to do the album, we had five weeks rehearsal in Jersey... Well, we had two weeks really because ended up three weeks partying at the bar. My goodness, we had the only 24-hour bar on the island, and we ah... funnily enough we managed to cram 25 hours in a day, hahaha! So there we are, fifteen days before we're supposed to leave... fifteen days! We hadn't even written any... Well, the boys had written some... but we really hadn't rehearsed anything cause we was partying to much and having a good time, and all that good stuff. So there you are, we get this... most of the song's written, get to Jersey, boom!

Oh, by the way, when we first arrived in Jersey, the first place we went to was a place called The Traveller's Rest. Dear Tony Wiggins our tour manager, he told us all about this place because he checked it out before us. Said: "Here look, you've got to come in this place before we go" and that's the first thing we did, got of the plane, picked the suitcase up, "Hillo!", they said, "Howwyou!", "We're fine", "Ok you can come through". So we go through, get in the cabs... off we go, Traveller's Rest. Stopped in the Traveller's Rest. "You've gotta have a banana daquery" says Tony Wiggens. "Well alright, let's have a drop... banana... " we says, banana... it's a poof drink! So, fair enough, so there we are sitting at the bar, and there's five poofs sitting at the bar, us! Hahaha! Drinking these daqueries. Hahaha, no! So, the first one goes down, we thought "fucking great, nothing to it, let's have another one!" Fucking second one goes down... Fifteen minutes later we're on our third banana daquery. Now, we're talking serious alcohol here but you don't taste it because it's a frozen drink, it's bunged in a blender, loads of ice, (...) banana liqueur, na... banana (...), and lots of wizzing around of various parts, and you stick it in a glass and suck it up with a straw. For about... three of these as I said later, ...quarter of an hour goes by ...half an hour, we try to stand up and leave. I mean, it was like, you know, "Gaah, where we goin?" Ah, we were gone! We, we, we spent many a night down in that place, but only after an hour... We did have a party after we actually recorded "Flight of Icarus". We went down to the pub and ah, tried to get it and gave up. The next day it weren't happening, but we went after we celebrated... We went out and celebrated the first single being recorded. But just before we did this, recorded the song. Steve said to me... he said: "don't you think we ought to speed it up a bit?". I said: "Yeah, I think it should be a bit faster." And Dave and H. ...Um, Bruce and H., sorry, had written this song. And they were like very adamant about the tempo of this thing, they didn't want it sort of speeding up or anything like this. So 'Arry said: "play it a bit faster.". I said "yes, I'll (...) it up, don't worry". So we get in the studio and rehearsed it, we done it once or twice and it was, you know, happening. But not so... fucking hell, I'll boost it up a tad... I'll pump it... you know. So I'm out there, "boom do do da do do doom do do da! do do doom...". You know, alright we go... hah! And ah Bruce, Dave and H. going: "Aah Nick, what you fucking... what'd you doing?". You know, I said: "Nothing!", and I thought to myself, "Ah there we go, the new boy in the band, and they think he's only been in the band fucking two months and he's speeding everything up, you know". Anyway, as it turned out, it's great, wasn't it? It was really a good song. So, they asked me to do the video. So out we are, and they said: "Look do you want to do the video? You can be the old man in it.". I said: "Old man? Look here, look here who do you think you're talking to... old man! Give us a break!". They said: "Well you are, aren't ya?". Fucking cheek! Swift kick up the jackseat for that! Ah boof! So there I am, I'm out there, they said... I said: "Alright I'll do the video". And they said: "Yeah but ah... we gotta blue your chops". I said: "what?". They said: "We gotta put blue makeup on your face". I said, "You can piss off! I ain't having none of that!". They said, "You fucking will, if you wanna star in the video!". Neeah! So there! You wanna do it or not? I thought: "Well... fucking I'm the new boy, and I should do it really, it'll be a bit fun". And it was, it turned out to be the most amazing... fun... I tell ya, we really had a good time. Couple of dodgy moments when I was standing on the edge of this little cliff looking down at the... or looking out to the ocean. The wind was blowing, no the wind. I mean, I was as well, certainly, but nevertheless. It was... I was (...) sixty... fifty... sixty feet down to the ocean! Fucking great big waves rolling in there, I mean I only needed to fall over and that was it! Goodbye, no fucking Icky to help me out with the wings... C'mon dad, watch this!

Anyway, that leads me on to "I've Got The Fire", which is on the B-side as you know, of "Flight Of Icarus". Now, for you boys and girls out there who've been paying attention and doing your homework, and buying the first, second, third, and fourth box set of the new singles, et cetera, or the old new singles. "I've Got The Fire" was recorded on the very very first Maiden single which was "Running Free", now we've already talked about that. But the boys decided to do it. Steve said: "I'd like to have the penultimate... or not the penultimate, the definive... de... definitive version of this, studio version wise, let's do it again". So that's why we burned that one on the "Icarus" single.

Now moving on slowly but surely to "The Trooper". Now that's a great old.... that's a song to play, man!... All that, yeah! Gosh! Bringing back some... I wanna go out and do it. Based on a charge of the light brigade! Watch out! My goodness, woah, never has there been so many to fight so few! Or whatever, I don't know, that was Winnie, the wrong one. "Aces High", that's coming up next kids. Yeah, well that's you know, in the next box set if you go out and buy it, you'll hear it on the next "Nicko's uuh, you didn't know... not a lot of people knew that...". Right? Number six I guess it'll be then. But anyway, yeah, oh I remember... in... what was it? What was it? Into the valley of death rode the however many it was, that was what I was trying to think of and I got the Winnie quote down the wrong way. Nevertheless! Yes, great song.

"Cross-Eyed Mary". Ian Anderson wrote this song, Jethro Tull played it. We recorded it... the B-side. Did I tell you it was released the 28th of June 1983? Chart position 12? Well if I told you that once already, fucking too bad! So what! Nyah! See. Had to get that one in. And as a matter of fact, "Cross-Eyed Mary" received... gosh, I mean ultimates ultimates lots of loads of and indies and outsies of U.S. airplay, I tell ya, this was one of the biggest... the song to be played the most on U.S. airplay from Iron Maiden. Ain't that funny? It's the best one that they ever played. Well I guess their answer would say that's fucking life, isn't it? Oh by the way, just before I sign off... because I've gotta go now... you know, there's a beer waiting for me down the road in the bar. So I thought I'd better go in and have myself a little liquid libation, being I'm half way through these little box sets here. Did you hear the one about the queer shepherd? No? Well, he kept mounting goats! Hahahahahaha! It's stupid, isn't it? I love it though... Oh gosh! Ok, take care of yourselves, see you later alright? Bye.


DISC 6 - 2MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT - ACES HIGH

1. 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT

Kill for gain or shoot to maim
But we don't need a reason
The golden goose is on the loose
And never out of season
Blackened pride still burns inside
This shell of bloody treason
Here's my gun for a barrel of fun
For the love of living death

[Chorus #1]
The killer's breed of the demon's seed
The glamour, the fortune, the pain
Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain
Don't you pray for my soul anymore

[Chorus #2]
Two minutes to midnight
The hands that threaten doom
Two minutes to midnight
To kill the unborn in the womb

The blind men shout let the creatures out
We'll show the unbelievers
Napalm screams of human flames
For a prime time belsen feast... Yeah !
As the reasons for the carnage cut
Their meat and lick the gravy
We oil the jaws of the war machine
And feed it with our babies

[Chorus #1]
[Chorus #2]

The body bags and little rags
Of children torn in two
And the jellied brains of those who remain
To put the finger right on you
As the madmen play on words
And make us all dance to their song
To the tune of starving millions
To make a better kind of gun

[Chorus #1]
[Chorus #2]

Midnight, midnight, midnight... It's all night ! (x2)
Midnight... All night !


2. RAINBOW'S GOLD

In the heat of the morning when your day is still dawning
And your bird, she's singing, catch your soul, he's willing to fly away

Packed your bags in a hurry, because your mind's in a worry
Mark my words, you're gonna be sorry if your ever fly away

Sweet little girl with the saint da Vinci-smile
Stares at me with sadness in her eyes
I'm not sure if she's really real or make-believe
Maybe she's a vision that comes to only me

'Cause I'm so tired, yes I'm so tired
So tired, yes I'm so tired

In the heat of the morning when your day is still dawning
And your bird, she's singing, catch your soul, he's willing to fly away


3. MISSION FROM 'ARRY

Steve :
"...Anyways, he did not deserve to get a bollocking... At the time, I know why he got a bollocking, because you, you know, you dunno what the fuck he's goin' on about, but he didn't really deserve it. All he's trying to do is relay a message from me to you, right? And he went the wrong way about it, okay?"

Nicko :
"Yeah, he did go the wrong way about it."

Steve :
"Well then..."

Nicko :
"Well I'm... I... I... I... I tell you what, I mean it ain't gonna happen again."

Bruce:
"I don't see where you get steamed, I mean, if the truss was gonna..."

Nicko :
"Why I got steamed up Bruce is because he fucked me right up. And I knew there was a problem, I still didn't know what it was even after he... I, I fucked! I fucking fucked up!"

Steve :
"I know that. Look, it's like..."

Nicko :
"...And I stopped, and it was like "Oh, for fuck's sake!". Come on kids, and I'm looking around... What is he trying to tell me? What's the problem?"

Steve :
"Can't you understand? Can't you understand if I'm trying to get a fucking message through to ya, right? ...I'd have still... It'd a been a lot worse. If I... If I had to go me gear done... as it happens, just in the nick of the time I got it done. If I..."

Nicko :
"Yeah, I still didn't get the message."

Steve :
"I know you didn't. But what we're saying, it didn't... whatever happens if I got him trying to get a fuckin' message to ya. Y'know what I mean?"

Nicko :
"Sure Steve, but the fact is that the guy was not handling it the right way."

Steve :
"You don't think of things like that Nick."

Nicko :
"But that's diff... Look..."

Steve :
"I bollocked... I was shouting at ya, "Look, my gear's gone down"."

Nicko :
"It's me that fucked-up."

Steve :
"Listen..."

Nicko :
"I'm the one out there all on me own..."

Steve :
"I know."

Nicko :
"...I'm doing a drum solo. And I've got fuckin' talkin' to..."

Steve :
"No, I'm the one, I'm only one ‘a thinking, I've got fucking like a minute to go before m..., to get this fucking gear right."

Bruce :
"Yeah, but if somebody gives a message to me..."

Steve :
"No?"

Bruce :
"...I mean, it doesn't matter who it is, I mean, the message gets through."

Nicko :
"Bruce, it's different..."

Steve :
"It's a different situation."

Nicko :
"...It's different for you. You're not standing there all on your fucking own having a somebody try to get your attention and talk to you. I'm playin' a drum solo, and the guy's standing a yard, or two yards behind my drum riser goin'..."

Steve :
"Yeah, all I'm trying a..."

Nicko :
"...fucking anga-yangna-baba"..."wha?"..."BABA-BABA-BABA!"..."WHAAAA???..." the fuck! Uhhhhh! By the time I've got that far, I'm fuckin' totally fucked. Because I'm p..., I'm not paying attention to my gig..."

Steve :
"Hey, look..."

Nicko :
"...I'm paying attention to what he's trying to tell me."

Bruce :
"Yeah, but nobody woulda noticed."

Steve :
"I complete..."

Nicko :
"I noticed!"

Steve :
"I completely understand that."

Nicko :
"Fucked me right up."

Steve :
"But he, he was only doing what I told him to do, and that was get a message to you. Now that the fucking heat of the moment and just, everything on hand... He don't think to fucking tell Bill, he wants to get the message to you, not to fucking Bill, so he don't think of that, he just tries to get the message to you, right? So, he don't fucking deserve to get a bollocking for that, I mean, alright he got one I know... not sayin' that. But I just don't, you know..."

Bruce :
"Attente! Attente!"

Steve :
"...Bob was a nice guy. He's not like he's, fuckin', he's an asshole..."

Nicko :
"No, no..."

Steve :
"...or an idiot, or anything like that."

Nicko :
"Oh no, but he was out of order, because he didn'..."

Bruce :
"He wasn't out of order."

Nicko :
"He was."

Steve :
"He wasn't out of order. He was wrong."

Nicko :
"He was, ‘cause he fucked me up by tryin' to tell me..."

Steve :
"Nicko."

Nicko :
"If he'd of come up to the riser..."

Steve :
"Nicko."

Nicko :
"Look..."

Steve :
"Nicko."

Nicko :
"...If he'd of come up to the riser there, I coulda fuckin' heard him!!!"

Steve :
"But Nick..."

Nicko :
"Cunt was standin' behind, I was sittin' down."

Steve :
"Yeah..."

Nicko :
"..."bada-bada-ba"..."

Steve :
"He was wrong. He made a mistake, but he wasn't out of order."

Bruce :
"It wasn't deliberate."

Steve :
"He made a mistake..."

Nicko :
"Now, I know it ain't deliberate."

Steve :
"...for fuck's sake."

Nicko :
"I didn't know that at the time, right? I still didn't know that Steve had a problem with his bass..."

Steve :
"That's what I'm saying."

Nicko :
"...Luckily enough, by the time I finished the poxy solo, he had his bass working again."

Steve :
"It was all that fucking grief..."

Bruce :
"All it takes is the guy..."

Nicko :
"The grief was, because I bollocked him up, and I happened to tell ya, and you go "don't bollock him, go out and apologize," right. Fuck him, I'm gonna go and apologize to him."

Bruce :
"Well all you gotta do..."

Nicko :
"It's not for me to apologise. I bollocked him ‘cause he fucked me up. Right there, he fucked me up. He was wrong."

Bruce :
"All you gotta do... No he wasn't wrong."

Nicko :
"He was."

Steve :
"He wasn't wrong."

Nicko :
"He did not handle it... He's not even fucking communicating, right?"

Steve :
"Aw! I don' wanna fuckin argue about this, it's fucking stupid... I think you're really out of order, I think... honestly."

Nicko :
"No bollocks! Oh, I am not out of order."

Steve :
"You are. You're attitude is out of order."

Nicko :
"He... no it ain't."

Steve :
"It is."

Nicko :
"No it ain't. The guy fucked me up."

Steve :
"I know he did..."

Nicko :
"Well then that's out of order..."

Steve :
"...He didn't mean to."

Nicko :
"Look, I'm not sayin' he fuckin' meant to ‘Arry!!! The fact is that he was a dumbkopf, 'cause he don't know how to fuckin' communicate with me on stage..."

Bruce :
"But he's not a dumbkopf."

Nicko :
"Aww!"

Steve :
"He's not fuckin' stupid."

Nicko :
"Well, he fuckin' certainly did a good job out there this afternoon, didn't he?"

Steve :
"He made a mistake, because I..."

Nicko :
"What do you mean "He made a mistake"?"

Steve :
"Because I..."

Nicko :
"You sent him. How could he make a mistake?"

Steve :
"That's right."

Nicko :
"How did he make a mistake?"

Steve :
"Well, he made the mistake by not sending Bill first, right?"

Nicko :
"Well, well he made a mistake, right?"

Steve :
"Yeah."

Nicko :
"Well, why?..."

Bruce :
"There's a difference between making a mistake..."

Steve :
"Well that's what I'm saying."

Bruce :
"...And a difference between making a human error..."

Nicko :
"Right, so he made a mistake, right?"

Steve :
"Yeah!"

Nicko :
"And I'm griefed up cause he fuckin' made me make a mistake. Now that he... Now I can understand what he was talking about after the fact... It remains to be seen, he was on a mission from you."

Steve :
"Aw, I'm not gonna argue about it."

Nicko :
"Right? Fuck my old boots, it just... I can't hack... I can't handle that situation when people think some can't make me grief, and it's important to me to get a message like that... Fucking hell! How can I get some... get, get... When I also fucked as well... I would'na minded if I'd have gotten what it was happening straight. Like, on the end "alright, 'Arris got his bass fucked, right I'll carry on and do something else", then that's fine, if I didn't fuck-up... But he made me fuck. It totally threw me right out, and he wasn't..."

Steve :
"I know it did."

Nicko :
"...He didn't know how to talk to me about it. And, and I've... I've told him "don't do that again"."

Steve :
"Because, see... It's not, it's not, it's not fair relaying a message to people. He was just..."

Nicko :
"And he never turned ‘round."

Steve :
"...Look, it coulda been anybody. It was just that he was the first one on hand."

Nicko :
"‘Arry."

Steve :
"He was just standing there."

Nicko :
"He never turned around, he never even turned around afterwards and said "Listen, did you?...I'm sorry, but you didn't understand what I was saying right?"..."

Steve :
"Well why should he?"

Nicko :
"Well then, then, then because..."

Steve :
"He got a fuckin' bollocking."

Nicko :
"...He woulda stood up for himself because he knows he was gotten a bollocking wrong, because he was on a mission from you."

Steve :
"He was probably..."

Bruce :
"No."

Steve :
"He was probably fuckin' upset..."

Bruce :
"He's probably a bit upset."

Steve :
"...Because you gave him a fucking bollocking."

Nicko :
"Well, rightly."

Steve :
"You gave him up for...as far as he's con..."

Bruce :
"No, not rightly."

Nicko :
"Rightly, yeah."

Steve :
"But no, it's not rightly."

Bruce :
"No!"

Nicko :
"I told him "Don't ever do that again!""

Steve :
"No."

Bruce :
"That's crazy."

Steve :
"But what?..."

Bruce :
"What happens if the lighting truss is gonna fall down on your head? Does he go?..."

Nicko :
"Well then somebody drags me out of the fuckin' way, or else I'm dead, right?"

Bruce :
"Yeah, but don't... I mean... you know."

Steve :
"I think your attitude is totally fucking out of order."

Nicko :
"No it ain't. No it ain't."

Steve :
"Yes it is."

Nicko :
"No it ain't. If I'd have known... Now I'm the fuckin' cunt all of a sudden."

Steve :
"No, you're not the cunt."

Bruce :
"You're not a cunt."

Nicko :
"Because I told him he was out of order, and I didn't know he was on a mission from you to tell me that his bass, your bass was fucked!"

Steve :
"I know you didn't."

Bruce :
"All you've got to do Nicko, is just go to the guy and say..."

Steve :
"You didn't know, and he didn't know, alright?"

Bruce :
"..."Sorry about, sorry about shouting. It was a misunderstanding. But in future, tell Bill"..." That's all you gotta say."

Nicko :
"No. No."

Bruce :
"And that way, he's a fuckin' proud geezer..."

Steve :
"What's, what's the matter with ya?"

Bruce :
"He goes..."

Nicko :
"Look..."

Steve :
"'Cause if this is some sorta pride thing or what?"

Nicko :
"I bollocked him... no it ain't pride. It's... it's not fuckin' pride."

Steve :
"Well what's the matter with ya?"

Bruce :
"It is pride."

Nicko :
"Oh bollocks!"

Steve :
"What's the matter with ya?"

Nicko :
"The guy was wrong to have been fuckin' there to do what he done."

Steve :
"I know. All I'm, all I'm gonna say is that when you're going up tomorrow..."

Bruce :
"No it isn't wrong. What's he supposed to do? Turn around..."

Steve :
"...This is a different attitude, ‘cause this is fucking stupid."

Nicko :
"I told him straight out not to do it again."

Bruce :
"What's he supposed to do? What's he?..."

Nicko :
"I'm not gonna go out and apologize for saying that to him..."

Bruce :
"He's not!"

Nicko :
"...He was outta fuckin' order."

Bruce :
"He's not out of order."

Bruce :
"What happens..."

Nicko :
"Bruce."

Bruce :
"...If I fucking go and tell somebody to do something, he goes "No, fuck off! I'm not gonna do that."..."

Nicko :
"Listen, Bruce..."

Bruce :
"Then he's out of order."

Nicko :
"Bruce..."

Bruce :
"But he goes and tells him to go and do something..."

Nicko :
"...I'm not concerned with... with... with... with... with other people that can't fucking talk to me on stage, who don't know how to fucking communicate with me..."

Bruce :
"But he's not out of order trying to do it."

Nicko :
"...He did not know how to communicate with me."

Steve :
"Some cunt's recording this!"


4. ACES HIGH

There goes the siren that warns of the air raid
Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak
Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne
Got to get up for the coming attack

Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines
Remove all the wheelblocks, there's no time to waste
Gathering speed as we head down the runway
Gotta get airborne before it's too late

Running, scrambling, flying
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Running, scrambling, flying
Rolling, turning, diving
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Won't you... run, live to fly, fly to live, aces high

Move in to fire at the mainstream of bombers
Let off a sharp burst and then turn away
Roll over, spin round and come in behind them
Move to their blindsides and firing again

Bandits at 8 o'clock move in behind us
Ten ME-109's out of the sun
Ascending and turning our Spitfires to face them
Heading straight for them I press down my guns

Rolling, turning, diving
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Rolling, turning, diving
Rolling, turning, diving
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Won't you... run, live to fly, fly to live, aces high


5. KING OF TWILIGHT

I've been trying, trying so hard
I've been crying, crying in the dark
Don't forsake me, the time of mine is near
Don't ever break me and the world that brought me here

Sick and lonely, waiting for you
Sick and lonely, wondering what you do
Can you hear me, when I say to you
You give me your hand, I'll give mine to you

[Chorus #1]
When the king of twilight shows me
I will take ten steps to see
Forty lives I pay for freedom
For a chance to be free
For a chance to be free

[Chorus #2]
When the king of twilight calls you
Take a step and you will see
We all need a quick solution
For a chance to be free
For a chance to be free

Free... !

[Chorus #1]


6. THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

"How to you, oh Earth and Sea, for the devil sends the Beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short... Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the Beast for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty six"
(Revelations, chapter XIII, V. 18)

I left alone, my mind was blank
I needed time to get the memories from my mind
What did I see, can I believe that what I saw
That night was real and not just fantasy
Just what I saw in my old dream were they
Reflections of my warped mind staring back at me
'Cause in my dreams it's always there,
The evil face that twists my mind and brings me to despair

Night was black, was no use holding back
'Cause I just have to see was someone watching me
In the mist, dark figures move and twist
Was all this for real or just some kind of Hell

666, the number of the Beast
Hell and fire was spawned to be released

Torches blazed and sacred chants were praised
As they start to cry, hands held to the sky
In the night the fires are burning bright
The ritual has begun, Satan's work is done

666, the number of the Beast
Sacrifice is going on tonight

This can't go on, I must inform the law
Can this still be real or some crazy dream
But I feel drawn towards the chanting hordes
They seem to mesmerise me... Can't avoir their eyes

666, the number of the Beast
666, the one for you and me

I'm coming back, I will return
And I'll possess your body and I'll make you burn
I have the fire, I have the force
I have the power to make my evil take its course


7. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART VI

Oh, oh! You cheeky! You slimeball! What did you do that for, you rotten terror Dave? You fucking put my own voice and verbals in the... you know, they've heard me trying to sing this fucking song now.

Well how ya doing out there, you lot? Eh? Welcome yet again to Nicko's "not a lot of people know that, or knew that, or still don't... I don't know, whatever it is now days... number six". You are absolutely devastatingly spoiled, the lot of ya. You're out there in your greasy sweaty debauched horrible stinking little palms and fingers and all those horrible little bits and pieces that go on your hands... Are now the proudest of possibly the most amazed Iron Maiden fans to own "2 Minutes To Midnight", "Rainbow's Gold", "Mission From 'Arry"... Ho ho! We shall talk about that later... And as you heard, that rotten Dave there will be tiddling the knobs in the control room, decided to wack the microphone on... "Aces High", "King Of Twilight", "Number Of The Beast" live! Oh you gosh, you've got such a package there! How can you still be sane, after this? I mean, goodness gracious, listen to me, I've been playing it for six years! Ha ha ha! Anyway, no!

Oh gosh, 2 minutes to midnight... cha! Released the 6th of August 1984. My third single with the band. I guess that must make the band's eleventh or tenth single, whenever. Don't write in and say, "Nick I've got it wrong" or else I'll... give you some of that! And, it got to number 11 in the charts and this great British... oh by the way, earlier on I was thinking of trying to think... you know we had the Bleeding Bojack Company, which we all know who that is by now, right? Now there was another company that I sort of mentioned prior to this little speech I'm giving to you now, and I won't actually tell you who it was, but the kind of... the... the abbreviation of this I suppose you'll get it from, but I though we could call them the Mighty Tight Veg, what do you think? I mean, they haven't got any clue, have they? You know, I mean, nevertheless! Ha ha ha! Now then, we all know who they are, cause they've wimped out. Nevertheless, we still got to number 11 in the great British charts thanks to you guys again, and girls, and all them little guyettes and guygirls and znznzn... all them people sort of whatever out there... First released single off the "Powerslave" album, and yet again this album was recorded in the Bahamas. Yes sir, mmm hmmm! Now, as we all know, "2 Minutes To Midnight", great song, good video... the first story format that the band had ever put out on a video rather than just sort of crazy stuff and... and... the norm, you know. He he he.

"Rainbow's Gold" was a song written by some friends of the band's, a guy called Terry Sles... Slesser, sorry Terry I didn't mean to get it wrong... Terry Slesser and a guy called Kenny Mountain who ah... in a band called Beckett together, I do believe. I might have go that wrong... so fucking hell what if I have! You gonna do something about it? Huh huh? Come over here!

Anyway, now then, on the butt end of this here single was a track called "Mission From 'Arry". See? Now, those of you out there, still to this day some of you think that this was a coreographed piece of entertainment for all you guys and girls. Well I can tell you it fucking well was not. It was in fact the, if only, the very... only argument I've ever had with Steve Harris. We were on stage in Allentown, Pennsylvania, one evening... this was on the Piece Of Mind tour... when... although it was released on the back of a "Powerslave" single, it was actually recorded on the Piece Of Mind tour. And, I was doing a drum solo... You know, new boy in the band, do a drum solo Nick... Get on with it. So in this period of time, Steve would go off to the back of the gig and change his... if he had a dodgy bass string, or he... normally he would... but what happened on this night, he was changing the battery on his remote, or his... should I say his transmitter. So, he sent this guy around to tell Mike my drum tech to tell me to extend my drum solo, cause he weren't ready. But he didn't tell my drum tech, he told this guy who was sitting at the back of the gig who was one of the riggers, a guy called Paul who's no longer with the band, I wonder why? No, anyway, he said to him, "tell Nick to extend his drum solo". So I'm playing... and all that shit, and I gets a tap on the back and this guy says "Ooy!". I go, "What?". "Ooy! Blahahaey!". I go "What?". He's going "Hey hey hey ehey!" and he's pointing to Steve. I'm going, "Eh?" He's going, "Ah ah hey hey hey!". I'm going, "What???". He's going, "Wahehaahahayyy!". I said, "Fuck off!!!". Ha ha... Jesus Christ, he made me fuck!!! Oh! Anyway, what could I do?

I stopped, I gone absolutely wally, so I've come off the gig anyway... and cut the... to make a long story even longer, I've come off the gig and I gone in the dressing room and I said, "That fucking geezer at the back of the gig! What the fucking hell does he think he's doing? There he is, he's giving me all these verbal signs and all this stuff right?". I said, "I couldn't understand him, he was about three feet behind me instead of coming up and shouting in my lughole". Harris said, "I sent him". I went, "You what?". He said, "I sent him". I said, "What the fucking hell you doing sending him around to give me messages?". He said, "Well, I... you
know... play a bit more and you know, need a bit more time to change my bass thing-a-me-bob". And I said, "I fucking care about that, this geezer made me fuck!". He said, "Well look, you better go and apologize to him". And I said, "Fucking right I am! I fucking apologizing to him, he made me fuck!". He said... ha ha ha! That's the argument. We argued about fifteen twenty minutes, and it all calmed down, and Bruce came in and he got a bloody cassette in his back pocket, and he said, "Oy Nick, what would happen if he tried to tell you the lighting truss was going to fall on your head?". And I said, "Don't you fucking well start!". And 'Arry said, "Yeah, he's got a good point, doesn't he?". So we started the argument again and Bruce recorded it. And then at the end of this "Mission From 'Arry" you'll remember this... 'Arry says... he grabs the tape... just before he grabs it, he sees this tape in the pocket and he's going "Some (beep)'s recording this!". Ha ha ha ha! So he got the tape, and that's basically how that all happened. But anyway, after this extravaganza, we thought it was so funny we had to let you guys hear it. And that's the only serious argument I've ever had with Steve in my life... or my life.

So, that just about gives me enough time in this little "not a lot of people know that number six, part six, or whatever", to tell you just a tad about "Aces High", which as you know has got "King Of Twilight" on it, and Number... NOB! of.. "Number Of The Beast" live. This song was released 22nd of... no it wasn't... he! It was, it was released 22nd of October 1984. Chart position 20 that got to. Now, at the time we were rehearsing the "Powerslave" album, Steve was writing this single, I started to learn to fly airplanes in Jersey. And, I'd come home from the aerodrome, and I'd have the old... you know, twisting the old ends of the moustache, twiddling the old various bits and pieces... the hat and the goggles and the scarf... "Woah, tally-ho Biggles! You've bandits at six o'clock low, coming out of the sun, 12 o'clock high! Watch out, full power, bomb's away Biggles!". You know, all that good stuff. And I think it sort of slightly influenced Steve to write this song, you know, about those Second World War spitfire pilots and those guys. Hey, shhh... just between you and me, Steve... he doesn't like to fly. He hates it, he think's I'm an absolute nut case! But, you don't tell him I told you, will you, because he'd be very upset.

Anyway, "Aces High", "King Of Twilight"... great! What a package this one is for you! I wish I had more time to explain some more of the stories on 2 Minutes and things like that, around that time. But I really do have to go now, I'm running out of time. Oh yes, just a little joke for you before I leave. Have you heard the one about the two queers? The were fighting over a manhole! Ha ha ha ha! See ya, I'm off! Bye!


DISC 7 - RUNNING FREE - RUN TO THE HILLS

1. RUNNING FREE

Just sixteen, a pick up truck
Out of money, out of luck
I've got nowhere to call my own
Hit the gas and here I go

I'm running free yeah, I'm running free
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free

Spend the night in an L.A. jail
Listen to the sirens wail
But they ain't got a thing on me
I'm running wild, I'm running free... yeah !

[Chorus]
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free

Get out of my way !

[Chorus]

Pulled her at the Bottle Top
Whisky dancing, disco hop
And all the boys are after me
And that's the way it's gonna be... yeah !

[Chorus] (x3)


2. SANCTUARY

Out of the winter came a warhorse of steel
I've never killed a woman before but I know how it feels

[Chorus #1]
I know you'd have gone insane if you saw what I saw
So now I've got to look for sanctuary from the law

I met up with a stranger last night, to keep me alive
He spends all his time on gambling and guns to survive

[Chorus #1]

[Chorus #2]
So give me sanctuary from the law
And I'll be alright
Just give me sanctuary from the law
And love me tonight... tonight

[Chorus #1]

I can laugh at the wind, I can howl at the rain
Down in the canyon or out on the plains

[Chorus #1]

[Chorus #2]

Love me tonight...


3. MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE

I remember it as plain as day although it happened in the dark of the night
I was strolling through the streets of Paris and it was cold, it was starting to rain
And then I heard a piercing scream and I rush to the scene of the crime
But all I found was the butchered remains of two girls lay side by side

Murders in the rue Morgue, someone call the gendarmes
Murders in the rue Morgue, run before the killers go free

There's some people coming down the street, at last there's someone heard my call
I can't understand why they're pointing at me, I never done nothing at all
But I must have got some blood on my hands because everyone's shouting at me
I can't speak french so I couldn't explain and like a fool I started running away

Murders in the rue Morgue, someone call the gendarmes
Murders in the rue Morgue, am I ever gonna be free ?

And now I've gotta get away from the arms of the law, all France is looking for me
I've gotta find my way across the border for sure down the South to Italy

Murders in the rue Morgue, running from the gendarmes
Murders in the rue Morgue, I'm never going home

Well, I made it to the border at last but I can't erase the scene from my mind
Anytime somebody stares at me, well I just start running blind
Well, I've moving through the shadows at night, away from the staring eyes
Any day they'll be looking for me 'cause I know I show the sign of...

Murders in the rue Morgue, running from the gendarmes
Murders in the rue Morgue, running from the arms of the law

Murders in the rue Morgue, running from the gendarmes
Murders in the rue Morgue, am I ever gonna be free ?

It tool so long and I'm getting so tired, I'm running out of places to hide
Should I return to the scene of the crime where the two young victims died
If I could go to somebody for help, I'd get me out of trouble for sure
But I know that it's on my mind, that my doctor said I've done it before

Murders in the rue Morgue, they're never gonna find me
Murders in the rue Morgue, I'm never going home


4. RUN TO THE HILLS

White man came across the sea
He brought us pain and misery
He killed our tribes, he killed our creed
He took our game for his own need

We fought him hard, we fought him well
Out on the plains, we gave him Hell
But many came, too much for cree
Oh, will we ever be set free ?

Riding through dust clouds and barren wastes
Galloping hard on the plains
Chasing the redskins back to their holes
Fighting them at their own game
Murder for freedom, the stab in the back
Women and children and cowards attack

[Chorus]
Run to the hills, run for your lives
Run to the hills, run for your lives

Soldier blue in the barren wastes
Hunting and killing their game
Raping the women and wasting the men
The only good Indians are tame
Selling them whiskey and taking their gold
Enslaving the young and destroying the old

[Chorus] (x3)


5. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

I've been looking so long for you now, you won't get away from my grasp
You've been living so long in hiding, in hiding behind that false mask

You know and I know that you ain't got that long to last
Your looks and your feelings are just the remains of your past

Standing in the wings there, you wait for the curtain to fall
Knowing the terror and holding you have on us all

And I know that you're gonna scratch me and maim me and maul
And you know I'm helpless from your mesmerising cat call

Keep your distance, walk away
Don't take this bait, don't you stray, don't fade away

Watch your step, he's out to get you, come what may
Don't you stray from the narrow way

I'm running and hiding, in my dreams you are always there
You're the phantom of the opera, you're the devil, you're just out to scare

You damaged my mind and my soul just floats through the air
You haunt me, you taunt me, you torture me back at your fair

...Torture me back at your fair !


6. LOSFER WORDS (BIG 'ORRA)

Instrumental


7. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART VII

...Oh, hey! What! Dave, is that you? Yeah? What day is it? Saturday. Saturday? What do you mean, I've been in here a week? I have? I don't remember.... I did number four or five the other week and I... You know, it was the other week, wasn't it? It's too f.... I was in here for a couple of days then. Eh? What do you mean, stop pissing in the corner? Well if you'd let me out of this fucking room I wouldn't have to piss in the corner, would I? You're lucky I didn't take a laxative or something like that! In fact I ain't had no nookie... I ain't had no... none of the other, or anything like that for a week! ...Wot? I know, yeah alright, I know Rod said "get it done, at any cost". Well there, that's going a bit too far, isn't it. Oh, oh no.... tape's rolling! You... tosspot! Anyway! Well in that case, what'ho you lot out there! Hah! Jesus, you heard that didn't ya? Eh? Well I'm sorry you had to hear all this business, he started running that tape... I've just been sitting in here on my own, being variously... twiddling various parts of the body, thinking about what's going on. And he's run that fricking tape!

Welcome to Nicko's "not a lot of people know that", Part 7! You lucky, indespically lucky, debauched! Oooh, you've got your hands on "Running Free", "Sanctuary", Murders in the Mooo Rooooga... oah, The Rue Morgue, all live! Not only that but you've got a bumper package of serious songs... live! Goodness! Released the 23rd of September 1985, and they got to a chart position of number 19. Hmmm... Not a lot of people remember that. But, I do! Cause I played on them! Hah! Si! Now look, "Murders In The Rue...". Oh by the way, you've got on the other side of that lovely little package in your hands, you've got "Run To The Hills", "Phantom Of The Opera", and "Losfer Words", or in other words "Big 'Orra"! Ah! Now, however you want to pronounce it, "Big 'Orra" or "Big 'Orra", you know, "Losfer Words" will do. That little lot was released 2nd of December 1985, and I believe it's chart position was number 26. So stuff it again, where... you know where, or whatever you like. Put it where you want, I don't care as long as you grease it first... very sore if you don't.

Now! The first two tracks, as we've said, "Running Free" and "Sanctuary", were recorded at Long Beach. And I was there, so was Dave, Adrian, Steve, and Bruce. Ha ha! Good job too, or else we'd have had a piece of black vinyl! Mmmm. So. Now, these gigs we did were at Long Beach, and they were all sold out. Mmm hmm, the very first and only... well maybe not only, but we were the first and only band at that particular point in time to sell out four nights in a row at the Long Beach arena in Los fucking Angeles. Somewhere close anyway, a stone's throw down the road. Nevertheless! "Powerslave" tour! Hmmm. By the way, "Running Free"... the photograph on the front of this single was by a man none other than Ross Halfing. He upstaged Derek Riggs for this one. Riggsy, hmmm, he didn't do any artwork cause Halfing did the photograph. And that, so the only shot of the band, live shot on any one of the singles we've ever had and ever probably will. So, not a lot of people know that. Now you do, so! What a useless piece of trivia that is.

Nevertheless! Uh, yes, what was I saying? Uh, "Running Free", "Sanctuary", "Murders..." you lucky lot! As I said, "Run To The Hills", "Phantom", and "Losfer Words". Two songs right there, "Murders" and "Losfer Words", you will not have heard anywhere else, even on the "Live After Death" offering, because it is not recorded on the vinyl, CD or video. Now you are very lucky, double-bubble so, because you have got this stuff in your hands. Uh! Yes. Talking of which, the fourth side of the "Live After Death", "Wrathchild", "22, Acacia Avenue", "Children Of The Damned", "Die With Your Boots On", or whatever you like, and "Phantom Of The Opera". All on the extra fourth side, or... not on the extra fourth side, I mean you've got two frigging albums you dummy, you've got two sides a piece, haven't you, you fool! I mean, it's not like your going to have five sides to an album, is it? Silly billy... Anyway, fourth side... only recorded on the album. Mmm Hmm! Good stuff!

Now, what can I say? You lot... you lot want to know a little story, something sort of about the time we were making this "Powerslave" album. Or, we'd actually made the album, should I say, and we were rehearsing the tour, you see, we were rehearsing for the tour in Miami. Well, a place called Fort Lauderdale, which is just a stone's throw from this very sickly horribly smelling disgustingly debauched studio I'm sitting in, talking to you from. Well, I was, because it's recorded so you know... I did this a couple of... whenever it was... moons and eons ago before this. So, just up the road from Fort Lauderdale. There we are. We were rehearsing... or there we were... we were rehearsing and all of a sudden, all of a sudden just like that, we get a phone call. You see. Lauren, I mean, I'm sorry... Lorraine, sorry Lorr... Lorraine... 'Arry Harris, bomber Harris, Mrs. Bomber Harris, was expecting 'Arry Harris'... Mrs. Bomber Harris' first nipper. You see! So! She was... the call of nature was coming and descending rather swiftly, so Steve and I... poor old codger, he didn't want to fly all on his own... You know he doesn't like flying, I dunno if I told you about that, he hates it doesn't he? So, having all the experience of the (...) behind me, I said to Steve, "Well look here, why don't I come back with you?". I mean, I like a couple of weeks in Jersey.

So Steve and I flew out of Miami to London Heathrow, and it was a Sunday... Well, it was a Saturday when we left Miami, it was a Sunday morning when we arrived. So, we got absolutely fucking smashed to smithereens on the plane, right! Get's off the plane, staggers through customs, "Alright, excuse...". Oh no, he says, "Could you please excuse me, would you come over here?" this guy said to Steve Harris, and he's going... He looked at me, he said "What did I fucking tell you?". He said, "I fucking tell you, everytime I go through the fucking customs... I'm the straightest one out of the band, I don't fucking smoke...I", well he does drink, but uh, whatever. You know... All the fricking time, Murphey's Law, there he is, custom's man... "What, please... come over here please, where have you just come from?" 'Arry's going, "Whoah look, fucking not that it's any of your business!". Well no, he didn't say that but, I mean he shoulda done. And he would have probably got in... got out of there quicker! Anyway, he didn't. So the guy said, "What do you have in this here bag?". And 'Arry said, "It's a fucking video, what do you think it is, what does it look like?". "Where did you get this from?" he said, "Oh, I fucking don't know, I got it in the States somewhere". "Do you have a fucking receipt?". 'Arry said, "I fucking don't!". "Ooh, goodness! I have you! You are nicked, at that proverbially up the creek shit with the paddle now!". And I said, alright frigging what am I gonna do now? So he's standing there, an hour and a half goes by! I'm... no, it wasn't quite an hour now, I lie, I kid you not though, it was about one hour fifteen minutes, cause I timed him! You know, I dunno when I started, I know I was pretty close. Because, as you know boys and girls, the licensing laws in England permit... prevent you from having a liquid libation after two o'clock in the morning, I mean in the afternoon... and the morning. But, we wanted to make it to the pub to have a pint of real bear, because we'd been starved, we'd been eating them... drinking them poof drinks down in Nassau, which I told you all about, remember? By the way, it was Nassau Bahamas and not Jersey where the Traveller's rest was, see! So, there we were, standing at customs an hour fifteen minutes. I said... He comes out, he going "I fucking don't believe this," he said, "Did you see what that geezer was asking?". I said "Well, no, I just saw your feet underneath". I kept looking, I thought they'd run away with him, I was gonna call out the dog's and everything. You know, get on the phone with the lawyer... 'Arry's been arrested or something. We could... he was standing there hour and fifteen minutes.

So we gets in the limo, mind you we got to go to Gatwick to get a plane to Jersey. So we thought, we've got enough time to stop off in the proverbial boozer. So we said, yeah, fair enough. So the limo guy's going "I dunno if you're going to make this" it was like 1 o'clock when we left Heathrow. So I says, "Yes we will, if you put your boot to that... down to the floor, we can get down to the pub". So we did, we got to the Devonshire Arms, just on the (...) round-about, down there on the old A-4. So, we pops in there, had a quick swift half... then it was a pint... then it was a pint and a half... then it was two... they were all in one pint glasses mind you. 'Arry's on the phone with the wife, "Got here alright" he says, ten past one. So we, you know... twenty past two, ha, we got a four o'clock plane to catch at Glas... at uh Glasgow, uh you wish... at Gatwick, see? Guy says, "I think you'd better leave if you're gonna make the plane". I says, "ok... can I take a beer with us, gov'nor?". This guy, Michael and his wife, I don't know, they're not there anymore. So he says, "Yeah look, take one of these flagons... one of them little flagons, they've got four and a half pints of beer in it, you know, little plastic jobs, take... carry that". So we got in this car, proceeded to go to Gatwick. Got on the plane to Jersey, gets on the plane and opens up this bottle, don't we. The pair of us, sitting right at the back of this 727, or whatever it was, DC-9. There we are, gargling back the old liquid nectar. Girl comes up and says "I'm sorry, you can't do that!". We said, "Fucking too bad! Watcha gonna do, throw us off?". She said, "I'll fucking have you arrested!". We said, "Go ahead! We're having our drink anyway". We'd already finished half by this... we were 'faced!

Gets off at Jersey.... Yes, you guessed it! God done over by customs, the pair of us, didn't we? So there we are standing there, "Hello hello hello! What you been up to, you naughty boys?". "We just had a couple of beers on the plane, gov'ner". "Yeah, well, that took you a little bit of time to get pissed, it's only an hour flight...". "But we... we got on the plane in Miami!". Ha! "Ok" he says, "let's have a look in your bags". So, we got turned over again. That night, we carried on drinking, a whole 24 or 48 hours worth of boozing. 'Arry comes home... I left, I threw the towl in at 12 midnight, I couldn't handle it. We went to this place called Loberts in Jersey, man we got 'faced there, I mean we was gone when we got there. So I've given... thrown the towel in at 12 o'clock. Harris came back, must have been about half past two in the fucking morning, how he done it I've no idea. Five thirty, "Oh God, gotta have a word with the gov'ner on the big white telephone, I'll be back in a minute". Two hours later, poor bloke he was green. I got up, I felt terrible, I says "Yeah, what's the matter with you?". "What do you fucking think?". He said, "What do you think?". I said, "Ah, you ain't too well are ya?".

Three days later... Three days later, this is the first week of July by the way folks. About three or four days later... We must have got there around the 30th of June. Anyway, what a great ending, Steve got rid of his hangover, he get's a phone call from the wife, "I'm having it! I'm having it!". "Ok, I'll be right there!". Oh, he hops to the airport, gets on a plane, and uh, it was July the 6th actually, not a lot of people know that, but Lauren, his very first daughter... he's got three daughters now... uh uh and uh and uh... She was born, I don't know what time in the day, but he got there alright and he was at the birth. And of course he's not looked back... looked back ever since. So, there you go... There's a little story from that period of time. I've got to go... I've got to go, I really do mean this, I've... Jeez, I'll see ya.


DISC 8 - WASTED YEARS - STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

1. WASTED YEARS

From the coast of gold
Across the seven seas
I'm travellin' on, far and wide
But now it seems
I'm just a stranger to myself
And all the things I sometimes do
It isn't me but someone else

I close my eyes
And think of home
Another city goes by in the night
Ain't it funny how it is
You never miss it 'til it's gone away
And my heart is lying there
And will be 'til my dying day

[Chorus]
So understand... Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years
Face up... Make your stand and realise you're living in the golden years

Too much time on my hands
I got you on my mind
Can't ease this pain, so easily
When you can't find the words to say
It's hard to make it through another day
And it makes me wanna cry
And throw my hands up to the sky

[Chorus] (x3)


2. REACH OUT

It's over your head and you don't seem to understand
One word I say and you can't live your life, trying to run away

You're fighting your friends, you're wearing everybody out
But it never ends, you're wearing me out

[Chorus]
Come on
Reach out (Reach out)
And let someone into your life

Don't get me wrong, you always apologize
It's just your way of making a scene
You need to be loved, it's not such a crime

[Chorus] (x2)

I said... Over your head, you just don't seem to understand
One word I say and you can't live your life
You got so much love, it's burning inside

[Chorus] (x2)

Reach out (Reach out)
And let someone into your life


3. SHERIFF OF HUDDERSFIELD

"We have a mission from Rod'..."

Life in a city, living in L.A. is a long way from Huddersfield town
The back of the rainbow's a long way from Heaven but that's where he gets his pork pie
Limos and Ladies they're driving him queasy, rugby and cricket's unknown
Baseball and football they're making him lazy, your fan club says "Rodney come home"

[Chorus]
The sheriff of Huddersfield locked in his castle
Look down on the Hollywood hills
The sheriff of Huddersfield locked in his castle
You're our own hot rod on wheels

A good game of arrows, a few dozen barrels, the nautilus rusts in the yard
But for Yorkshire he's yearning but because he's earning, he'll always live in L.A.
A custom made wallet that stays in his pocket and never comes out to pay bills
He's winning at poker and playing the joker and he always cheats when he deals

[Chorus]

(Rodney's)
"Hello, let me introduce myself. My name is Rodney. I'm immensely strong. When I were a lad, I could lift up five navies on an end of a shovel. The reason I never took martial arts because I was immensely fearsome and I'd probably killed everybody I came into contact with. I was phenomenally strong. Pride and ego, my lads, pride and ego, is what makes the world rotate. And everybody knows that the centre of the universe is Huddersfield but I don't live there anymore. I live in Los Angeles. It's great. I think..."

Rufus the Red has a crane by his bed to wrench himself up in the morn'
But if you dare to tread at the foot of his bed, you'll wish you'd never been born
A bear with a sore head, we don't mean your forehead, he slumbers for most of the day
Wide eyes and legless baked beans for breakfast, your problem Rodney is L.A.

[Chorus] (x2)


4. STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND


Was many years ago when I left home and came this way
I was a young man full of hopes and dreams
But now it seems that all is lost and nothing gained
Sometimes things ain't what they seem

No brave new world, no brave new world
No brave new world, no brave new world

Night and day I scan horizon, sea and sky
My spirit wanders endlessly
Until the day will dawn and friends from home discover why
Hear me calling, rescue me

Set me free, set me free
Lost in this place, and leave no trace

[Chorus]
Stranger in a strange land
Land of ice and snow
Trapped inside this prison
Lost and far from home

One hundred years have gone and men again they came that way
To find the answer to the mystery
They found his body lying where it fell on that day
Preserved in time for all to see

No brave new world, no brave new world
Lost in this place, and leave no trace

[Bridge]
What became of a man that started
All are gone and their souls departed
Let me here in this place
So all alone...

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

[Chorus] (x3)


5. THAT GIRL

The words she said turned out why desperation fills her eyes
Hold her in your arms, don't let go

When you taste defeat, when you loose again, fight and win, never give in
Hold her in your arms, don't let go

[Chorus]
That girl you need
Gonna knock you off your feet
That girl you know
She'll never let you go

That girl, that girl, that girl you need
That girl, that girl, that girl...

Can you hear her call ? She calls out your name, think about you, cry without you
Hold her in your arms, don't let go

Can you taste defeat, when you loose again, fight and win, never give in
Hold her in your arms, don't let go

[Chorus]

That girl, that girl, that girl you need
That girl, that girl, that girl, that girl...

That girl, that girl, that girl you need (x2)
That girl, that girl, that girl, that girl you know...


6. JUANITA

Yeah, it cost me a bundle trying to track you down, it's true
Yeah, and it's the truth, I'm looking from town to town for you
You know you never offered much security
Do you know I'm gonna get you back ? You just wait and see

I'm never goin' back Juanita
I know you never got my call
I'm never goin' back Juanita
Never at all

Yeah, I'm spending a long time trying to work it out for true
Yeah, it's such a small crime thirsting over you
Living in a Chelsea flat seems so lonely now
I just know I gotta get you back, I just don't know how

I'm never goin' back Juanita
I know you can't get my call
I'm never goin' back Juanita
Never at all

I'm never goin' back Juanita
Yeah, never goin' back Juanita
Never goin' back Juanita
Never at all

Never, Never at all
Never, Never at all

Yeah, I just got to tell you I'm gonna leave it up to you
Yeah, yeah, what more can I say ? What more can I do ?
Living in a Chelsea flat seems so lonely now
I just know I gotta get you back, I just don't know how

I'm never goin' down on Juanita
Never gonna make my call
I'm never goin' down on Juanita
Never at all

I'm never goin' down on Juanita
Never gonna make my call
I'm never goin' down on Juanita
Two fingers at all

I'm never going back Juanita
I'm never goin' down on you Juanita
I'm never going back Juanita
I'm never going back Juanita

Never going back Juanita
Never at all


7. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART VIII

Ooh, allow me to introduce myself! My name is... well you know who that is, don't you, boys and girls! Yes! If you are listening now, which you should be, or you have just done... "Wasted Years", oh an Adrian Smith composition, and "Reach Out" by a guy called Dave Caldwell, and "The Sheriff Of Huddersfield". Yes, the sheriff, the one and only, Mr. Rodney Smallwood who we shall be speaking lots and lots and loads of verbal about very shortly. First of all, let me move this little scrap of paper out of the way, so I can speak to this stupid microphone without this... stupid headphones falling off! Right! Yes. Adrian's first single as a writer... A-side of the band and all that. Bleedin' good stuff! Do you know that that song means that there is no good looking to lost opportunities in the past? Well who does, stupid people! Uh, you should always take hold of the present. Ah! That reminds me, I tied a bow on my boy last night, and that's what she said to me then... Let's take hold of the present! Eh? Don't you get it? Stupid people...

Anyway! Ha ha! "Reach Out" has Adrian singing, which is on the B-side, on the old mumbling jumbling vocals, and he used to play in a band called Urchin! Urchin... get out of it. And, he had a bloke in the band called Dave Caldwell, and I believe Andy Barnett was in there, we'll talk him in a minute. Anyway, we had a little band called The Entire Population Of Hackney, see? And we did this little song, as we did... Oh yes by the way, we've got "Stranger In A Strange Land" and "That Girl" and "Juanita"... "I'm never going back Juanita... I'm never going back at all". Right! Now, that was written by a guy called Derek O'Neil and guy called Steve Barnacle. But first of all, yes, I'd better give you the release date, which was the 22nd of November 1986. And it reached the chart position of 22, the avenue... Ah! Anyway, nevertheless, yes. "Stranger In A Strange Land"... I will mention this because "That Girl" and "Juanita" which were on the B-side of this were actually songs that we recorded... with me and Adrian, just playing them on our own. Now not a lot of people know that. But we did. The rest of the lazy gits in the band, they couldn't be bothered to learn the poxy song! So we went in there and recorded it ourselves! They said... 'Arry goes, "I don't fucking know this...". "Well go learn it!" he said, "well fucking why don't you record it, then I'll learn it". "Well, that's a bit silly, isn't it?". He said "No, go on. You get your fucking butts in there, the pair of you. You know the song, you do it!". So we did. And it turned out pretty good, didn't it? So those three songs were done like that.

Anyway, talking of... talking of "That Girl" by the way, for a second. A guy called Andy Barnett wrote that song... I went out the other night with this fucking red-head. No, no hair, just a fucking red head! Ha ha ha ha! Anyway! Moving back, yes. "Wasted Years", did mention it was released the 6th of September 1986? That one, by the way, reached the chart position of 18. And that wasn't bad was it? Nice one for H, first... first A-side, as I said, that he's written.

And then, moving on, it says here "Sheriff Of Huddersfield" as you very well know because you've just bloody listened to it, haven't you, you lucky lot. Now, I got to give you a little bit of history on our Rod Smallwood, our governor there, our second in command. Now, you picture this... there he is, living in the hills... Los... a little place called Los Angeles, a little speck on the map. Los fucking Angeles, it's called. And, he's living up in his little castle there, which is sort of up beyond the rainbow, see? Which is off the Sunset Strip. Anyway, he misses... he enormously misses his (...), his (...) peas, his pork pies, and his rugby, and his cricket. Now, as you know, over in the great US of A, they've got this fucking abbreviation sort of game, or sort of a mixture game of rugby, and they call it fucking football! Stupid twits, it ain't nothing like football, what is it! Anyway, nevertheless. He don't want to settle for that, he's wants all this... "Yoo me old cronies, oooh jeezzz I missum all so much oh I'm drinking down at the pub five bloody pints of Yorkshire bitter with me pals, yoo mamby pambies for me, ooo".

So he misses it real big time, so there he is living out in the foothills of Los Angeles, so he thinks here I know what I'll do, "Yoo, I'll get meself a bloody satellite and I'll stick it on top the bloody roof, and I can tune into all them bloody Bleedin' Bojack Company's coverage of the first, second, and third, and any bloody test match I can get my hands on". Plus all these rugby bits and pieces. So, he calls out this firm and he gets this satellite stuck on his roof, and the guy... "Ah si amigo! I have it all working for you now! There's nothing wrong! It's all cool...". So and Rod goes, "Ok, well you fucking well wait there, let me go and have a look". And he presses the buttons, right? And what does he get? All the American programs.... all these poxy South American things with all these "whoabluaahabluahablee"... All that stuff going on, and you don't know what the fucking hell mumbo jumling they're doing, and they don't even have a clue what a fucking rugby ball looks like. So, he's pissed off! "Yoo bloody no good to me! You know how much bloody money I spent on this bloody piece of shit! Doo, I can't even get my bloody Bleedin' Bojack Company! Ooo, I've had enough!". So, oh I should add, ladies and gentlemen, that he's moved back to England! Ha ha, God bless him. Anyway, he wanted us to go out there and live with him. You know, he said "Yoo, come on guys... yoo... Doo, I've got me own little corner of the rainbow, Ooo, I've got my own mushie piece pizza, and all that stuff good". Dear old Kieth Wilford, God bless him, he used to have to record all the old test matches and rugby games and send them federal express overnight to Rod, cause he needed to keep up with it. You know, so it was real serious for him out there.

And so, we had this song that Adrian had written that we had recorded on the "Somewhere In Time" album... at that period of time. And we thought, well come on then, lets put some words to this song, cause we didn't actually have any words. So, as it transpires, we decided to write a song about Rod, and we'd call it "Sheriff Of Huddersfield". By the way, I didn't tell ya... he actually is from Huddersfield, "Yoo, bloody up north, yoo" a hundred kilometers due north of Watford. Anyway! We all sat down, I was actually out of the room for about half an hour or forty minutes before this... you know, before... I walked in the room, everybody was sitting down, roadies, Steve Gadd, you know, Mike Kenney, Robbie Price, and Bill Barkeley, they were all in there... couple of studio engineers that were friendly to the band and that, and anybody... But mind you, really it was only the band and the crew cause they knew Rod, so everybody came up with these ideas, and sort of the lyrics were down together by the whole lot of us. So, there's a bit in the middle isn't it, where Roddy goes... Bruce actually, goes, "Yoo, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Rodney and I'm immensely strong! I can lift five navies on the end of a shovel!". And it goes on like... well in that section, there's just a little spot where Bruce had to do that narrative bit, and he basically ad-libbed it. We had some... He had some notes, but he really just kind of blew through it, and it came out perfectly at the end of that sort of little solo section where Bruce does that little part. And so when he did it we were absolutely creased up, we could not believe it, we just started laughing and Martin Birch... Martin Jarr, the Gov'nor, or the animal, Birch, and all the good name and things we gave him over the years. He couldn't stop laughing, all the nobs were getting all butted out of place, and everyone was screaming and laughing and riotous. And that's how we sort of formulated "The Sheriff Of Huddersfield".

But it was funny. And we thought, what's Rod gonna do... Oh whoah, by the way, one other thing about that was we couldn't let him know about it, cause we thought well if he find's out about it, he'll be onto the governors down at EMI there, and he'll be going, "Yoo, bloody having none of that! Give us the bloody master tape! Yoo, I'll bloody eat it! Give it to me now!". And so we thought well we'd better not let them... let him know. So we actually got in touch with the people at EMI and said to them, whatever you do, don't let Rod know there's a third track on this single. And keep it hidden from him, and you know don't let him hear anything until you've pressed it, cut the single, and it's all... cut it and pressed it and it's all ready to go. So, it was one of the best kept secrets in the business at that time, cause if he'd have found out, "Yoo! That's it!". After he heard it, he said "That's it, yoo! You're fired, the bloody lot of you! Yoo, I don't want to be your manager! Yoo". We said "Sorry. We're gonna hold you to your fucking contract, so there!". Ha ha ha ha! No, God bless him, he took it great... He sort of gave us a bit of a hard time for awhile, but I think he saw the error of his ways and he moved back to England and now he's happier and he lives happily ever after down the road with Missus Kathy. So! Hi Kath! How you doing!

Anyway! Yes, "Stranger In A Strange Land", that's moving on, I've only got a few minutes now to tell you about the sleeve for this here single. And, "Stranger In A Strange Land" was based on a story that Adrian had read in the newspaper about and expedition that got lost in the North Pole... silly gits! Course they fucking get lost, there's no signposts up there, are there! And they found some frozen bodies almost perfectly preserved... I wonder what parts were not preserved... hmm... Anyway! Adrian, apparently he met one of the expedition who was a survivor... I guess he must have been a bit old, eh, it was fucking years ago. I dunno. Anyway no, he bought the album because of the song, apparently, and now he's actually one of Maiden's top fans. So there, stuff that up your jaxie, see! Anyway, there we go, say no more. Yes, oh well yes, I was going to say about the sleeve for this here distinguished sleeve, as we looked at it we see Eddie, don't we? And he, who's he look like? Eh? "Go ahead punk! Make my day!" Buuh! Yes, it's Clint Eastwood no less, himself! I wonder if he seen this, I wonder what he thought when he that grotesque Eddie, looking like him with the old cigarette in the gob. You know, standing in that stupid bar with all them silly twits around him from Star Wars and all that stuff, you know. Well there you go, Eddie was Clint Eastwood in that, well see. And yeah, good song, good single! And thanks to you guys, chart position 22 as I said, released the 22nd of November as I said, if I didn't... too bad! Don't you die on me this time, microphone... There you go!

Oh by the way, just to mention that Andy Barnett and Dave Caldwell who both have songs on the B-sides of that there "Wasted Years" and "Stranger In A Strange Land" are actually performing, yes, no less performing... no you twits, playing the guitars on Adrian's solo album which is called "As Soon As Possible", I guess, or Adrian Smith and Pals, or ASAP, or as about...ap, or whatever. You can work it out, you can come up with your own abbreviation for that. But, there you go, listen to that, sweet stuff! I'm going. I've been in here too bleeding long, I'm going down to the pub. You've gotta admit I deserve it by now, I've sat in this place and I've gotta go. That's all there is to it.


DISC 9 - CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS - THE EVIL THAT MEN DO

1. CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS

Can I play with madness ?

Give me the sense to wonder, to wonder if I'm free
Give me a sense of wonder, to know I can be me
Give me the strength to hold my head up spit back in their face
Don't need no key to unlock this door, gonna break down the walls
Break out of this bad place...

[Chorus]
Can I play with madness ? - The prophet stared at his crystal ball
Can I play with madness ? - There's no vision there at all
Can I play with madness ? - The prophet looked and he laughed at me, he said...
Can I play with madness ? - He said you're blind, too blind to see
Oh, he said you're too blind to see

I screamed aloud to the old man, I said don't lie, don't say you don't know
I say you'll pay for this mischief in this world or the next
Oh and then he fixed me with a freezing glance and the Hell fires raged in his eyes
He said do you want to know the truth son - I'll tell you the truth
Your soul's gonna burn in the lake of fire...

[Chorus]
Oh, "listen to me" said the prophet

[Chorus]
Can I play with madness ?


2. BLACK BART BLUES

Bruce :
"What the fuck is that ?"

Nerd :
"Hi guys, are you in a band or something ? I mean it would be so cool if you were in a band 'cos you're driving a big bus with band on the front of it"

Bruce :
"Why don't you shut up and get on board will ya ?"

Nerd :
"Wow ! I have it here you got a stereo and a microwave and... and... and you got a beer. I'd like a Heineken if you've got one. That's really cool. That's great, yeah !"

Bruce :
"Would you like to see Black Bart ?"

Nerd :
"Who's black Bart ?"

Bruce :
"Let me introduce you..."

Black Bart's seen it
Black Bart knows
Black Bart done it
The Black Bart blues
Suspended in suspension
Many evil nights in Tennessee... and elsewhere
We all got to try the Black Bart blues

Black Bart's truckin'
Ain't what it seems
Black Bart lookin'
Don't know where she's been
Maybe she's an acrobat
Spends her evenings dancing on a pole
We all got to try the Black Bart blues

Black Bart's tried
Most of anything
Black Bart liked it
But he couldn't sing
So he asked me to tell ya
Try it for yourself and you will see
We all got to try the Black Bart blues

Bruce :
"What did you do that for ?"

Nerd :
"I'm sorry, I just... I guess I'm not used to..."

Bruce :
"Shut up and get on with it, will you"

Black Bart's livin'
Across the ocean now
Black Bart lookin'
To come back somehow
So if you are a dancer
You could dance around his pole in may
That's a maypole...

Black Bart's coming
Now Black Bart's gone
Black Bart did it
So I wrote this song
Whatever and however
In and out or several at a time... hmm, yes !
We all got to do the Black Bart blues

Here comes the guitar solo...

We all got to try the Black Bart blues
Yowsa ! Yowsa ! Yowsa !


3. MASSACRE

At a point below zero
There's no place left to go
Six hundred unknown heroes
Killed like sleeping buffalo

Through the devil's canyon
Across the battlefield
Death has no companion
The spirit's lost...

There goes the bandolero
Through the hole in the wall
He's a coward but he doesn't care
He doesn't care of the men who ever dies

The general commanding
Defending what we feel
The troops they are depending
On reinforcements from the rear

If God is in this Heaven
How can there's no Heaven here ?
In God's name, they used weapons
For the massacre...

At a point below zero
The sun can see the land
Six hundred unknown heroes
Lay dead in the sand


4. THE EVIL THAT MEN DO

Love is a razor and I walked the line on that silver blade
Slept in the dust with his daughter, her eyes red with the slaughter of innocence
And I will pray for her, I will call her name out loud
I would bleed for her if I could only see her now

Living on a razor's edge
Balancing on a ledge
Living on a razor's edge
Balancing on a ledge
Balancing on a ledge
Living on a razor's edge
Balancing on a ledge
You know... You know...

The evil that men do lives on and on (x4)

Circle of fire my baptisme of joy at an end it seems
The seventh lamb slain, the book of life opens before me
And I will pray for you, some day I may return
Don't you cry for me, beyond is where I learn

Living on a razor's edge
Balancing on a ledge
Living on a razor's edge
You know... You know...

The evil that men do lives on and on (x4)

Living on a razor's edge
Balancing on a ledge
Living on a razor's edge
You know... You know...

The evil that men do lives on and on (x4)

The evil... The evil... The evil that men do (x2)


5. PROWLER '88

Walking through the city
Looking oh so pretty
I've just got to find my way

See the Ladies flashing
All their legs and lashes
I've just got to find my way

[Chorus]
Well you see me crawling through
The bushes with it open wide
What you seeing girl
Can't you believe that feeling
Can't you believe it
Can't you believe your eyes
It's the real thing girl

Got me feeling myself, and reeling around
Got me talking but feel like walking around

Got me feeling myself, and reeling ar'
Got me talking but nothing's kill me
Got me feeling myself, and reeling around

Walking through the city
Looking oh so pretty
I've just got to find my way

See the Ladies flashing
All their legs and lashes
I've just got to find my way

[Chorus]

Got me feeling myself, and reeling around
Got me talking but feel like walking around... Yeah !


6. CHARLOTTE THE HARLOT

Giving a swish with your arse in the air, don't you know what they're saying
Charlotte you're so refined when you take all the love that they're giving

Sticking with every man that you find, don't you know what they're after
Charlotte you've got your legs in the air, don't you hear all their laughter

[Chorus]
Charlotte the harlot - Show me your legs
Charlotte the harlot - Take me to bed
Charlotte the harlot - Let me see blood
Charlotte the harlot - Let me see love

Taking so many men to your room, don't you feel no remorse
You charge them a fiver only for starters and ten the main course

You've got no feelings, they died long ago, don't you care who you let in
Don't you know you're breaking the law with the service you're giving

[Chorus]

There was a time when you left me standing there picking up pieces of love from the floor
Well, Charlotte you left me alone in there to make your ends as a bloody whore

Well, Charlotte you told me you love me true picking up pieces of love yesterday
Well, Charlotte your drawers are off colour too 'cause you're making love all day

Giving a swish with your arse in the air, don't you know what they're saying
Charlotte you're so refined when you take all the love that they're giving

Sticking with every man that you find, don't you know what they're after
Charlotte you've got your legs in the air, don't you hear all their laughter

[Chorus]


7. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART IX

...What ho! Nicko here! Welcome to Nicko's "Not a lot of people know that, number 9!" Yes! This is the one that comes after eight or before ten, but if you don't have number eight, it comes after seven, doesn't it? Yes, well you stupid little people, if you do not have number eight or number seven or one of them's missing, because if you don't have those little tokens in your sticky greasy palms and you don't have ten of them at the end of these ten weeks of releases of the re-released rather singles of Iron Maiden, you won't get your little box set, will you? No! Because as you know by now... I haven't told you but you should know... You will be the proud owner of a special box with some seriously good artwork from Mr. Derek Riggs. Yes! And you will then be able to put all those greasy horribly grubby pieces of vinyl in there which as you know will have those amazing pictures on them and the little artwork, packages, and sleeves... and all that good stuff in that box! So, keep them all or else you'll be in severely good trouble! ...Take that!

Now then! Now! You are severely in some trouble now, because you've got "Can I Play With Madness", "Black Bart Blues", "Massacre"! Mmm! "Can I Play With Madness" written by Harry Harris, "Black Bart Blues" by Harry Harris and Bruce Dickinson, "Massacre" Lynott, Gorham, and Downey. Yes, released the 2nd of March 1988, and it got to... what was that? ...Three! Yes, number three! It debuted at number four in the charts, thanks to you lot out there, you horrible vicious mean people to go out and buy such a seriously good single as that and get it to number three. Ha ha ha! No serious, folks, ha! This, what can you say, debuted at number four.

Oh by the way on a more sombre note, and something like that... must say before we go much further... is that, as you may know, remember the video and all that good stuff, this here single. Well it was featuring a chap who I think we would all agree was one of the great comedians and one of the major contributors to the Monty Python mob and gang cohooting geezers out there doing all that mumbo jumbling stuff... with the big boot and stuff, squashing everybody... Yes! Was Mr. Graham Chapman. Well, here's a little memorandum to him... ah, memorandum... in memory of him... memorandum... crazy, off the wall. No, I think what we gotta say is thanks to Graham for such a great contribution to comedy in general and everything, he's gonna be sadly missed. But this was one of his last film performances before he unfortunately died. So, lets hope he's having a good time up there, and we'll... undoubtedly we'll meet one another time somewhere else in a different place.

Anyway! Moving on to a lighter note, yes! You've got "Black Bart Blues" on this here single, and as you know after the old "Black Bart Blues" there's some various mumblings and jumblings from yours truly. And these were not "not a lot of people know that" mumblings and jumblings, these were stupid mumbling jumblings that were put together off of all the... at the ends of all the songs that we recorded over that album of "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" such as "hmm... they're gonna put this on a CD!... I (...) solo! ...I said I seen 'em..." and all that stuff right? Well you know what I mean, cause you just fucking listened to it, didn't ya? So there we were, picture this. We were at the playback after we had made the album, recorded it, all that good stuff, mixed it. And we were at the playback for the EMI people. And all the band were there, and all the press... Micky Wall and a few other people... Hello Micky! ...were all there, and they're doing all their old reviews of this album and stuff, so we played ... kinda played... now, you've gotta bear this in mind... none of the chaps, not one of them let me know what was going on, see? So I was clueless! I know, but as I usually... no now look, I was, I didn't have a clue. See? So there I was standing there... now you picture this... there's the PA system that we were playing this here stuff back through, behind me. And I'm looking down and all the band, and we'd already gone through the album and all this, and we'd got up to singles time, see?

Everybody was out, all the EMI bigwigs are there, you know "Yeah what ho, yes, eh pretty damn good album don't you think?". "Well, yes I do, pretty damn good, don't you think, yes". "Eh, shall we pay them money this week?". "(...) pretty good stuff, lets go". So! Anyway, having said that, there I am... this damn thing comes on the bleedin' music box. After it finishes... "Black Bart Blues" finishes that is, there's "whoo, hello!". You know and there's all this stuff like answer phone stuff, I phone someone I forget where they got that from, oh it was the studio answer machine... "Hi Hi, Nicko here... hi". Anyway, you know, just stupid stuff. Then it starts, doesn't it. Well, can you imagine my face. There's all the band creased up falling all over the place laughing... They all thought it was the funniest thing since whatever. So there I am looking at this lot, and I'm kind of feeling a bit embarrassed you know, cause I'd not heard this, and I thought "What's all this mumbling jumbling coming out these here big speakers?". Then I looked over at the other side of the room... you know those... you know those faces that you get from the theatre, right, you know you've got the comedy chops and the thriller, you know, and the sad stuff, you know. There's one smiling and there's one looking like, you know, he's just lost the quid and found a tanner, you know. So, picture this... the room's one half crawling all over the floor laughing, and the other lot are like "Eh, what's going on? What's this stuff coming in?". Can you imagine this is the world... EMI world people you know from all over the place. And I tell ya, when these people saw everybody going "Ha ha ha ha ho!". They're going "Ho ha ha ha ha haaha! Oh what ho jeez, pretty funny ha ha". So they also saw the funny side of it after awhile, but it took awhile I'll tell ya. And of course I was really really embarrassed to say the least, cause this was my lunacy stuff, and you... you lot fucking got it in your sweaty greasy horrible little palms again, ain't ya!

Anyway! Enough of that, moving on. On the other side you've got "The Evil That Men Do", or on the same side, I dunno how the bloody hell (...)!! ...Take that! "The Evil That Men Do"... written by H. Smith... Adrian Smith, B. Dickinson.... Paul Dickinson, and 'Arry Bomber Harris... Steve Harris. Hmm. Released the 1st of August 1988! And on the other side of that we had "Prowler '88" and "Charlotte The Harlot" written by Mister Murray and Harris! Yes, Dave came out of the closet for that one. Whoah! No, I didn't mean it badly, I mean Dave doesn't... when he writes a song he writes a cracker, doesn't he? But, he... he sort of... he writes one every couple of years, and he's got a couple in reserve at the moment, and so you lot might hear some of this in the next couple of months because I think he's got a cut for the new album that you ain't gonna believe.

Anyway! "Evil That Men Do". Char... sh... sh... sh... I had one of them this morning... no, a shower. Chart position five, it debuted at number six. Do-de-de-de-do! Now, "Prowler" and "Charlotte The Harlot" we recorded. We re-re-re-re-re-recorded these because the band... Ah it's getting silly, I've gotta get out of here and get some fresh air, I mean you ain't gonna believe what it's like in this little room. Anyway, the band never were completely happy with the original versions, you know, from way back. And you lot, you greasy despicable mean mangy looking lot out there, you-ou-ou-ou been requesting some of this stuff from the early material to be recorded... re-recorded... with your's truly. Ha ha ha ha! No, no, no, I'm joking! No, you know, re-recorded with Bruce and the... how's that, we'll put me in there too, so... Actually, Steve and I were actually discussing a few months back about all these old songs... the old stuff that we've recorded, about doing maybe in the future, keeping it the same format so basically the end of the day we might actually have the whole back issue of all the stuff with this sort of Maiden re-recorded, all the old stuff that we weren't on... myself, Bruce, and H. So there you go, you never know.

By the way, here's a joke for ya. I gotta tell you this before I leave, because I'm running out of time. And... yeah, it's like this, see. Superman and Batman talking to one another one day, so Superman says, "'Ere Bat". "Yeah, what, what's the matter Sup?". He said, "I was out having a little jaunt over at central park the other day", he said, "I had a touch of the (...) and you'll never guess what!". He said, "What't that Sup?". He said, "I fucking looked down... strike me down, there's Wonder Woman wiggling about, legs up in the air, lassoo, all that old stuff... Ooh, she must be having a good time... fucking hell, what's she doing!", he says. Batman says, "Well what did you do?". He said, "Well I got fucking serious touch of the hardon, didn't I? It nearly shot me out to Jupiter!", he said, "Did it?". He said "No, I got as far as Mars!". He said, "Fucking hell, that was a touch, wasn't it?". He said "More than that! I came back I had such a bone-on, there she was wiggling and wobbling out on the grass, fucking legs up in the air... oh, she was rubbing her dun great tits! Rubbing her thighs... and she was just kinda caressing... oh! I couldn't resist!". Batman says, "Well what did you do then, Sup?". He said, "Well, I unzipped my boy... you know, my fly, and I got my boy out and I fucking shot damn about a thousand feet!". He said, "Did ya?". He said, "Yeah! fucking great!". Batman says, "Well, what happened then?". He said, "Well, it fucking landed on top of her!". He said, "Did ya!". He said, "Fucking right!". He said "I bet Wonder Woman was real surprised, weren't she?". He said, "Yeah, not half as surprised as the bleedin' Invisible Man!". Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Oh dear! Nevermind! I'm off! I'm going! Tada!


DISC 10 - THE CLAIRVOYANT - INFINITE DREAMS

1. THE CLAIRVOYANT

Feel the sweat break on my brow
Is it me or is it shadows that are dancing on the walls ?
Is this a dream or is it now ?
Is this a vision or nomality I see before my eyes ?

I wonder why, I wonder how
But it seems that the power's getting stronger every day
I feel a strength, an inner fire
But I'm scared I won't be able to control it anymore

[Chorus]
There's a time to live and a time to die
When it's time to meet the maker
There's a time to live but isn't it strange
That as soon as you're born you're dying

[Chorus]

Just by looking through your eyes
He could see the future penetrating right in through your mind
See the truth and see your lies
But for all his power couldn't foresee his own demise

[Chorus] (x2)
...And reborn again ??


2. THE PRISONER

"We want information, information, information... Who are you ? The new number two... Who is number one ? You are number six..."

"I am not a number... I am a free man !"

"Ah, ah, ah !!!"

I'm on the run, I kill to eat
I'm starving now, feeling dead on my feet
Going all the way, I'm nature's beast
Do what I want and do as I please

Run, fight to breathe, it's tough
Now you see me - Ah ! Ah ! Now you don't
Break the walls, I'm coming out

[Chorus #1]
Not a prisoner, I'm a free man
And my blood is my own now
Don't care where the past was
I know where I'm going

Out !

If you kill me, it's self defence
If I kill you, then I call it vengeance
Spit in your eye, I will defy
You'll be afraid when I call out your name

Run, fight to breathe, it's gonna be tough
Now you see me, and now you don't
Break the walls, I'm coming out

[Chorus #1]

[Chorus #2]
I'm not a number, I'm a free man
Live my life where I want to
You'd better scratch me from your black book
'Cause I'll run rings around you

[Chorus #1]
[Chorus #2]
[Chorus #1]


3. HEAVEN CAN WAIT

Can't understand what is happening to me
This isn't real, this is only a dream
But I never have felt, no I never have felt this way before

I'm looking down on my body below
I lie asleep in the mist of a dream
It is now, could it be the angel of death has come for me

I can't believe that really my time has come
I don't feel ready, there's so much left undone
And it's my soul and I'm not gonna let it get away

[Chorus]
Heaven can wait, Heaven can wait
Heaven can wait, Heaven can wait 'till another day
Heaven can wait, Heaven can wait
Heaven can wait, Heaven can wait 'till another day

I have a lust for the Earth below
And Hell itself is my only foe
'Cause I've no fear of dying, I'll go when I'm good and ready

I snatch a glimpse to the lights eternal rays
I see a tunnel, I stand amazed
At all of the people standing there in front of me

Into the paths of rightness I'll be led
Is this the place where the living join the dead
I wish I knew this was only just a nightmare

[Chorus]

Take my hand, I'll lead you to the promised land
Take my hand, I'll give you immortality
Eternal youth, I'll take you to the other side
To see the truth, the path for you is decided

My body tingles, I feel so strange
I feel so tired, I feel so drained
And I'm wondering if I'll ever be the same again

Is this in limbo or Heaven or Hell
Maybe I'm going down there as well
I can't accept my soul will drift forever

I feel myself floating back down to Earth
So could this be the hour of my rebirth
Or have I died or will I wake from dreaming ?

[Chorus] (x2)


4. INFINITE DREAMS

Infinite dreams I can't deny them
Infinity is hard to comprehend
I couldn't hear those screams
Even in my wildest dreams
Suffocation waking in a sweat
Scared to fall asleep again
In case the dream begins again

Someone chasing I cannot move
Standing rigid at nightmare's statue
What a dream, when will it end ?
And will I transcend ?

Restless sleep the minds in turmoil
One nightmare ends another fertile
It's getting to me so scared to sleep
But scared to wake now, in too deep

Even though its reached new heights
I'd rather like the restless nights
It makes me wonder, makes me think
There's no more to this, I'm on the brink

It's not the fear of what's beyond
It's just that I might not respond
I have an interest almost craving
Would I like to get too far in ?

It can't be all coincidence
Too many things are evident
You tell me : "You're an unbeliever"
Spiritualist ? Well, me I'm neither

Would you like to know the truth
Of what's out there to have the proof
And find out just which side you're on
Where would you end, in Heaven or in Hell ?

Help me, help me to find my true
Self without seeing the future
Save me, save me from torturing
Myself even within my dreams

There's got to be just more to it than this
Or tell me why do we exist
I'd like to think that when I die
I'd get a chance another time
And to return and live again
Reincarnate, play the game
Again and again and again and again...


5. KILLERS

You walk through the subway, his eyes burn a hole in your back
A footstep behind you, he lunges prepared for attack
Scream for mercy, he laughs as he's watching you bleed
Killer behind you, his blood lust defies all his needs

My innocent victims are slaughtered with wrath and despise
The mocking religion of hatred that burns in the night
I have no one, I'm bound to destroy all this greed
A voice inside me compelling to satisfy me

I can't see what a knife's meant to be
And you'll never know how I came to foresee, see, see

My faith in believing is stronger than lifelines and ties
With the glimmer of metal my moment is ready to strike

The death call arises, a scream breaks the still of the night
Another tomorrow, remember to walk in the light !
I have found you and no there is no place to run
Excitement shakes me, oh God help me, what have I done ?

Oh, yeah ! I've done it...

You walk through the subway, my eyes burn a hole in your back
A footstep behind you, he lunges prepared for attack
Scream for mercy, he laughs as he's watching you bleed
Killer behind you, my blood lust defies all my needs

Oh, look out ! I'm coming for you...


6. STILL LIFE

Take a look in a pool and what do you see
In the dark dephts there faces beckoning me
Can't you see them it's plain for all to see
They were there, oh I know you don't believe me

Oh... I've never felt so strange
But... I'm not going insane

I've no doubt that you think I'm off my head
You don't say but it's in your eyes instead
Hours I spend out just gazing into that pool
Something draws me there I don't know what to do

Oh... They drain my strength away
Oh... They're asking me to stay

Nightmares... Spirits calling me
Nightmares... They won't leave me be

All my life's blood is slowly draining away
And I feel that I'm weaker every day
Somehow I know I haven't long to go
Joining them at the bottom of the pool

Now... I feel they are so near
I... begin to see them clear

Nightmares... coming all the time
Nightmares... will give me piece of mind

Now it's clear and I know what I have to do
I must take you down there to look at them too
Hand in hand then we'll jump right into the pool
Can't you see not just me they want you too

Oh... We'll drown together
It... will be forever

Nightmares... forever calling me
Nightmares... Now we rest in peace


7. LISTEN WITH NICKO! PART X

Ah Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Maybe I can get out of here now! Oh, this is Nicko's "not a lot of people know that, number ten". When I finish this I can go home! Aha ha ha! Ah oh, why do I want to go home? Oh I don't know, I've been in here so long, oh I'm stuck to the chair and all that kind of good stuff... And I've had so much fun mumbling on to you guys and telling you jokes and all that stuff and this is the last one! Well at least I can go and have a bath. Hmm, it's about that time of the year anyway. Ha ha ha ha!

Well! You despicable heathenistic civilictic god knows what else... mumbling jumbling ooh big single buying public have got in your greasy sweaty horrible... Ooh! How is your stereo still spinning around and that little needle bouncing up and down in all that grime? You have got "The Clairvoyant", "Prisoner", "Heaven Can Wait", released the 7th of November 1988, chart position number six! Yes! And on the other side you've got "Infinite Dreams", "Killers", "Still Life"... Harris and Murray wrote that song, debuted number twelve, got to number six again! My goodness! And that was released the 6th of November 1989! Oh, here, have you just noticed something... something a bit weird about that? Yeah, I don't know whether that Eddie's got anything to do with that Seventh Son business, but those were both released... those singles, within one year of each other to the day almost. Released 7th of November '88, "Infinite Dreams" released 6th of November '89. A bit strange and all that...

Well look at that! Let's go on, I don't really... I started getting tingles up the back, I don't like that. Dave? Oh, get out of here. Anyway, no. Ha ha ha! Jeez, four top ten singles in a year to two years actually. By the time you lot are listening to this, which is February, I mean as we know "Can I Play With Madness" was released the 2nd of March '88 and we're at the sort of end of February. That's close to two years isn't it? That's bloody good I think, considering we had a year off. I mean, god bless you lot out there, I mean, you know, to not actually have done anything in a year and we pulled out like a single, you know, "Infinite Dreams"... And by the way that was off the new "Maiden England" video which we shall talk about in a minute... You know, after a year you pushed it up to number six for us, and god bless you all, because it's nice to know that you ain't forgotten us. You know.

Anyway! "The Clairvoyant", "Prisoner"... all live renditions, my goodness, of the most severe kind! I should know, I was there wasn't I! Hmm mmm... Sooty was there too, did you notice? Anyway, enough of him, stupid soddy bear, he doesn't know even how to talk or anything else, stupid git! Anyway! "The Clairvoyant", "Prisoner" and "Heaven Can Wait" were recorded in front of you lot as I said I believe earlier on. If I didn't, as I said again on previous "not a lot of people knows that" fucking too fucking bad! A hundred and seven thousand of ya! Woah! At Donington on August the 20th 1988, you can lucky people, you've not only got the live renditions, you were there, probably! And there was Kiss, David Lee Roth, all kinds of people. My goodness, what a great day. Anyway, those as I say were recorded and were a special little single release to you from us lot celebrating the 20th of August for us, because that was... I told you this, we got on stage 20 minutes early for that gig. We got a guy called Dicky Bell, my goodness the Das Furher Bell we called him because he's like Hitler, right asshole! Anyway hah! He comes in the dressing room and he goes "Right you horrible lot, you musician slime, you scumbags, you sleazeballs, get on that stage now, it's time to do your show, you lazy bastards!". All that sort of stuff, right? "Oh good afternoon Dick, well good evening Dick..." you know, (...) of we go. We were convinced that he'd actually come in the dressing room at Donington that evening and told us to get on stage. But he actually didn't. And we got on stage and he goes "Right! What the fucking hell are you lot doing up here? Piss of my stage, get up here when I tell ya!". We said "Look! Rumour has it we're supposed to be doing a gig. Anyway you stupid prat, you told us to get up here". "No I fucking didn't!", he said. We said, "You fucking did!". He said "I fucking didn't!". Boof! Stuck us in the eyeballs! Take that for openers! "Look here Dick, why the hell we up here for if somebody didn't come around...". He said, "You fucking show him off to me, I'll have a word with him... tell my band to come up here when I ain't ready!". So, we get on stage, as I said, ten minutes early and we had ten minutes before we had to get, you know, actual show time. So, cause we get up there and get warmed up the various bits, twiddly old exercises, Steve checks is bass, all the boys... and Bruce goes round the back and does the various gobbing in the old facial mask thing and all that, and ah ha! Oh we all do the bits, you know.

So we actually had an extra ten minutes on stage looking at you lot standing out there waiting for us lot to come up and do it, and so... "You nervous?". "No". "What was that?". "Somebody step on a duck?". "I dunno!". The air turned blue! We had all these film crews around there trying to film us, and they soon left, ha ha ha! They got out of there quick, they knew how to get out while the going was good, you know what I mean.

So what can I say man, what a fantastic experience! Something that will live with me for the rest of my life, no doubt about that. And, I mean we played like a cat on a tin roof, and we all thought it was a blazing gig. But we later found out and we thought the tape was running slow when we recorded it but nevertheless... enough said about that! Ha ha ha!

Moving on to "Infinite Dreams", "Killers" and "Still Life"! Oh God it's tormenting me! I'm sitting here, I'm strapping myself into this chair with the lead and cable from these headphones trying to restrain myself! My goodness! It was only a year ago that I played these songs for you with the band and all! I miss it so much! Oh gosh, it debuted at twelve and it got to number six, didn't it, not so many weeks ago! Released the 6th of November 1989, my gosh, one year to the day of "The Clairvoyant's" release. A bit uncanny, as I say.

Nevertheless! These three songs were taken from the band's gig at the NEC in Birmingham, which was recorded around I think November the 28th, 1988... 27th it was... and the 28th, we did two gigs! Ha ha ho! So, what can I say? We listened... now actually Steve... let me say this, Steve directed and edited this here "Maiden England" video, and he set up all the camera angles and told the guys what he wanted, and it took six months to edit this piece of work, 90 minutes worth of music. And I've got to say this, he done the most stunning job I think I've ever seen, and I'm saying that... I'm saying that because... I didn't have to crawl to him because I did that last week, I've got a brown tongue and warm kneepads! Ha ha ha! No, serious piece of work! No, as you will agree with me, it is, isn't it? I mean, I haven't seen a music video that's so clear, so good, and well put together. It's really... I'm proud to have been on that, because it's fucking great. And we decided actually, when we heard the soundtrack we were really so tempted to release it as a live album again, cause it was really good and Martin recorded the band so well in that room, it was really nice. But we settled for taking a single off of it, because we thought, you know, it wasn't the right time to do another, you know, a second live album. But you know, it means it's well... I guess for the fans without access to the video will have a souvenir of the '88 tour won't you? Because you can stick this lot on your fucking stereo, as long as it ain't screwed up with all the sticky horrible debauched singles you stuck on prior to this, as long as your stilus still bounces over the grooves and does all that good stuff it'll be alright won't it?

Hey, by the time you've got this lot in your hands, by the way, we shall have been in the studio working on a brand new album! Yes! Ooh, it's gonna be out later this year. And we may, or we may not, you never know, have another four top ten singles, thanks to you lot. And I'm going to work it out and say to them... say to you lot, it's about that time to wind this up. I mean, I've had such a great time speaking to you.... you... you lot! Fucking hell! Oh dear, we'll have to do this again sometime, I'd like to. That's it! No, and... basically thanking you lot.... you greasy slugs! You... you grubby lucky little people! No I'm kidding, ha ha ha! Thanks for ten great fantastic Maidenesque years of boogalooing through the, you know, the lunchaloms of this business... getting up there and giving it all the good old heavy metal welly, which we need more of! Lots of big heavy metal welly's everywhere, squashing all that grief stuff, all that rap shit and all that good crap that's out there that that Bleedin' Bojack Company play all the time and that fucking Mighty Tight Veg cause they haven't got a clue anymore have they? Anyway! Toodle-do to you lot! Thanks a lot to the gov'nor, 'Arry Harris and Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson, and the gov'nor Rod Smallwood, Andy Taylor, and all the boys... Tony Wiggins, Dick Bell, and everybody else who's involved, my drum tech especially, Gadsy! And EMI, for whom without them I wouldn't be here talking to you lot, mumbling and jumbling, and you wouldn't have had fucking half a dozen, seven or eight, fucking albums of the band, all that good stuff, to be mumbling jumbling and listening to. So, as I said... oh yeah, is it, no... I was going to tell you a joke, but I've decided I've run out of them, and they ain't very funny anyway, so bollocks! That's all I can say to that! And as I say, as 'Arry Harris says, as he says it very well, there's only one 'um, and that's fuck 'um! So, god bless ya, and I'll see ya... If I don't see you in the spring, as I said on one of the other "not a lot of people know that", I'll see you in a mattress!