The Number Of The Beast Turns 40!

English heavy metal group Iron Maiden outside the Island Queen pub in Islington, London, 1982. Back row, left to right: singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith. Front row, left to right: bassist Steve Harris, drummer Clive Burr and guitarist Dave Murray. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)

In The Mist Dark Figures Move And Twist!

It’s hard to believe that Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number Of The Beast’ has now clicked over its fortieth birthday! Easily one of the greatest Heavy Metal albums of all time, there would not be many Top 10 lists of Metal that do not feature this classic very, very high. In fact, it reached a high placing in our very own Top 20 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of all time.

It is near on the perfect album and the very definition of Heavy Metal. The only track that comes close to hitting the filler equation is ‘Gangland’ and controversially enough, that particular track is left off the 40th Anniversary Edition and replaced by ‘Run To The Hills’ B-side, the brilliant ‘Total Eclipse’.

The story goes the band was pushed for time during the completion of the album and the aforementioned ‘Total Eclipse’ wasn’t ready so the original intended B-side, ‘Gangland’ took it’s place!

In a perfect world, I would have preferred both tracks appeared on the 40th Anniversary Edition but for some reason, the band saw fit to release the album as is.

As a fan of Iron Maiden since the Paul Di’Anno led Killers album, I always felt that the 1982 line-up of the band featuring new boy Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith, Clive Burr, Steve Harris and Dave Murray was the absolute definitive line up of Maiden. No contest! Don’t even try to change my mind. This line-up was it and at the time, one felt this would be the line up that carried Maiden on through the 80’s and beyond.

Iron Maiden went through a gruelling 1982 tour visiting many countries throughout the year. It was a schedule that could destroy most bands but the band were determined to do all in their power to promote both the band and the new album to as many people as possible.

Alas, Clive Burr was dismissed at tour’s end. Having taken some time off to mourn the passing of his father, Nicko McBrain from French band Trust was called in to replace Burr on a Euro TV show donning the Eddie mask to hide his identity. McBrain fit in nicely with Maiden , whose band Trust also opened for them, which ultimately led to Clive being fired by Steve Harris for ‘personality differences’.

Clive Burr onstage with Iron Maiden during the Beast On The Road world tour with his infamous white Tama drum kit.

Was all this for real or just some kind of Hell?

Surprisingly Maiden struck it big with The Number Of The Beast and the hit single Run To The Hills. I say surprisingly, because for its time, Beast was a very, very heavy record and not one that would become a commercial success. Yet Run To The Hills received plenty of airplay and was a big hit for Maiden even here in Australia.

The album went Platinum in Australia and was the band’s first ever Platinum award in their history up to that point.

Beast would prove to be one of the first ever records I bought as a teen from Metal For Melbourne records. At the time, they were a tiny store tucked in an arcade where Federation Square stands now. I remember being in the store at the time and a customer asked if they had any AC/DC. Another punter within the store yelled out, “Why don’t you buy some real Metal and get Iron Maiden instead?” Weird memory to have but I can recall it as if it were yesterday!

I still have my original vinyl and it is pictured below. Typically, the Australian pressing came within a very flimsy cover and inner sleeve. A very sub-par edition compared to the UK and US ones that were published at the time.

Original 1982 EMI Records Australian Pressing pictured with the picture disc version. The picture disc came in a standalone plastic clear cover.

Original 1982 EMI Records UK Pressing pictured with the Eddie labels and insert merchandise sheet.

With the success of Beast in 1982, Maiden visited Australia for the very first time.

Nov 8 Sydney, Capital Theatre
Nov 9 Sydney, Capital Theatre
Nov 10 Newcastle, Civic Theatre
Nov 13 Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
Nov 14 Melbourne, Palais Theatre (I WAS THERE!)
Nov 15 Melbourne, Palais Theatre (I WAS THERE!)
Nov 17 Brisbane, Festival Hall
Nov 20 Canberra, Athletic Stadium
Nov 21 Sydney, Capital Theatre

There is also a story of the band having to play in a small Australian backwood town during this tour. It remains a mystery if it did happen at all, but these guys shed more light on it… Read here.

Seeing Maiden at this time was something to behold. They were phenomenal and the gig I saw in Melbourne remains one of the best shows I have ever seen in my life. I saw them once again in the 80’s in 1985 on the Powerslave tour (and various times since then) but nothing compares to the Beast On The Road show. Nothing!

Speaking of the Beast On The Road tour, back in 1982 Iron Maiden recorded their live performance at London’s Hammersmith Odeon for a live video release. The gig was shot a few days before the Beast album was released so the punters at this show were some of the first to ever hear material from The Number Of The Beast played live.

The historical show from the Hammersmith Odeon has been specially mixed and co-produced for the 2002 Eddie’s Archive CD Box Set/casket by Steve Harris and the band’s long serving sound engineer Doug Hall. This double CD clearly illustrates how remarkable and ground breaking the tour was in support of the all time classic album, The Number Of The Beast. The accompanying inlay booklet is a complete recreation of the ‘Beast On The Road‘ tour programme and lists all the world tour dates and includes notes from the band written at that time.

A couple of songs from the Hammersmith show featured on the band’s 1987 12 Wasted Years home video. It wasn’t until years later that the majority of the Hammersmith gig started circulating on YouTube and the bootleg circles. An abridged video version of the concert is included on the first disc of the 2004 DVD, The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days. Intended to be released on VHS around the time of its recording, the band withheld the footage as they were unhappy with its visual quality due to lighting difficulties during the show.

In official circles the Beast Over Hammersmith performance has never appeared on vinyl until now. Celebrating 40 years of The Number Of The Beast, Maiden have included it in this stunning 2022 triple vinyl set. The 2LP records feature the track listing:

Side A:

Murders In The Rue Morgue
Wrathchild
Run To The Hills
Children Of The Damned
The Number Of The Beast

Side B:

Another Life
Killers
22 Acacia Avenue
Total Eclipse
Transylvania

Side C:

The Prisoner
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Phantom Of The Opera
Iron Maiden

Side D:

Sanctuary
Drifter
Running Free
Prowler

Torches blazed and sacred chants were praised

Back to the vinyl we go. The rear cover of the original pressing also has a different band pose. The one that appears on the 40th Anniversary edition made its first appearance on the 2014 repressing. (see below)

As stated earlier, ‘Gangland’ is completely left off this pressing and in its place stands ‘Total Eclipse’. This was the band’s call but I can’t for the life of me understand why not have both tracks on this ‘definitive’ pressing of the album. Does-not-make-sense!

The 1998 CD remasters did feature both tracks.

As they start to cry, hands held to the sky

All in all, this is quite easily my fave release of the year. In its stunning tri-fold cover which features an extensive essay on the album by Steve Harris, the artwork throughout is beautifully presented and recreated making this quite near the definitive version of the album. Alas the non-inclusion of Gangland is a disappointment.

We’ve sold quite a few of these at the store but we do have some copies left. If this read doesn’t convince you to grab a copy… well, nothing will!

Up The Irons!