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 here I'm
About to tell you a few stories now and in the next oooh 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... My... 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. Cor, dear!
Here, I'll tell you something, right? You know 'Arry... 'Arry Harris, right, he had a band
Called Gypsy's Kiss.... Yeah it's disgusting isn't it... And you know what that rhymes with
Dontya? 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 sort of drive for 'Arry then because he was,
You know, full of ambition to get his music out and play it to people, and he had this
Song. And he was in this band Gypsies 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 to the band and they've gone, "Oi 'Arry, gypsies kiss off will
Ya, I can't play that! " And he said, "Oi, 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 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! Now you
Knowi tell people I'm actually from another planet you know cause I'm a bit off the wall,
Well I'll tell you this boy 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 go "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 cor 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 sort of 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
Industrial action, you know strikes and all that good stuff, you know what the bbc
Usually like to do...
You! He moved the broom!
Well, is he a labourer? No he f'king 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... Chrity!
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 f'king pipe and smoke it! Right! So there you go. I was, 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.... What can I say?
Anyway, you remember the Sanctuary sleeve, you lot? Yeah... Maggie Thatcher... Weeelll,
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, allright, I'm running out
Of time on this one but nevertheless... You remember Eddie, right? 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 dye 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 paint", 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:
'Ere, 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, they said "look, due to modern technology and all those good things that
We can do with you know all this stuff nowadays, we are now able to build Eddie a
Body. " So, with this the parents were soooo 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 goes 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 innit! 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 innit? And
Eddie's out there, yet he's got to have a bit of nookie before long, that's all I can say