As heavy metal legends Iron Maiden enter a new era following the announcement of drummer Nicko McBrain’s retirement from touring, singer Bruce Dickinson tells MusicRadar that one of his favourite Maiden albums is one that they made before he first joined the band.
In January 1981, Dickinson was the frontman for Samson, a band that had emerged alongside Iron Maiden during the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.
And while Samson were recording the album Shock Tactics at Battery Studios in London, Maiden were in an adjacent room working on their second album Killers with famous producer Martin Birch, who had previously worked with such legends as Deep Purple, Rainbow and Black Sabbath.
Killers was recorded with the line-up of Steve Harris (bass), Paul Di’Anno (vocals), Dave Murray and Adrian Smith (guitars) and Clive Burr (drums). Burr had left Samson to join Iron Maiden in 1979, just as Dickinson would do two years later after Paul Di’Anno was fired.
Dickinson says now that he prefers Killers to the band’s self-titled debut album. He also reveals that Martin Birch would have jumped at the chance of producing Maiden’s first album if only he had been asked - something that Steve Harris has always regretted.
“One of my favourite Maiden albums is Killers - despite the fact that I'm not on it,” Dickinson says. “I wish I had been on it, because Killers actually has got a load of stuff that I would have loved to sing.
“For me, Killers was like a really updated version of bits of Deep Purple In Rock. That vibe, you know? It wasn't bluesy, but a song like Wrathchild has got amazing groove to it. And the title track, Killers - wow!
“There's some stuff on Killers which is so atmospheric," Dickinson says. "I love it!”
He also says that Killers will always remind him of his days with Samson, when was living in near-poverty. “It really takes me back. When I listen to Killers, I'm just transported back to a world of… bedsit luxury! Ah, those smelly bed sheets!”
On the subject of Maiden’s debut album, Dickinson recalls conversations he has had over the years with Steve Harris, who felt that the album’s production by Wil Malone was second-rate.
“Steve hates the production on that album,” he says. “And the one thing he regrets is that Martin Birch didn't produce it. And Martin regretted it too. Martin said, ‘I was waiting for the phone call!’ And Steve said, ‘We never called you because we thought you wouldn't be interested!’”
After Killers, Martin Birch went on to produce all of Iron Maiden’s albums in the ‘80s - including classics such as The Number Of The Beast, Powerslave and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.
In the summer of 2025, when Maiden head out on their Run For Your Lives tour - their first with new drummer Simon Dawson - the setlist will be drawn from the debut album through to 1992’s Fear Of The Dark. So Dickinson will get the chance to sing Wrathchild again - as he has done on various occasions since joining the band at the end of 1981.
And along with all the other landmark songs that will surely be in the Run For Your Lives set - Phantom Of The Opera, Running Free, The Number Of The Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Run To The Hills, The Trooper, 2 Minutes To Midnight, Fear Of The Dark and the signature song Iron Maiden - maybe they’ll throw in one or two more from Killers.
The smart money is on the title track, which Dickinson loves so much, and the headbangers’ favourite Murders In the Rue Morgue.
And whatever they play, Dickinson promises a night to remember: “We’ll be presenting things in such a way that people will be blown away - not just by the music, but by the whole spectacle!”
