In the first days of 1980, when Iron Maiden entered Kingsway Studios in West London to begin recording their debut album, bassist Steve Harris had mixed emotions. He had a quiet confidence in the strength of the material he had written for the band and he also knew that the band’s new line-up was the best it had ever been, with the addition of a hard-hitting drummer in Clive Burr, and an accomplished guitarist in Dennis Stratton to play alongside Dave Murray. Even so, Harris had, deep down, a sense of nagging fear.
“I suppose I was always worried in the back of my mind that it could all come tumbling down rather quickly,” he later admitted. “You don’t take anything for granted – it’s the old ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ thing. And it’s very much a business that’s like that – more so than most other professions. So you try not to get yourself too worked up, in case it falls flat. That was my attitude.”
