"Running Free" | ||||
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Single by Iron Maiden | ||||
from the album Iron Maiden | ||||
B-side | "Burning Ambition" | |||
Released | 8 February 1980 | |||
Recorded | December 1979 ("Running Free") [1] November 1979 ("Burning Ambition") [2] March 1985 ("Running Free" (live) & "Sanctuary" (live) October 1984 ("Murders in the Rue Morgue" (live) | |||
Genre | Heavy metal | |||
Length | 3:04 3:26 [3] | |||
Label | EMI | |||
Songwriter(s) | Steve Harris Paul Di'Anno | |||
Producer(s) | Will Malone [4] Martin Birch (1985 live single) [3] | |||
Iron Maiden singles chronology | ||||
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1980 Japanese cover | ||||
1985 live cover | ||||
"Running Free" is the debut single by Iron Maiden,released on 8 February 1980 on the 7" 45 rpm vinyl record format. It was written by Steve Harris and Paul Di'Anno. The song appears as the third track on the band's debut album Iron Maiden (and the fourth track on its 1998 re-release). In 1985,a live version of the song was released as the first single from Live After Death (the band's twelfth single). In 1990,the original single was reissued on CD and 12" vinyl as part of The First Ten Years box,in which it was combined with the band's next single,"Sanctuary". The 1985 live single was also released as part of this box set,combined with 1985's "Run to the Hills".
According to vocalist Paul Di'Anno,who wrote the song's lyrics,it is "a very autobiographical song,though of course I've never spent the night in an LA jail. It's about being 16 and,like it says,just running wild and running free. It comes from my days as a skinhead." [5] The song is known to be one of the band's more traditional rock numbers,which Mick Wall describes as "Iron Maiden at their punk-metal apotheosis," [5] and is still performed live to this day.
The single's cover art is famously known as the first official appearance of Iron Maiden's mascot,Eddie,although his face is obscured as the band did not want him unveiled until the album's release. [6] Several band names (such as Scorpions,Judas Priest,AC/DC,Sex Pistols and Led Zeppelin) are spray painted on the wall behind the youth in the picture,as well as the word "Hammers",a tribute to West Ham United,and "Vambo" which refers to The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. [6]
The B-side "Burning Ambition",recorded in November 1979 at Wessex Studios with producer Guy Edwards as a 4-piece band just prior to hiring Dennis Stratton &Clive Burr, [2] is one of Harris' earliest compositions written around the time he was in Gypsy's Kiss. It is one of the few recordings to feature Doug Sampson on drums,and the only one released by the band (demo versions of "Wrathchild" and "Sanctuary" with Sampson on drums were released on the NWOBHM compilation album Metal for Muthas). The guitar solo in this song is played by Dave Murray. The song did not appear on an album until it was included in the Best of the 'B' Sides compilation,released as part of the Eddie's Archive Boxset,and was featured in the soundtrack of The History of Iron Maiden –Part 1:The Early Days DVD documentary.
As an accident,the German and French pressings of the "Running Free" 7" contain the Running Free track from the Wessex Studio sessions with Doug Sampson on drums and only Dave Murray on guitar. That same version of "Running Free" also appeared on early pressings of the Axe Attack compilation album.
Iron Maiden's first single in Japan featured "Prowler" as the A-side and "Running Free" as the B-side. The cover used was the censored version of the "Sanctuary" single. [7]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Running Free" | Steve Harris, Paul Di'Anno | 3:04 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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2. | "Burning Ambition" | Harris | 2:39 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Prowler" | Harris | 3:55 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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2. | "Running Free" | Harris, Di'Anno | 3:16 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Running Free" (Live at Long Beach Arena, California, America, 14–17 March 1985) | Harris, Di'Anno | 3:26 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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2. | "Sanctuary" (Live at Long Beach Arena, California, America, 14–17 March 1985) | Harris, Dave Murray, Di'Anno, | 4:38 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Running Free" (Live at Long Beach Arena, California, America, 14–17 March 1985) | Harris, Di'Anno | 3:26 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Sanctuary" (Live at Long Beach Arena, California, America, 14–17 March 1985) | Harris, Murray, Di'Anno | 4:38 |
2. | "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England, 12 October 1984) | Harris | 4:30 |
Production credits are adapted from the 7-inch vinyl cover, [4] and The First Ten Years CD re-release liner notes. [8]
Production credits are adapted from the 12-inch vinyl cover. [3]
Running Free
NotesRelated Research ArticlesThe Soundhouse Tapes is the debut EP by Iron Maiden, and features the first recordings by the band. Released on 9 November 1979, it features three songs taken from the demo tape recorded at Spaceward Studios on 30 and 31 December 1978. The three tracks appear in a rougher form than they would on the band's eponymous debut studio album and subsequent singles, as they were all recorded in one session. Live at the Rainbow is the first live video recorded by Iron Maiden on 21 December 1980 and released in 1981. It includes one of the band's earliest concerts with guitarist Adrian Smith as well as a very early version of "Killers", with lyrics that differ from the album version that would be released in 1981. Paul Di'Anno later admitted writing the lyrics five minutes before going on stage that night. This has been debunked as the same lyrics were performed by the band at the Reading Festival in August 1982. Iron Maiden is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 14 April 1980 by EMI Records in the UK and Harvest and Capitol Records in the US. The North American version included the song "Sanctuary", released in the UK as a non-album single. In 1998, along with the rest of the band's pre-1995 releases, Iron Maiden was remastered with "Sanctuary" added in all territories. However, 2014 vinyl reissues, 2015 digital releases and 2018 CD reissues use the original track listing across the globe. It is the band's only album to feature guitarist Dennis Stratton. Powerslave is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 3 September 1984 through EMI Records in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in North America. It was re-released by Sanctuary and Columbia Records in the United States in 2002. Killers is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was first released on 2 February 1981 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and on 11 May in the United States by Harvest and Capitol Records. The album was their first with guitarist Adrian Smith, and their last with vocalist Paul Di'Anno, who was fired after problems with his stage performances arose due to his alcohol and cocaine use. Killers was also the first Iron Maiden album recorded with producer Martin Birch, who went on to produce their next eight albums until Fear of the Dark (1992). Maiden Japan, released as Heavy Metal Army in Japan, is a live EP by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The title is a pun of Deep Purple's live album Made in Japan. The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days is a DVD video by Iron Maiden, released in 2004. It features the first part of The History of Iron Maiden series, a 90-minute documentary which describes their beginnings in London's East End in 1975 through to the Piece of Mind album and tour in 1983. The set also features a large collection of rare videos and concert footage, as well as interviews with former members such as Paul Di'Anno, Clive Burr, Dennis Stratton, Dave Sullivan, Terry Rance, Doug Sampson, Ron Matthews, Terry Wapram and Bob Sawyer. The DVD won a 2004 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Home Video/DVD of the Year. "Run to the Hills" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as their sixth single and the first from the band's third studio album, The Number of the Beast (1982). It is their first single with Bruce Dickinson as vocalist. Credited solely to the band's bassist, Steve Harris, Dickinson contributed to the song but could not be credited due to a contractual agreement with his former band Samson. "Run to the Hills" remains one of the band's most popular songs, with VH1 ranking it No. 27 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs, No. 14 on their list of the Greatest Hard Rock Songs, and Rolling Stone ranking it No. 10 on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs "Sanctuary" is the second single released by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The single was released on 23 May 1980. Although originally issued as a non-album single, the song was added to the later US release of their debut studio record, Iron Maiden (1980). When the album was re-released in 1998, the song was added in all territories. In 1990, it was reissued on CD and 12" vinyl in The First Ten Years box set, in which it was combined with their first single, "Running Free". "Women in Uniform" is a 1978 song by the Australian band Skyhooks; it was written by the band's bass guitar player, Greg Macainsh. It was released in February 1978 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Guilty Until Proven Insane and peaked at number 8 in Australian and number 73 in the UK. Best of the 'B' Sides is a compilation of B-sides by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 4 November 2002 as part of the Eddie's Archive box set. Each track was remastered and the set came with a running commentary from Rod Smallwood. It covers all of their singles from their first to 2000's "Out of the Silent Planet", although several of the band's original B-sides were excluded from the collection: "Total Eclipse", "Mission From 'Arry" ; "Bayswater Ain't a Bad Place to Be" ; and "I Live My Way". Also missing are the band's cover of Thin Lizzy's "Massacre" and a number of live B-sides. "Purgatory" is Iron Maiden's fifth single, released on 15 June 1981, and would be their last with singer Paul Di'Anno. It served as the second single from Killers. 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It is a collection of songs from three live shows and one live radio broadcast, recorded by the BBC between 1979 and 1988. The Killer World Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 17 February 1981 to 15 November 1981. This would be the band's first world tour, including their debut shows in North America and Japan where they recorded the live release, Maiden Japan. On top of this, the band moved into larger venues in the United Kingdom, including the Hammersmith Odeon, London. References
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