Description

Reissue of the Greek maxi single on blue marbled vinyl. Limited 300 copies

‘Wasted Years’ was Iron Maidens first single from their Somewhere in Time album. It is the only song on the album that features no synthesizers. Released in 1986, it was the first single solely written by guitarist Adrian Smith, who also sings backing vocals. The song deals with subject of homesickness and alienation while on tour, but the mere fact that band is touring is well worth it. It reflects on negative aspects of very long and exhausting World Slavery Tour, personal problems that band members were going through in that period. Te original working title was ‘Golden Years’, as can be heard on numerous Somewhere On Tour bootlegs. ‘Wasted Years’ reached number 18 in the UK Singles Charts. The cover is also full of visual references to the band’s earlier songs and albums. The four small screens on Eddie’s spaceship’s dashboard depict people burning in a lake of fire (a detail from The Number Of The Beast album cover), an image of Giza pyramids in the sunset (a reference to the Powerslave album cover), a moonlit graveyard (a reference to the Live After Death album cover) and a football field, showcasing the band’s fascination with the game. A variety of smaller numeric displays show, among others, numbers 666 (a reference to the song ‘The Number Of The Beast’) and 23-58 (a reference to the song ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’). The b-side ‘Reach Out’ was sung by Adrian Smith, with regular lead singer Bruce Dickinson providing backing vocals. This song was previously performed live by Nicko McBrain and Smith’s side project The Entire Population of Hackney. The demential song “Sheriff of Huddersfield” is about Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood’s decision to move to Los Angeles and buy a house in the Hollywood Hills. Apparently he had trouble adjusting to the LA lifestyle and often complained to the band about it. Interestingly Smallwood was unaware of the composition until it was released on the single, as the band had kept it secret from him. The song opens with the spoken line “We’re on a mission from Rod”, a parody of the tagline for The Blues Brothers, “We’re on a mission from God”. Later, a similar comedy piece called “Bayswater Ain’t a Bad Place to Be”, again mocking Smallwood, was released as an unlisted untitled b-side (“Space Station No. 5″‘s epilogue) in the “Be Quick or Be Dead” single.

Track listing:
1. Wasted Years
2. Reach Out
3. Sheriff Of Huddersfield