Description

Us pressing

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.

Track listing:
1. Wasted Years
2. Reach Out