Run To The Hills

The eighties to the early nineties saw Iron Maiden ruling the roost, certainly in terms of the British, and arguably the world, rock scene. They were massive. Even nowadays, when this feat is a normal weekly event, it is rarely achieved by a rock band. Back then – when a number one hit couldn't be guaranteed by selling a suitcase full of singles – it was simply unknown. Given the repute of the band and my appetite for collecting, why then the marked gap where this band's portfolio should be?

There are, I think, a number of contributing factors. Firstly, their thrust into super-stardom came at the same time my personal finances were stretched to the limit. Secondly, my musical tastes were diversifying into more interesting fields. And, thirdly, and most importantly, rock music in general was rapidly losing its appeal.

With the advent of grunge and emo-core the more traditional rock fare became, in some cases, an object of ridicule but when they started remastering and reissuing Maiden's back catalogue I had a mighty big rethink.

With its absurdly pompous intro section, whacky-whacky video and metal-opera vocals, Run to the Hills is a proposition over which we should cast an extremely jaundiced eye. Once that's been accomplished, we can bung it on the record player and howl along to the chorus like we're crazy.