The Soundhouse Tapes
1979 debut EP by Iron Maiden
The 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 ("Iron Maiden", "Invasion" and "Prowler") 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.
Although major retail chains tried to order large quantities of the record, the band only distributed 5,000 copies, available by mail order alone, which sold out in just a few weeks. Because of this, the EP has become a valuable collector's item.
Background and recording
In the midst of punk rock's peak in the UK, Iron Maiden struggled to secure gigs out of the East End of London and decided that a demo would be an ideal way to try to remedy this. The band decided to record at Spaceward Studios, Cambridge after hearing a demo tape recorded there by former vocalist Dennis Wilcock's band, V1. Although this would be more expensive than recording in London, bassist Steve Harris comments, "We decided that doing it on the cheap was a false economy. We knew we'd only probably get one go at it, and we wanted it to sound the best we could."
To save money, the band booked a session New Year's Eve weekend 1978 (30/31 December) which cost them £200, and recorded four songs, "Prowler", "Invasion", "Strange World" and "Iron Maiden". Harris states, "We didn't know what to expect, going into the studio for the first time.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q752281. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1979 and 1978.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Soundhouse Tapes” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.