Formed in 1967 in Bolton (near Manchester) under the moniker of Ways ‘N Means, the band that was to become Iron Maiden in 1970 was essentially composed of three musicians who are at the heart of the whole story, namely:

Ian Boulton-Smith (“Beak”): Lead and rhythm guitars
Derek Austin: Bass & Backing vocals
Paul O’Neill: Drums & Lead vocals

Obviously, mostly due to the fact that drummers aren’t usually supposed to sing the band hired several singers for this duty, only to keep Paul as the lead vocalist in the end, thus being one of the first rock outfits to use a drummer as a singer. A few other musicians contributed to the saga of the Bolton Iron Maiden, most noticeably Noel Pemberton-Billing, who arrived as a replacement for Beak when he shortly left the band in 1974, then later took the bass when Derek left.

For those who like to make parallels, this band has written many songs that could be linked to Iron Maiden (the famous one) songs, both in the titles and in the lyrics. They even had a song called “Running Free”, which was sadly never recorded.

The career of the Bolton Iron Maiden was, sadly, short-lived, as Beak passed away in 1976 due to cancer. This album, authorised by Steve Harris’s Iron Maiden and its management, was released for the 30th anniversary of Beak’s death, and the benefits of its sale will be forwarded to the British Cancer Research.