Here’s your ticket to some of the best (or, perhaps, most infamous) 7″ singles ever released! No adapter is required, although in my opinion the device pictured below is right up there with corn dogs as one of the best inventions of the 20th century.
The date was July 17, 1982, and I spent virtually the entire day outdoors at Anaheim Stadium. Baseball was (and still is) one of my passions, but I wasn’t there to see the California Angels play. In fact, I was about 180 degrees* away from anything angel-related: that was the day that I saw Iron Maiden live for the very first time.
My main reason for going to the Big A that day was to see headliners Foreigner and Loverboy, but it was the two opening bands that made the biggest impression on me. MTV had been playing the videos for “Run To The Hills” and “The Number Of The Beast” on a regular basis that summer, so those were the only two Iron Maiden songs that I knew at the time. Maiden took the stage at about 1:00 in the afternoon in full leather and spandex, and they only played about nine or ten songs.
That was more than enough for me– I was hooked. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Maiden were playing tracks from one of the best metal albums of all time: The Number Of The Beast. I bought the vinyl later that summer, and I’ve seen Iron Maiden live at least another ten times since.
The Scorpions took the stage after Maiden, and I didn’t really know anything about them. Didn’t matter. The Scorps were always at their best live, and let’s just say that Loverboy and Foreigner had no chance of upstaging what Iron Maiden and the Scorpions did on that glorious southern California afternoon
“Run To The Hills” was one of the highlights of Iron Maiden’s set that day, and it remains the one song that even non-fans of the band seem to know. My sister went to see Maiden with me on the Brave New World tour because I had an extra ticket, and she thought it might be fun to people-watch. She seemed to enjoy the concert for the most part, but afterwards she said, “They didn’t play “Run To The Hills,” and that’s the only song I know.” I felt bad for her, especially since she said the same thing after Queensrÿche’s opening set: “They didn’t play “Silent Lucidity,” and that’s the only song I know.” Sorry, sis!
The U.K. 7″ single for “Run To The Hills” contains “Eclipse,” one of Iron Maiden’s most-loved b-sides. The band had to decide between “Gangland” and “Eclipse” for the last available slot on The Number Of The Beast, and time has convinced founding member Steve Harris that they made the wrong choice when they opted for “Gangland.” Recent remasters of the album actually include “Total Eclipse” as an extra track, but back in 1982 you could only hear it if you bought the “Run To The Hills” 45.
A special note to Bruce: get well, brother! Can’t wait to see you on stage again in the very near future. Up the Irons!
*coincidentally, this was also the temperature on the stadium infield where we were sitting!
![Run To The Hills [U.K. 7_]](https://analogkidblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/run-to-the-hills-u-k-7_.png)
Iron Maiden: Run To The Hills [U.K. 7″]
Harvest Records, 1982
A-side: “Run To The Hills” (Steve Harris)
B-side: “Total Eclipse” (Steve Harris/Dave Murray/Clive Burr)
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Iron Maiden: “The Number Of The Beast” (Steve Harris)
Iron Maiden: “Gangland” (Adrian Smith/Clive Burr)
Both taken from the album The Number Of The Beast
Harvest Records, 1982
Foreigner: “Waiting For A Girl Like You” (Mick Jones/Lou Gramm)
From the album 4
Atlantic Records, 1981
Loverboy: “Lucky Ones” (Paul dean/Mike Reno/Scott Smith/Denise Thurlow)
From the album Get Lucky
Columbia Records, 1981
Scorpions: “The Zoo” (Rudolf Schenker/Klaus Meine)
From the album Animal Magnetism
Mercury Records, 1980
Queensrÿche: “Silent Lucidity” (Chris DeGarmo)
From the album Empire
EMI Records, 1990
The Analog Kid 
Always loved that song.
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