5 Underplayed / Underrated Songs From Iron Maiden’s First Five LP’s

When this website began in 2011, I proclaimed that lists are stupid especially “best lists”. I believe they still are. “Best of” lists are always subjective.

But that doesn’t stop us trying to shed light on something that a person may be unfamiliar with.

To serious music fans they’re usually somewhat knowledgeable about the songs of the bands they like. For those who are not ardent followers, that is where a list may be illuminating.

With sales of over 100 million albums worldwide and 9.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify Iron Maiden are not an unpopular band. But the vast majority of those listeners are casual listeners and are not familiar with the depth of the band’s catalog.

In the United States Iron Maiden has received practically no FM radio airplay throughout their 46 year recording career.

With that said, any rabid fan of Iron Maiden will have their own favorites from each album. So we are not going to point out what we think the “best songs” are on each album. Also we will not focus on the debatable “most popular song.” Since Iron Maiden did not have any significant chart hits in the United States, they officially had few mainstream rock “hit” songs.

But because of the way music is consumed today (streaming; videos) each album offers two or three songs popular with a wide audience.

Though this article brings up the number of live performances of a song – it is more a measure of popularity, not the criteria we are using for underrated. Live performances is just a reference point.

Today, few people listen to an entire album. Especially the way it was originally conceived and released – sequentially. The songs listed below are those that are just overlooked / underrated by only listening to popular songs and not the entire album. That encompasses a generation and a half of people who have grown up primarily streaming their music.

Iron Maiden (debut album 1980)

With its wild cover attracting buyers, few knew what to expect when purchasing the eponymous Iron Maiden album back in 1980. Back in the day when you put  the needle on to the record,  the first song you heard was Prowler.

The twangy wah-wah of the guitars, and then the raw vocals of Paul ‘Di’Anno jumped out at you. It’s heavy metal, yet Prowler, like many songs on the debut album borders on punk or at least the attitude of punk.  Prowler sets up the rest of the album.

But it is not Prowler that is underrated. The sleeper on this LP is Charlotte The Harlot. composed by guitarist Dave Murray, not by the band founder and bassist Steve Harris who writes most of Maiden’s music and lyrics. The song’s shift in the middle is unexpected. The frenzied instrumental after the middle bridge is powerful, and the song, just over four minutes long tells a story of a man in love with a prostitute.

As of 2026, Charlotte The Harlot has been played by the band live 103 times. Sounds like a lot.

But the song Iron Maiden has been played live an incredible 2,435 times; more than any other Iron Maiden song. Seven other songs from the debut album have been played live in concert more than Charlotte The Harlot.  The leaders being Sanctuary (1,274) Running Free (1,040)  and Phantom Of The Opera (776)-  all very popular songs. The only song that has been played less than Charlotte is Strange World (88).

Killers (1981)

Unfortunately for fans of Paul Di ‘Anno Killers was to be his final album with Iron Maiden. Guitarist Adrian Smith was a new addition with Dennis Stratton leaving the band after the debut album.

Even though the song Purgatory was released a single in the United States it made little impact on sales.

The pace is frantic and Purgatory is just a brilliant. song

The twin guitar attack of Murray and Smith stands out. Drummer Clive Burr shines here and this may be Di’Anno’s best moment. Yet other songs from Killers get far more recognition. Wrathchild has been played 1,259 times live and Drifter 571 times. Purgatory clocks in at 81 live performances.

The Number Of The Beast (1982)

This breakthrough album is considered by many fans to be Iron Maiden’s sonic masterpiece. Every song is really, really good. Some misguided religious zealots in the United States objected to the title track and the band’s imagery claiming that Iron Maiden were promoters of Satanism.

After Di’Anno’s departure, Bruce Dickinson became the new lead singer of Iron Maiden. His nickname-  the Air Raid Siren.

Dickinson, previously in the band Samson, touring alongside Iron Maiden, would watch Maiden from the wings thinking “I could do these songs and make them better.” Dickinson has no writing credits for The Number of The Beast because of Samson’s contractual obligations. He did however contribute to the songs Children Of The Damned; The Prisoner and Run To The Hills

Dickinson’s operatic voice is very different than Di’Anno’s. Iron Maiden’s producer Martin Birch said that Dickinson was able to take Iron Maiden into new territory that they would not have been able to explore had they retained Di’Anno.

Iron Maiden has performed more songs from this album in concert than any other album. Interestingly they have never played two of the songs live. The lead track Invaders and the Clive Burr penned Gangland; two songs that Steve Harris has never been enamored of. Though many fans including myself disagree that they are subpar. It would be a treat to hear them played live.

There really isn’t  an overlooked or underrated song on the album. The song Total Eclipse was not on the album,but released as a single and only included on the Japanese LP version.  So maybe that would be the underrated song. But we’ll go with Gangland, which came about spontaneously.

Adrian Smith says he and Clive Burr wrote the song when they were hanging out in the recording studio. Clive was playing a drum pattern influenced heavily by Rainbow’s Cozy Powell and Deep Purple’s Ian Paice. Smith quickly picked up his guitar and started riffing along in the style of Gary Moore.

The Number Of The Beast was the final Iron Maiden album for the unique and multifaceted drumming of  Clive Burr.

Piece Of Mind (1983)

Iron Maiden was always busy recording and touring. That would mean constantly creating new material and a long road tour every year.

With new drummer Nicko McBrain Piece of Mind saw more of a group effort on songwriting duties with Steve Harris writing four of the nine songs. The remaining music was  a collaboration between the other members, sans McBrain.

Revelations was a Bruce Dickinson composition.  Flight of Icarus was by Adrian Smith and Dickinson. Die with Your Boots On by Smith, Dickinson and Harris.  Still Life by Dave Murray and Harris. The Japanese hari-kari song, Sun and Steel is by Dickinson and Smith.

The Trooper, Die With Your Boots On and Flight Of Icarus (the band’s most successful U.S. single, at number 8 on the Billboard rock chart)  get the most attention. A live favorite Revelations is a standout and overlooked by casual fans. Dickinson’s references to  G. K. Chesterton’s hymn “O God of Earth and Altar” and Aleister Crowley are over the heads of most listeners.

Powerslave (1984)

Powerslave features only seven songs. One epic song Rime Of The Ancient Mariner at thirteen minutes and 45 seconds is a fan favorite, along with 2 Minutes To Midnight.which has been performed 1,420 times in concert. Two songs have never been performed live, The Duelists and Flash Of The Blade.

But it’s another song that is the most underrated song on the album. Back In The Village is a continuation of the story of The Prisoner from  the album The Number of The Beast. Both songs are based based on the television masterpiece The Prisoner starring Patrick McGoohan.

Back In The Village is a complex tune requiring vocal dexterity and must be difficult to perform live as the band played it only twice on tour;  August 9 in Warsaw, Poland and August 10, 1984  in Lodz, Poland. They have never played it since. It is a catchy song, but just not as well known.