The Soundhouse Tapes

The Soundhouse Tapes is an EP by Iron Maiden. The Soundhouse Tapes are the very first recordings of Iron Maiden. Released on 9 November 1979, it features three songs taken from the demo tape Spaceward. The songs were recorded by the band on New Year’s Eve 1978/79. The three tracks - “Prowler”, “Invasion” and “Iron Maiden” - appear in rougher form than they would later be heard on the first Iron Maiden album and subsequent singles. The fourth song from the demo - “Strange World” - would also appear on Iron Maiden. The song was not included in The Soundhouse Tapes because the band wasn’t happy with the recording quality. A demo of Transylvania, presumably from the same recording sessions (or at least the same era), has been floating around on the internet for some time as well.
The EP was extremely successful, selling all 5,000 copies of its initial pressing by mail order in less than a week. To impress more, the band claimed to have sold 15,000 copies.
The Soundhouse Tapes have been bootlegged several times, as well as being re-released by the band in full on the 4 LP vinyl version of the Best of the Beast box set, and spread over singles and the two CD version released around the same time.
The Soundhouse Tapes’ title was taken from The Soundhouse club. This was a heavy metal disco run primarily out of the Prince of Wales pub in Kingsbury, North West London by NWOBHM pioneer Neal Kay. Iron Maiden would play regular gigs at The Soundhouse and the venue was instrumental in gaining the band a wider following.