Up next in the live series is a gem from 1982. This live set took eons to see release – it was originally sent out officially on CD in 2002 as part of the Eddie’s Archive box set. It was then put out on vinyl for the first time officially in 2022, bundled with a re-issue of The Number Of The Beast. This vinyl copy is the one I possess, I do not have the CD box set. This is also available on streaming services. I’ve never really looked but I would assume this was bootlegged to all hell before 2002 and even beyond on vinyl.

This album is cut from from a single performance and is the complete show, at least as I understand it. The gig was on March 20, 1982 at the esteemed Hammersmith Odeon in London. This building, now known as the Apollo, has been host to a staggering array of shows over the decades and a great many of those acts have released live albums from the venue, so Maiden joined pretty elite company with this release.

As a brief note, some video does exist of this gig and was released on Maiden’s Early Years DVD set. I’ll do a video series some time down the line and go over it then.

The line-up for this gig was the same that recorded The Number Of The Beast and also toured behind it – Steve Harris in charge and on bass, Bruce Dickinson singing, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith on guitars, and Clive Burr on drums. Also pretty much part of the line-up is cover artist Derek Riggs, who offered this image of Eddie planting the Union Jack through the Earth, presumably right through London but I can’t tell. The CD issue of this was rendered with a huge white space on the front which kind of detracts from the art, while the vinyl package shows the image in full on the back cover.

There’s a whopper of a tracklist here with 18 songs so let’s have a look at it then get into the meat of the meal here.

Murders In The Rue Morgue

Wrathchild

Run To The Hills

Children Of The Damned

The Number Of The Beast

Another Life

Killers

22 Acacia Avenue

Total Eclipse

Transylvania

The Prisoner

Hallowed Be Thy Name

Phantom Of The Opera

Iron Maiden

Sanctuary

Drifter

Running Free

Prowler

The song selection is pretty straightforward, this was the stuff they were playing on this tour. There were only three albums to choose from so that’s what we get. It covers stuff from all three albums pretty well and there are a few treats to be had. Another Life is a cut from Killers that did get played a fair bit in Maiden’s early days but isn’t otherwise represented on a live album. Drifter and Prowler are early standards but having a Bruce rendition is pretty cool. Drifter is also a very extended jam at nine minutes, with Bruce doing the same aping of Walking On The Moon by The Police that Paul Di’Anno used to do.

There’s also Total Eclipse, which wasn’t an album track when TNOTB came out but Harris and company wish it would have been. It is a far better song than Gangland, which made the studio album but not this or any other live record. Note – the 2022 reissue of TNOTB does replace Gangland with Total Eclipse, this is the same vinyl version that has this live album with it.

To describe the recording and performances in a word – absolutely shit hot amazing. Everything here sounds spectacular. There isn’t a bad note to be found, and the show was captured brilliantly. The performance is rock solid from start to finish, Maiden were in fine form here and it carries over on the recording.

There isn’t a ton of banter here, Bruce does engage the crowd briefly between songs but none of his famous rants he would later become known for. Besides the extended jam of Drifter, there is also an extra guitar solo played after Transylvania. Otherwise the songs are played in their usual forms, which is just fine given the sheer scope of quality found here.

This is a total banger of a live album. While my ranking of all these is still a ways off, make no mistake that Beast Over Hammersmith is one of Iron Maiden’s best live albums. It has been in the same conversations with Live After Death and Rock In Rio as the top pick in many fans’ conversations, and some do choose this as number one. This easily could have been Maiden’s first officially released live album and it would have been more than fine, but the band chose to hold off until 1985 and two more studio albums to pull that trigger. But no one even remotely interested in Iron Maiden should miss this barnburner of a live set, it is insanely good.

Next week it’s back to the reunion era and a fantastic proposal – the music of Dance Of Death without having to look at that shitty album cover.

The Iron Maiden Live Album Series

Live After Death

A Real Live One

A Real Dead One

Live At Donington

Rock In Rio

BBC Archives

Beast Over Hammersmith (you are here)

Death On The Road

Flight 666

En Vivo!

Maiden England ’88

The Book Of Souls – Live Chapter

Nights Of The Dead – Legacy Of The Beast Live In Mexico City

The Iron Maiden Live Album Ranking

The Maiden Live Album “Wishlist”