The Record Deal

The Marquee in London was the bands next move, which would hopefully gain the band some media attention and get them a record deal.  Maiden made this performance a bit special by using their own backdrop.  Other bands liked having the Marquee curtain behind them as it was very prestigious but not Maiden – they covered the thing up!  Some record labels were invited to the gig but failed to even show up.

EMI decided to sign the band after seeing them at the Soundhouse venue.  Firstly the Metal For Muthas album was released - a compilation album featuring bands from the NWOBHM scene.  Maiden insisted on having 2 songs on the album - the first and last.  There was also a Metal For Muthas Tour (see Maiden UK Tour section for dates).  Rod made sure that the band got a very worthwhile three album contact, making sure that EMI would be commited to them.

The Soundhouse Tapes was released as their first distributed material.  The notes on the sleve were hand written and it was only distributed at gigs and through mail order.  Only 5000 were made and cost £1.20 each , an amount which has rissen to around £200 now, due to it being so rare.

With a manager and a record deal Maiden were only lacking a producer for their debut album.