Of all the albums Iron Maiden issued from 1980 up to the present day, there was only one instance when a member lasted for a single album – guitarist Dennis Stratton. But it was not any ordinary old Maiden album, as it was the one that got the whole train a-rollin’ – their classic 1980 self-titled debut. Considered to be one of metal’s all-time great debuts, it captured the band – who in addition to Stratton, consisted of singer Paul Di’Anno, guitarist Dave Murray, bassist Steve Harris, and drummer Clive Burr – and their explosive, youthful energy splendidly.
The album contained some of Maiden’s most punk-y moments (namely “Prowler,” “Running Free,” “Charlotte the Harlot,” “Iron Maiden”), as well as more tranquil fare (“Remember Tomorrow,” “Strange World”), and a nod to their future prog-y direction (“Phantom of the Opera,” “Transylvania”). And with the album peaking at an impressive #4 on the UK album charts, Maiden became an instant concert attraction – resulting in a performance at the Reading Festival that summer, as well as opening much of an entire European tour for Kiss.
In my 2015 book, “Iron Maiden: ’80 ’81”, Stratton looked back upon this era and admitted sensing that not all was rosy during the Kiss dates. “With Kiss, we were told by Rod [Smallwood, Maiden’s manager] not to talk to Kiss. Rod, as I said, had gotten very sort of paranoid about losing control of the band. I always got on with headlining bands. I got on very well with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. They took me out on my birthday in Stockholm [on October 9th], and I used to hang around with them quite a lot.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. And the crew. I find hanging around with the crew better than the band, because you have more of a laugh. It was a shame because on the Kiss tour was when Rod started talking about the sort of music I listened to. We had constant arguments about what I listened to in my hotel room, and it was a shame because it started to affect his thinking about me in the band.”
Stratton also explained why Maiden did not support Kiss during their UK dates on that tour. “They were frightened that we had so much fanbase – so many fans. Even in Europe and Scandinavia, we had thousands of fans there, which I was very surprised at. You saw so many Maiden t-shirts on the Kiss tour. We stayed in Italy while they came to the UK, because I think basically they were a bit concerned because our fanbase was so huge in England that we would end up being on level peggings rather than being the support band. So that’s why we didn’t open the shows in the UK.”
But after the final date supporting Kiss on October 13th, Stratton knew his days were numbered in Maiden. “The last show of Kiss in Norway [at the Drammenshallen], I remember it very well because we spent about 24 hours on a ferry, and that was when I knew Rod was fed up with me listening to other lighter sort of material, like the Eagles and easy-listening stuff – Steely Dan, Foreigner, and Journey. They were some of my favorite bands, and he didn’t like the idea of me listening to it, so I think I knew then that it was coming to the end.”
Shortly thereafter, a meeting was arranged. “I went to the office and had a long conversation with Rod,” Stratton recalled. “Basically, it was to do with me listening to not ‘heavy metal songs.’ It’s no secret. It’s out there – I’ve said it many, many times. It’s no secret the music I listened to. But it never affected my work. So yeah, I had a long chat with Rod – face-to-face – in his office. And Steve was there, as well, so we had a long chat about it.”
Di’Anno, for one, was not surprised by Stratton’s exit – “I thought it might come because I thought Steve was getting pissed off at him!”
But on the other hand, others closely associated with Maiden at the time were stunned by Stratton’s firing, including the producer of Maiden’s debut, Wil Malone. “I was a bit surprised to learn the guitarist left. Because, as I said, I felt he was a valuable member of the band – musically. That’s the only thing that matters to me is the music. But to a lot of other people, there are a lot more things than just the music that matters.”
Tony Platt – the producer of Maiden’s standalone single, “Women in Uniform” – was also caught off guard. “I’ve always said that Dennis was ‘the musician.’ He really could play. Funny enough, there’s quite an interesting interview with Dave Murray that I saw some while back, where Dave was talking about Dennis and how great it was to play with him because Dave played a Strat and Dennis would play the Les Paul, and the combination of the sounds was strong and all that sort of thing.”
Stratton would be replaced by Adrian Smith in Maiden and subsequently played with such other British metal bands as Praying Mantis and Lionheart – as well as also briefly reuniting with Di’Anno for a spell during the mid-late ’90s.
