On November 9, 1979, "Iron Maiden" released their first EP, "The Soundhouse Tapes".
The mini-album included only three songs, which were taken from the first demo tape the band recorded, as follows: 1. "Iron Maiden" 2."Invasion" 3. "Prowler".
The three songs were recorded in a single session held on 31 December 1978 at "Spaceward Studios" at a cost of 200 Pound. The band members chose to record the demo on the eve of the new year, in order to save expenses.
On that historic night, a fourth song was also recorded - "Strange World", but in the end only three reached the final version of the EP.
The band members returned to the studio a week after the recordings to perform mixes and corrections, but were required to pay an additional 50 pound that they did not have. They tried to raise money, but it took several days. Finally, when they had enough money they returned to the studio only to find out that the owner of the studio had deleted the master. In these circumstances they had no choice but to take out the demo as it was, without corrections and mixes.
The drummer in this mini-album is Doug Sampson who will later be replaced by the legendary Clive Burr ahead of the recording of the band's debut album. Also, alongside Dave Murray, another guitarist named Paul Cairns, who did not receive credit on the album cover.
Anyone who listens to the different versions of the songs on this EP will find that they are immature, slow and less polished than those that appeared on the band's first album.
The mini-album "The Soundhouse Tapes" will be remembered in the pages of history as the first piece of music that launched the glorious career of "Iron Maiden", but in a larger sense, this EP ignited a whole movement of British heavy rock known as "New Wave of British Heavy Metal".