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The Entire Population of Hackney is the name used for a project featuring members of Iron Maiden, FM and Urchin that played two concerts in 1985. It is also the name used for a bootleg recording of the first show. It is most notable for being the spark that would lead to Adrian Smith forming his ASAP project later on and ultimately his split with Iron Maiden in 1990. It is also notable for leading to the first Iron Maiden recording without the current lead singer on lead vocals.

Background

At the end of the 1985 World Slavery Tour, Iron Maiden took 6 months off, when Nicko McBrain's frustration of not playing after winding down from an extensive Maiden tour and looking at a six month break, drove him to rent a rehearsal studio and invite Adrian Smith along to jam. The two invited more friends including: Dave Colwell (the one who wrote "Reach Out"), Andy Barnett^[1] as well as Martin Connoly, a friend of McBrain's who also played in Marshall Fury. Both Colwell and Barnett helped write "That Girl" during this project and it was later used with FM.

McBrain arranged two gigs one under the name The Entire Population of Hackney and the other under the name The Sherman Tankers. The audience recording called The Entire Population of Hackney was taken from the first show; Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray & Steve Harris joined the band on stage only for the encores.^[2] Their set includes songs from all the members and some covers from Bob Seger and ZZ top.

The result of this short break from Iron Maiden was that three of the songs featured in the setlist would be later used on two Iron Maiden singles. "Reach Out" featured on Wasted Years and "Juanita" and "That Girl" featured on Stranger in a Strange Land.^[3]

Set list (first show)

The Entire Population of Hackney
Live album by Urchin/Iron Maiden/FM
Released	1985
Recorded	Marquee Club, London, England, 19th December, 1985.
Genre	Bootleg recording
Producer	N/A

1. EastEnders theme/"Juanita" - 4:32 (Marshall Fury cover)
2. "See Me Through" - 3:22 (A track played by Urchin. Original by James Buster Band)
3. "Reach Out" - 3:36 (Written by Dave Colwell for the project)
4. "Chevrolet" - 3:38 (Stray Dog cover)
5. "Lady" - 6:55 (Urchin song)
6. "Silver and Gold" - 6:21 (Later used with ASAP)
7. "That Girl" - 5:06 (composed by the first instance of FM band with Andy Barnett on. Circa '84)
8. "Fighting Man" - 5:33 (Written by Dave Colwell for the project. Later appeared on the ASAP single, Silver and Gold)
9. "School Days" (with extended drum solo) - 5:51 (Originally written by Colwell for his band 720. Later appeared on the ASAP single, Down the Wire)
10. "When She's Gone" - 5:30 (Not the Black Sabbath song. Later appeared on the ASAP single, Down the Wire)
11. "Try" - 4:06 (Written by Kenny Mountain, who also co-wrote Rainbow's Gold)
12. "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" - 4:11 (from Iron Maiden's Powerslave) (Steve Harris and Dave Murray enter the stage)
13. "2 Minutes To Midnight" - 6:11 (from Iron Maiden's Powerslave) (Bruce Dickinson enters the stage)
14. "Rosalie" - 4:33 (Bob Seger cover)
15. "Tush" - 4:29 (ZZ Top cover)

Credits (first show)

(On the bootleg, included beneath each member is a list of bands that each were in that had songs played at this concert.)

• Adrian Smith – lead vocals (tracks 1-11), lead & rhythm guitars (tracks 1-15)
  • Urchin, Iron Maiden and ASAP,
• Bruce Dickinson - lead vocals (tracks 13-15)
  • Iron Maiden
• Andy Barnett – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (tracks 1-11)
  • Urchin, FM and ASAP
• Dave Colwell – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (tracks 1-11)
  • 720, FM and ASAP.
• Dave Murray - lead & rhythm guitars (tracks 12-15)
  • Urchin and Iron Maiden
• Martin Connoly – bass (tracks 1-11)
  • Marshall Fury
• Steve Harris - bass (tracks 12-15)
  • Iron Maiden
• Nicko McBrain - drums (tracks 1-15)
  • Marshall Fury, Iron Maiden

References

1. ^ Kathy's Zak Starkey Site: A.S.a.P - Adrian Smith & Project
2. ^ Iron maiden: The Entire population of Hackney
3. ^ The Iron Maiden Commentary