On This Day in Metal: May 1st 1976 Iron Maiden Played Their First Ever Gig

May 1st 1976 Iron Maiden played their first ever gig at St. Nicholas Hall in Poplar, London.

Steve Harris, Terry Rance, Dave Sullivan, Ron Matthews and Paul Day were ready for their first show. It was attended by friends, relatives and nuns, by Terry's account it was attended by approximately 20 people. It was a outside concert in a garden area belonging to the vicarage. It was sunny and the band stod on grass with the audience spread out in the sitting in the grass. The band played (By Terry's account) Iron Maiden, Transylvania, Purgatory, Wrathchild och Strange World together with covers of Thin Lizzy and Wishbone Ash.

Terry: "The biggest scandal in the history of Iron Maiden must be the fact that half the audience at the first show were nuns!"