''Head On '' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by British heavy metal band

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

, released in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

. The cover art features the band's masked drummer,

Thunderstick Barry Graham Purkis, more commonly known as Thunderstick (born 7 December 1954), is an English drummer who wore various masks and used to perform on-stage closed in a cage. He was in the cult-band Samson (band), Samson, with whom his name is ...

. This is the first album with future

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

-frontman

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

on vocal duties, although some later re-issues of the debut do feature alternative bonus versions of songs, re-done with Dickinson vocals. The instrumental "Thunderburst" is credited as co-written by Steve Harris. The track is in fact a version of "The Ides of March", an early Iron Maiden song written during the brief time in 1977 in which Thunderstick was in Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden released their own version on the Iron Maiden album '' Killers'' the next year, though Steve Harris credited the song solely to himself, annoying the members of Samson. A jazz-style spoof version of "Vice Versa", titled "Egg Timer" and credited to Cosmo Toons and the Split Knee Loons, appears on the ''For Gillan Fans Only'' album, given away for free with the first 15,000 copies of Gillan's ''

Glory Road ''Glory Road'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (July – September 1963) and published in hardcover the same year. It was nominated for t ...

'', released in 1980.

Track listing

All tracks by

Paul Samson Paul Samson (4 June 1953 – 9 August 2002) was an English guitarist, closely associated with the new wave of British heavy metal. Born Paul Sanson, his first band in 1968 was a local Kent based group called 'The Innocence' which consisted of ...

Chris Aylmer Samson were a British heavy metal band formed in 1977 by guitarist and vocalist Paul Samson. They are best known for their first three albums with future Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, then known as "Bruce Bruce", and drummer Thunders ...

and

except "Thunderburst" by Dickinson, Samson, Aylmer, Thunderstick and Steve Harris

2001 & 2013 Remastered CD Reissue Bonus Tracks

Charts UK #34

Personnel

;Samson * "Bruce Bruce" Dickinson –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, mixing *

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

;Production *Paul 'Chas' Watkins, Bob Broglia - engineers *Samson – producer, arrangements & noises *

Tony Platt Tony Platt is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his work with a diverse mix of artists, including, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Bob Marley, Iron Maiden, Shy, Buddy Guy, Foreigner, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sparks, Jazz ...

– remixing at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

*Craig Milliner – remix engineer *Hothouse – sleeve *Simon Fowler – sleeve photography

Re-issues

''Head On'' has seen numerous CD re-issues over the years. The first came in 1989 courtesy of German company Repertoire and in 1990 via Grand Slamm in the U.S. and Jimco in Japan, followed by Bruce Dickinson's short-lived Air Raid label in 2000. The re-issues on Castle/Sanctuary (2001) and Lemon (2013) both contain a pair of bonus tracks, "Angel with a Machine Gun" and "Kingsway Jam", not included on the earlier editions.

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1980 albums Samson (band) albums