''The First Ten Years'' is a series of 10 CDs and double 12" singles by British heavy metal band

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 ...

, released between 24 February and 28 April 1990, in commemoration of the band's ten-year recording anniversary. Each CD/double 12" contains two singles, complete with original

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

and artwork, as well as an edition of "Listen with Nicko", a spoken-word track in which drummer

Nicko McBrain Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, McBrain paid his bills after grad ...

would recount the history behind each song specific to that release. Each part in the series included a special

voucher A voucher is a bond of the redeemable transaction type which is worth a certain monetary value and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods. Examples include housing, travel, and food vouchers. The term voucher is also a ...

, all ten of which could be exchanged by mail order for a limited edition storage box. Iron Maiden also released '' The First Ten Years: The Videos'' on VHS videotape and

laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

, containing all 16 of the band's promotional music videos up to and including 1990's " Holy Smoke".

Track listings

Chart positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:First Ten Years Compilation album series Iron Maiden compilation albums 1990 compilation albums 1990 video albums Music video compilation albums Heavy metal compilation albums