"Wasted Years"
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album Somewhere in Time
B-side
  • "Reach Out" (The Entire Population of Hackney cover)
  • "Sheriff of Huddersfield"
Released6 September 1986
Recorded1986
GenreHeavy metal
Length5:06[1]
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Adrian Smith
Producer(s)Martin Birch
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"Run to the Hills (Live in 1985)"
(1985) 		"Wasted Years"
(1986) 		"Stranger in a Strange Land"
(1986)
Music video
"Wasted Years" on YouTube

"Wasted Years" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the band's fourteenth single released and the first from their sixth studio album, Somewhere in Time (1986). Released in 1986, it was the first single solely written by guitarist Adrian Smith, who also sings backing vocals.

The song reached number 18 in the UK Singles Charts, as well as the top 10 in Finland and the Netherlands' Single Top 100.

Synopsis

The song deals with subject of homesickness and alienation, as well as the negative aspects of the band's nearly year long previous tour and personal problems that Smith and other band members were going through in that period.[2]

The cover depicts the band mascot Eddie's point of view as he flies a time machine.[3] Only a part of Eddie's face is seen, as a reflection in a screen.[3] According to artist Derek Riggs, this is because the band did not want to reveal the mascot in his new cyborg guise until the album was released a few weeks later.[3] As with the Somewhere in Time album sleeve,[4] the single cover also features the TARDIS from the BBC series Doctor Who.[3] Riggs describes the illustration as "a duffer. It's a technical illustration of a keyboard of a time machine, with Eddie reflected in the window, because it was the only thing we could think of that wouldn't give Eddie away".[3]

Live performances

"Wasted Years" is one of three tracks from Somewhere in Time that have been played on more than two concert tours, the other two being the album's second single, "Stranger in a Strange Land", and "Heaven Can Wait". It was featured on Somewhere On Tour,[5] Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour,[6] Real Live Tour (only on few dates),[7] The Ed Hunter Tour,[8] Somewhere Back in Time World Tour[9] and Maiden England World Tour.[10]

Adrian Smith has performed the song live with his bands Psycho Motel and Smith/Kotzen, performing the lead vocals himself.[11]

Track listing

7" single
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wasted Years"Adrian Smith5:06
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Reach Out" (The Entire Population of Hackney cover)Dave Colwell3:25
12" single
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wasted Years"Smith5:06
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Reach Out" (The Entire Population of Hackney cover)Colwell3:25
2."Sheriff of Huddersfield"Iron Maiden3:35

Cover performances

American singer-songwriter Ryan Adams covered "Wasted Years" in 2013 for the soundtrack to the sixth season of the television series Californication. The cover received a negative review from Spin, which called it "neutered" and said "the alt-folk champ’s vocal performance is as maudlin as the lyrics are now revealed to be, liberated as they are from their original badass trappings."[12]

Personnel

Production credits are adapted from the 7-inch vinyl cover.[1]

Iron Maiden

Production

Chart performance

Chart (1986) Peak

position

Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 27
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 6
Irish Singles Chart[15] 11
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 12
Netherlands (Dutch Single Top 100)[17] 8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 24
UK Singles Chart[19] 18
Single Chart (1990) Peak
position 		Album
"Wasted Years/ Stranger in a Strange Land" UK Albums Chart[note 1] 9[20] —

Notes

  1. ^ Re-release of both singles as part of The First Ten Years box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.

References

  1. ^ a b "Wasted Years" 7 Inch Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 6 September 1986.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Iron Maiden - Flight 666 DVD, History Of Iron Maiden pt 2
  3. ^ a b c d e Popoff, Martin (2006). Run for Cover: The Art of Derek Riggs (1 ed.). Aardvark Publishing. p. 94. ISBN 1-4276-0538-6.
  4. ^ Popoff, Martin (2006). Run for Cover: The Art of Derek Riggs (1 ed.). Aardvark Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 1-4276-0538-6.
  5. ^ "Somewhere On Tour Setlist". Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  6. ^ "Seventh Tour Of A Seventh Tour Setlist". Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  7. ^ "A Real Live Tour Setlist". Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  8. ^ "The Ed Hunter Tour Setlist". Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  9. ^ "Somewhere Back In Time Setlist". Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  10. ^ Alderslade, Merlin (22 June 2012). "First Iron Maiden 'Maiden England' US Tour Setlist Revealed, Rest Of World Weeps With Jealousy". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  11. ^ "Watch Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen perform Iron Maiden's Wasted Years at their debut Smith/Kotzen gig". 21 January 2022.
  12. ^ Martins, Chris (2013-01-12). "Ryan Adams Neuters Iron Maiden's 'Wasted Years' For 'Californication' Soundtrack". Spin.
  13. ^ "Iron Maiden - Wasted Years - ultratop.be". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  14. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  15. ^ "Irish singles archive". IRMA. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  16. ^ Top 40, Stichting Nederlandse. "Iron Maiden - Wasted Years | Top 40". Top40.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-01-01.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Iron Maiden - Wasted Years". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  18. ^ "charts.org.nz - Iron Maiden - Wasted Years". charts.nz. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  19. ^ "Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive 13 September 1986". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  20. ^ "Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive 14 April 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
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