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This song, written by
Pete Townshend, was originally on
The Who's first album of the same name, released in 1965. It's a rock anthem that is full
of teenage angst and was perhaps a bit ahead of its time. Even when I was a teenager I could
recognise the transitory nature and lack of depth in this type of song and now that my teenage
years are quite far behind me it seems even more silly. One of the reasons that I like Iron Maiden
so much is that their lyrics are almost exactly unlike this.
On the other hand, the reason why Maiden – or more precisely Steve Harris –
decided to record this song seems pretty obvious: the work on the bass is absolutely gigantic and
Steve does his very best to pay tribute to John Entwistle’s frilly bass playing.
The band have been big fans of both The Who and UFO for a long time. Our first ever gig in LA
was supporting UFO at Long Beach in 1981 and they were great to work with. Doing B sides
it's good paying tribute to people that you like and respect and recording songs that you like
– these two were a case of that and were recorded at the same
time. 
Rod Smallwood
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