THE BIRTH OF NWOBHM
BETWEEN 1975 AND 1978, the nascent Iron Maiden earned their spurs on London’s pub circuit. But with punk raging, getting noticed by record labels was easier said than done - at least it was until a DJ named Neal Kay opened a new club in the wilds of North London.
Neal Kay (DJ/founder, Heavy Metal Sound house): “Punk was the prevalent music in 1978, but since 1975 I’d been building up a small venue in Kingsbury as a heavy metal discotheque. It was known as The Bandwagon in the Prince Of Wales pub, but I re-christened it The Heavy Metal Soundhouse. The main room held about 700 people, and we had a fuckin’ ginormous sound system. I kept badgering Geoff Barton at Sounds to come down, because I knew it was unique, and a great story. In the end he came.”
“The decor resembles Dodge City, American
