Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Correct!
This was intended as a softball for @chaosapiant , but he never gave it a shot.
The live performance referenced was from “The Entire Population Of Hackney”, which included members of the bands Iron Maiden, FM, and Urchin. The mystery song was of course a B-side from Somewhere In Time, recorded by Iron Maiden.
Clue #1: 180434 - This was the entire population of Hackney in London in 1981, the census date closest to the live performance and studio recording of the song. This was a reference to the band name for the live performances.
Clue #2: Invisible airwaves crackle with life - A line from Rush’s “The Spirit Of Radio”, a nod to FM, one of the bands who contributed members to the live performances.
Clue #3: Prone to impish whims - An indirect reference to Urchin (imp is a rough synonym for urchin), another one of the bands who contributed members to the live performances. (Yes, this was a feint to make someone guess “The Time Machine”.)
Clue #4: Fleetwood Mac, The Score, and Skillet all have songs whose titles include one of the main repeated lyrics in the mystery song - The phrase “never going back” appears in the titles of songs from all three of these bands, as well as repeatedly in the lyrics to “Juanita”.
Clue #5: This song has been performed live by some, but not all, current members of Iron Maiden - Adrian Smith and Nicko McBrain performed this song live as part of The Entire Population Of Hackney. Adrian did the singing for the live performance.
Clue #6: Oscar Wilde and Kate Middleton both used to have something that’s mentioned multiple times in the lyrics of the mystery song - Both of them at one time had a Chelsea flat, mentioned multiple times in “Juanita”.
Clue #7: Bruce Dickinson did not sing this song live - As mentioned above, Adrian sang it live.
Clue #8: Bruce Dickinson did record a studio version of this song, which he sung - This would be the official Iron Maiden B-side version.
Your turn!
