The Ides of March

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How good is The Ides of March on a scale of 1-10?

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Live History

The song got introduced as the opening song in 1978 and was played constantly until October 1979, when the band recorded it and started playing it through the PA as the intro tape until the end of the Killer World Tour. Where and when did they recorded the first version of the Ides before recording it for Killers? Buy my book by subscribing at https://www.subscribepage.com/luisma666 and learn the answer!
 
Very good piece of instrumental. The melodies and both solos are awesome. Sets up the album quite well. Nice intro. 9/10

It would be great to see ''Ides Of March'' and right after it ''Wrathchild'' (like it is on the album) live.
 
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Rasmus on the official forum has posted pictures of the actual tape from back in the pub days that Maiden used before coming on stage, and it is titled "Maiden March" on the box.

I don't want to copy the photo here, just in case that's not cool with Rasmus.
 
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5.

I love this as an intro to Wrathchild, but it should have been part of the track as it doesn't work for me as a standalone piece.
 
It’s no The Hellion, but the thunderous drums and blazing guitar leads make Ides of March an iconic piece of NWOBHM instrumental glory. 7
 
7
What a fantastic piece of music! My second favorite Maiden instrumental. It never ceases to amaze me. Powerful & in-your-face, a complete song under 2 minutes. It's also great to have a Jules Caesar related tune so early in the catalogue.

On a separate note, I never understood why Samson or Thunderstick didn't claim the rights from Steve for that one.
If I'm not wrong Thunderstick was in Maiden prior 1980 for some time. Could it be he developed it together with Harris, thus no claim? Anyway, fantastic drummer, what a groove.

EDIT: Some comments from YouTube, that probably answer my query:
  • Barry (Thunderstick) was threatened with legal action by Smallwood and they ended up having to credit Harris to prevent it going to court. Barry told the rest of Samson it was his song/work only to end up having to admit it wasnt.
  • No way Maiden ripped off this song. Samson's "Head On" was released in 1980, and Iron Maiden played "The Ides of March" song in a gig at Ruskin Arms, London in october, 1979. That song was actually wrote in 1977 by Steve Harris probably along with Barry Purkis (Thunderstick) while he was a member of Iron Maiden, for a brief period. Then he left and joined Samson in 79, replacing their old drummer Clive Burr, who would eventually join Iron Maiden. Later on Barry used that song as "Thunderburst" in 1980 "Head On", giving co-credit to Harris and curiously to Bruce Dickinson and other members of Samson. Steve Harris in turn released it in the 1981 "Killers" album as the famous intro "The Ides of March", but only gave credit to himself. In my opinion the Maiden version is much better, the solos by Murray and Smith are great.
Below the YouTube video in question, Samson featuring Thunderstick, 1980 version:
 
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Maiden’s shortest song straddles the line between being a proper instrumental piece and a simple intro to the album, but I think it still sounds great out of the “Wrathchild” segue context. It’s a smart piece of guitar playing and a great way to introduce the now-iconic Smith / Murray duo. It rocks. 8/10
 
The instrumentals of early Maiden are easily among the strongest material and I like every single one of them. Great intro to the album. The production is better than on the debut and the album immediately starts out with a great impression. Funnily enough my definitive version of this song isn't the Maiden version, but a cover by Steel Prophet, which includes my favorite version of Purgatory as well. Due to that cover I'm always caught off guard when I listen to the original and hear freaking Wrathchild instead of Purgatory lol
Strong 7.

The aforementioned cover:
 
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