What is the fourth Virtual Xi song in Brave New World?

Cool, I'd love to read it if you could find the source. I know he lifted the lyrics/plot from an 80s novel of the same name.
 
I don't know anything about a novel, but I know he based it on an 80s film called When the Wind Blows (no "wild"). It shouldn't be too hard to find it online, I watched it a few months back. The plot isn't identical, but it's very clearly Steve's inspiration for the song. There's even a picture on the wall that falls down; upside down.
 
Pretty much the only difference between the song and film is the ending. Also, the film is based on a graphic novel of the same name. In my opinion, it's one of those times when the movie is better than the book.
 
I posted this in August 2010, in the WTWWB-topic:

Forostar said:
I've translated the following piece with Steve Harris from an interview in the latest Aardschok (Dutch rock & metal magazine).

Location: Toronto / date: probably 3 Juli 2010, the concert date, since the gig was reviewed by the interviewer.

Interviewer:
“The album closes with the epic “When The Wild Wind Blows”, the only song completely written by Steve Harris. It is one of the most beautiful compositions. It also has a lyric which it deserves. It tells the story of a married couple. From the signs of the time they think the apocalypse is at hand. The duo doesn’t want to await the disaster but decides to make an end to it, together in peace. Just before that, very English, they drink a cup of tea. From the last couplet, it seems the couple misjudged the signals. It was just a simple earth shock.

Steve Harris:
“The idea for that song was in my head for a very long time. Definitely five or six years. Maybe even longer. The lyrics are based on a cartoon film I saw once. When The Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs. I saw it somewhere in the mid eighties. It is about a couple who knows the end of time is coming soon. However, they don’t panic for a second. Indeed they drink a cup of tea. One or two sugar lumps? Very British. Very “stiff upper lip”. Whatever disaster comes, always stay calm and go on, like nothing is the matter. You saw this during the terrible disgrace of the English football team in South Africa. In our country, not a single face changed, while it still was a scandalous performance. I like that.

Still I did it my own way. By the way, since the eighties I hadn’t watched it anymore. I didn’t want to because I didn’t want to be extra influenced by it. I’ll try to get the video tape soon again.

Like I said, I was busy with the music for “When The Wild Wind Blows” for some years. When I needed the tape, it suddenly seemed to be lost. So I just left it to fate. If I wouldn’t find it, then it was meant to be like that. Would I find the tape, then the song would land on the record. In the end it seemed I had put it neatly in a drawer, but had completely forgotten about that.”
Laughs shortly: “That’s what happens when you get old”.
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He probably means the idea started (the song was conceived) in the mid eighties and then stayed in his head until the early nineties (5 or 6 years or even longer). Then he laid it to rest because he lost the tape.
 
Not sure exactly when "When the wind blows" was released in the UK, but it was released in 86. Funny to think if it could have made the "Somewhere In Time" album if Steve had found the inspiration to finish it at that time.

Also, funny thing, the "Walking on Air" segment that Adrian and Dave did during their solo on 1986/87 "Somewhere on Tour" was based on another Raymond Briggs animated film. :)
 
Thanks for the translation Forostar. I didn't know the history behind that song. Sounds amazing to me, as it is by far my favorite one on the last album, and my favorite reunion song. I just can't imagine that such a masterpiece could have been lost forever. I understand better now what he means when he says he has loads of ideas on cassettes. I just hope he will try to record most of them, wether with Maiden (which I would prefer) or on his own. Nethertheless, it seems that he never really finished that song before the editing of the album, because he said that he had no definite idea of the way the different parts should be assembled ; I think he even tried different solutions and versions after the said parts were recorded.
 
I posted a query a while back about the possibility of Maiden releasing an occasional “EP” (as Metallica did with Beyond Magnetic) of stuff that didn’t make the latest album. However I was told they only ever write enough stuff for the album they are currently recording and there is never anything left over. I am therefore surprised that there were as many as 4 songs left over from Virtual XI that were good enough to make their way onto Blood Brothers?
 
Very interesting topic, I never heard of this before. I'm surprised that all those great tracks (Nomad, seriously???) were leftovers from such a mediocre album.. Too bad Blaze was not credited and I agree with Mosh that Bruce might have played some role for H credit in Hooks in You.
 
______no5 said:
Very interesting topic, I never heard of this before. I'm surprised that all those great tracks (Nomad, seriously???) were leftovers from such a mediocre album.. Too bad Blaze was not credited and I agree with Mosh that Bruce might have played some role for H credit in Hooks in You.
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I don't see the surprise, really. Don't confuse good production and arrangements with something else. Brave New World had plenty of that - Virtual XI did not. There is really no quality differences in the "ideas" of the songs if you analyse them, put it like that. A song like The Nomad could have made a really bad impression if it had the production of Virtual XI.

Had Kevin Shirley produced a song like Lightning Strikes Twice or Como Estais Amigo, I am fully convinced it would have been a strong song even on Brave New World. I hope you see my point here, and that it doesn't lie in the fact of different singers, and an Adrian Smith less or more.
 
Yes I see your point. Mostly for the other two but Nomad? Great structure, tempo changes, heavy riffing. I can't picture it in Virtual XI at all.
 
Structure and tempo changes could always be changed. Structuring a song is usually something a good producer would look at to make a song better. I doubt it was finished as the version that ended up on the album.
 
Speaking of all these, it came to my mind a small dream of mine. To hear some day the Mastered version of A Matter Of Life And Death. Imagine one future release collector's item; triple CD: AMOLAD, AMOLAD Mastered & AMOLAD Live (taken from a single concert).. Wouldn't that be awesome??
 
I like AMOL&D the way it is. Now, remixed & remastered versions of DOD and TFF... I'd buy that. Cause those albums have really bad sound...
 
I always rather liked Judgement Day & Justice Of The Peace, the two tracks that they didn't have room for on XF. In fact I kind of like them more than most of the stuff on the actual release.
 
Night Prowler said:
I like AMOL&D the way it is. Now, remixed & remastered versions of DOD and TFF... I'd buy that. Cause those albums have really bad sound...
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I love the sound AMOLAD (and dislike the sound of DOD & TFF). But I'd wish to listen this mastered version to compare & draw my conclusions. It would make a nice collector's item along with a live version, think about it!
 
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