Doug Sampson
Doug Sampson | |
---|---|
Born | (1957-06-30) 30 June 1957 (age 67) Hackney, London, England |
Genres | Heavy metal |
Occupation(s) | Drummer |
Years active | 1975–1979, 2016–present |
Douglas William Sampson (born 30 June 1957)[1] is an English musician. He was the drummer for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1979.[2]
Biography
Prior to joining Iron Maiden, Sampson was a member of one of Steve Harris' previous groups, Smiler, along with Dennis Wilcock, Mick Clee (born 1949) and Tony Clee (b. 1949) in 1975,[1] after which he was asked to join Iron Maiden at their inception in the same year.[3] He declined to join at the time as he was "a bit fed up with the whole rock band thing" because he was "completely skint,"[3] but accepted a further invitation from Steve Harris at Dennis Willcock's last gig to replace Barry Purkis in 1978 after he had taken up drumming again in a Southern Rock group called Janski.[4]
Following a year of rehearsing the band began playing small pubs with the band, during which they gained a large following, a highlight being a gig at London's famous Marquee club. Doug participated in the recording of Iron Maiden's demo, later released as The Soundhouse Tapes, on 31 December 1978,[5] Prowler and other tracks from it appeared in the charts of Neal Kay's Heavy Metal Soundhouse club, published weekly in Sounds.[6] Iron Maiden eventually signed to EMI in 1979,[7] following up by recording further demos, one song from these sessions ("Burning Ambition") was included on the B-Side of "Running Free".[8]
Sampson also played on Iron Maiden's BBC Archives released in November 2002 as part of the Eddie's Archive box set. It is a collection of songs from three live shows and one live radio broadcast, recorded by the BBC between 1979 and 1988. Sampson can be found on the BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show, 14 November 1979 disc.
Sampson eventually left the band on 22 December 1979, following health issues brought about by the band's extensive touring schedule driving up and down the country in vans at night in a hectic schedule freezing half to death in the van and a lack of sleep contributing to fatigue and illness. Although he calls leaving Maiden "a blow," he states that "After leaving Iron Maiden he had a jam with Chop Pitman and Tony Hatton from EL34 and they formed a new band Airforce when joined by Sam Sampson, Doug's brother who was the vocalist from local legends Sam's Apple Pie. Airforce played heavily in the London circuit including nights including the Ruskin Arms and the Marquee supporting Shy."[citation needed]
In 2015, Sampson was invited to be a guest at The Legacy Projects charity fund raising gig supported many former members of Iron Maiden. Sampson brought down his Smiler drum kit that he also used in Iron Maiden and was swamped for autographs and photos, Sampson's old band, Airforce performed a set and had also contributed a track ("War Games") to the Origins of Iron compilation, which featured nine tracks by former members of Iron Maiden. After seeing the response from fans, in 2016, Sampson rejoined Airforce after a 20-year absence. He recorded three new tracks with the band and released their career-retrospective album, Judgement Day on 15 July 2016 via WatchOut Records.
Sampson finally returned to the stage, in April 2017. At just his second show back with Airforce, the band headlined the inaugural "Burr Fest" event, at The Lounge, in London. The event raised money for the MS Action Fund, in memory of Sampson's Iron Maiden successor, Clive Burr.
Airforce have recorded a new EP The Black Box Recordings: Volume 1, which was released on 21 July 2017. The EP was the first material to feature the reunited trio of Chop Pitman, Tony Hatton, and Doug Sampson, with new vocalist Dilian Arnaudov.
The band then recorded The Black Box Recordings: Volume 2, a Special Soundhouse Edition of the EP featuring a rough mix and featuring Sampson's old Iron Maiden bandmate Paul Di'Anno, as a special guest vocalist on the track "Sniper" got its first public airing at the Born Again Heavy Metal Sound House event on 22 December in London.
Sampson and Airforce will be recording an as yet untitled album in 2018 and can be found performing home and abroad in 2018.
Discography
- Iron Maiden
- The Soundhouse Tapes (1979)
- Axe Attack (first press) (1980) – "Running Free"
- Metal For Muthas (1980)
- "Running Free" (1980) – "Burning Ambition" only
- BBC Archives (2002) (Friday Rock Show Session from 1979)
- Airforce
- Origins of Iron (2015) - "War Games" only
- Judgement Day (2016)
- The Black Box Recordings: Volume 1 EP (2016)
- The Black Box Recordings: Volume 2 EP The Soundhouse Edition (2017)
- The Black Box Recordings: Volume 2 EP (2018)
Notes
References
- Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (third ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
- v
- t
- e
- Steve Harris
- Dave Murray
- Adrian Smith
- Bruce Dickinson
- Nicko McBrain
- Janick Gers
- Paul Day
- Thunderstick
- Tony Moore
- Doug Sampson
- Paul Di'Anno
- Dennis Stratton
- Clive Burr
- Blaze Bayley
- Iron Maiden
- Killers
- The Number of the Beast
- Piece of Mind
- Powerslave
- Somewhere in Time
- Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
- No Prayer for the Dying
- Fear of the Dark
- The X Factor
- Virtual XI
- Brave New World
- Dance of Death
- A Matter of Life and Death
- The Final Frontier
- The Book of Souls
- Senjutsu
- Live After Death
- A Real Live One
- A Real Dead One
- Live at Donington
- Maiden England
- A Real Live Dead One
- Rock in Rio
- BBC Archives
- Beast over Hammersmith
- Death on the Road
- Flight 666
- En Vivo!
- The Book of Souls: Live Chapter
- Nights of the Dead: Live in Mexico City
- The First Ten Years
- Eddie's Head
- Eddie's Archive
- The Soundhouse Tapes
- Live!! +one
- Maiden Japan
- No More Lies
- "Running Free"
- "Sanctuary"
- "Women in Uniform"
- "Twilight Zone"
- "Purgatory"
- "Run to the Hills"
- "The Number of the Beast"
- "Flight of Icarus"
- "The Trooper"
- "2 Minutes to Midnight"
- "Aces High"
- "Wasted Years"
- "Stranger in a Strange Land"
- "Can I Play with Madness"
- "The Evil That Men Do"
- "The Clairvoyant"
- "Infinite Dreams"
- "Holy Smoke"
- "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter"
- "Be Quick or Be Dead"
- "From Here to Eternity"
- "Wasting Love"
- "Fear of the Dark"
- "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
- "Man on the Edge"
- "Lord of the Flies"
- "Virus"
- "The Angel and the Gambler"
- "Futureal"
- "The Wicker Man"
- "Out of the Silent Planet"
- "Wildest Dreams"
- "Rainmaker"
- "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg"
- "Different World"
- "El Dorado"
- "Satellite 15... The Final Frontier"
- "Speed of Light"
- "Empire of the Clouds"
- "The Writing on the Wall"
- Live at the Rainbow
- Video Pieces
- Behind the Iron Curtain
- Live After Death
- 12 Wasted Years
- Maiden England
- The First Ten Years (From There to Eternity)
- Donington Live 1992
- Raising Hell
- Classic Albums: Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast
- Rock in Rio
- Visions of the Beast
- The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days
- Death on the Road
- Flight 666
- En Vivo!
- The Book of Souls: Live Chapter
- Metal for Muthas Tour
- Iron Maiden Tour
- Killer World Tour
- World Slavery Tour
- Somewhere on Tour
- Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour
- Fear of the Dark Tour
- Real Live Tour
- Virtual XI World Tour
- Brave New World Tour
- Dance of Death World Tour
- Eddie Rips Up the World Tour
- A Matter of Life and Death Tour
- Somewhere Back in Time World Tour
- The Final Frontier World Tour
- Maiden England World Tour
- The Book of Souls World Tour
- Legacy of the Beast World Tour
- The Future Past World Tour
- Discography
- Songs
- Awards and nominations
- Band members
- Eddie
- Metal for Muthas
- Tribute albums
- Urchin
- Gogmagog
- Psycho Motel
- Samson
- The Entire Population of Hackney
- The Iron Maidens
- Maiden uniteD
- Derek Riggs
- Rod Smallwood
- Andy Taylor
- Melvyn Grant
Category