by Mark
Profile: Dennis Stratton
8:45 am in Band Member Profiles by Mark
When I look back at the past members of Iron Maiden (and there are many), the one I feel most sorry for is Dave Murray’s co-guitarist on the first Iron Maiden LP, Dennis Stratton.
Stratton was a member of Iron Maiden for just one year – October 1979 to October 1980 – and is often forgotten, and at least overshadowed, by fans for whom the pairing of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith is the ultimate Maiden guitar combo. However, I think Stratton deserves some consideration as an essential player in the history of Iron Maiden.
Just How Important Was Dennis Stratton To Iron Maiden?
In addition to performing on the band’s debut, he also:
- appeared with them on their first television appearance (Top Of The Pops in 1980)
- appeared with them in their first video (‘Women In Uniform’)
- was a member of the band on their first major tours (the UK Judas Priest tour, and the European KISS tour)
- and helped show the power of Maiden’s songs, live, with the ‘twin guitar attack’ (remember, previously the band had recorded with just Murray playing all guitar parts, although there was no suggestion – to my memory – of the band ever considering retaining just one guitarist)
This may all seem like fluff, so let’s look at hard evidence of Stratton’s contribution to the band, namely: the first Iron Maiden LP which contain the only studio recordings featuring Dennis Stratton.
For the recording of the album, Stratton was not treated – as one would expect – as an equal member when it came to guitar duties, with Dave Murray having noticeably more solos than Stratton. This could be due to the fact that, at that point, Murray had been playing the songs for around 5 years and Stratton had been doing so for barely a few months (remember: Stratton wasn’t even in the band when they were signed to EMI).
I would think that, at that point, the differences between Stratton, Harris and Smallwood had not yet begun to fester1, and as such I hope that it is, indeed, simply due to the length of time he’d been in the band at that point.
One noteworthy event, though, is that the first sound you hear upon starting the album, are Stratton’s cutting chords starting the album’s first track, ‘Prowler’.
Sure, the crap production does not allow for many gasps of amazement at his playing, but to think that in just a few months time he would be given the elbow from the band, this is perhaps at least partially-fitting reward.
So to the question: just how important was he to the band? Ultimately, not very important when compared to the monster that the Murray/Adrian Smith pairing would become (and ultimately turn into the lumbering beast of Murray, Smith and Gers, but I digress), but he certainly added his own character to the band. He was, and is, an accomplished player after all, and it is a shame that his small contribution to a band that, at the time, was not the monster it is now, will remain the most well-known portion of his legacy.
1 The differences being that Stratton was older, and into different music, than Harris, and Rod Smallwood didn’t think he fit in – ref. the official Run To The Hills biography of the band by Mick Wall.
Indeed, Dennis Stratton should be recognized but, when you look at the big picture he was only a small part in the band’s history.
Steve Harris is one of those guys who will use the best that he’s got until something better comes along. That’s why Iron Maiden have been so successful. He was always trying to improve the band and get the right people. I think that Dennis was the man who was there at the time and that is the only reason why he should be remembered.
What did he do as far as contributing music to the band? I can’t think of any songs he wrote. I may be wrong on that, if I am, let me know.
When Di’Anno was on his last leg with the band, Steve knew he needed someone else. Paul was getting out of control with the rock & roll lifestyle and wasn’t very reliable anymore when Maiden began playing in front of tens of thousands of fans due to stagefright. If everyone here is a hard-core Maiden fan, we all know the story about how Bruce was asked to join the band. Bruce was the “something better” that came along.
I think Dennis looked at Iron Maiden as a job and not a way of life. He himself has said that he wasn’t really into what the band was doing and it was only a matter of time until he would have left himself.
I would like to point out that a person by the name of Will Malone produced the first Iron Maiden album and not Rod Smallwood. Rod’s first work with Maiden was “Killers” in 1981. By that time, Dennis was gone and Adrian was in. I will have to watch the “Early Years” DVD and research the books “Running Free” and “Run to the Hills” to see if Rod and Dennis had ever even worked together.
Hey Ed – thanks for the comment!
Regarding the production credit, I don’t think I said that Smallwood produced the first album (in fact, he hasn’t produced any; I think you’re thinking of Martin Birch who produced Killers and onwards). My mentioning of Smallwood was because it was he and Steve Harris who really directed the band, particularly in the early days.
The 2nd solo on Phantom of the Opera on the 1st album is great. Great tone and feel. I’ve heard numerous bootlegs from Dennis’s time in the band and he definitely had his own colorful style. Adrian’s solos from his first few ye ars in the band, sound mediocre by comparison. Plus, Dennis played Remember Tomorrow better live than Adrian, IMHO.