EP
Somewhere Back in Time
Somewhere Back in Time - The Best of: 1980 - 1989 is a compilation from the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, issued through EMI in 2008. It gathers songs from the group's first eight albums, including the live record Live After Death, so it covers the whole of their 1980s run.
Within the band's story, it looks back over the decade that took them from their self-titled debut in 1980 to Seventh Son of a Seventh Son in 1988. For anyone who wants a single overview of that early catalogue before exploring the individual albums, it makes a handy starting point.
Somewhere Back in Time: tracklist, credits and charts
3 tracks · 71:25Tracklist
- 1Can I Play With Madness
- 2Wasted YearsAdrian Smith5:08
- 3The Number of the Beast
- Produced by
- Martin Birch
- Recorded at
- Compass Point Studios, Wisseloord Studios
- Recorded
- 1982–1988
- Mixed by
- Martin Birch
- Engineered by
- Martin Birch, Albert Boekholt, Bruce Buchalter
- Label
- EMI
- Length
- 71:25
Line-up
- Steve Harris · electric bass guitar, bass synthesizer, background vocals
- Nicko McBrain · drums (drum set)
- Dave Murray · electric guitar, guitar synthesizer
- Adrian Smith · synthesizer, electric guitar, background vocals
- Bruce Dickinson · lead vocals
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2008 | 14 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2008 | 58 |
| Swedish Albums · 2008 | 2 |
| Finnish Albums · 2008 | 3 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2008 | 3 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2008 | 7 |
| Scotland (Official Charts Company) · 2008 | 14 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2008 | 19 |
| New Zealand Albums · 2008 | 24 |
| Austrian Albums · 2008 | 26 |
All 20 charts
| Italian Albums · 2008 | 27 |
| Swiss Albums · 2008 | 31 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2008 | 36 |
| Spanish Albums · 2008 | 36 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2008 | 39 |
| Mexican Albums · 2009 | 47 |
| Greek Albums · 2010 | 56 |
| Dutch Albums · 2008 | 74 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2008 | 81 |
| German Albums · 2008 | 84 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Finland | Gold |
| New Zealand · 2025 | Gold |
| Sweden · 2008 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2024 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
57.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
—
ListenBrainz listeners
30k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
49k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 12 May
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The label →The Number of the Beast
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A Night at the Opera
Queen · 1975
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Iron Maiden · 1983
Powerslave
Iron Maiden · 1984
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden · 1992
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Queen II
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How we know the release date wikipedia only
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 2008 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 12 May 2008 | |
| UK / Europe release | 2008 | earliest UK or European date |
1 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | XE | EMI | original |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 600×598 | upscaled |