Women in Uniform

"Women in Uniform" is a 1978 song originally recorded by the Australian band Skyhooks; it was written by the band's bass player, Greg Macainsh. It appeared on their fourth album, Guilty Until Proven Insane, and was a top 10 single in Australia.[1]

The single was released in Australia both in a 7" and 12" format with the non-LP B-sides "Don't Take Yur Lurex To The Laundromat" and "Do The Hook". The international version of the single contained "BBBBBBBBBBBBBBoogie" from the Guilty Until Proven Insane album.

Track listing

1. "Women in Uniform" (Macainsh)
2. "Don't Take Yur Lurex To The Laundromat"
3. "Do The Hook"

Iron Maiden version

Iron Maiden's cover of the Skyhooks' song "Women in Uniform" was the third single by the band, and their last recorded work to feature guitarist Dennis Stratton. It was released on October 17, 1980 and is not featured on any of the band's albums. The band, in particular Steve Harris have routinely mentioned their dislike of their version of this song, stating that it was not in their style. As a result, its only appearance on CD is as part of The First Ten Years series and a rare 1995 2CD issue of Killers, meaning that the song does not appear remastered. However its B-Side, Invasion appears remastered on the Best of the 'B' Sides compilation. "Women in Uniform" would also be the basis of the band's first music-video, directed by Doug Smith and filmed at the Rainbow Theatre.

"Women in Uniform" was included on an 11-track pressing of the Killers album as track number 8. This was available at some point in the United Kingdom and Australia. The United States 11-track pressing had the single "Twilight Zone" instead. Most copies of the album have neither song. The Iron Maiden version of this song is one of only three Iron Maiden songs to fade out in the end, the other two songs are "Stranger in a Strange Land" from the 1986 Somewhere in Time and "The Prophecy" from the 1988 Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album.

"Women in Uniform" was the band's first-ever promotional video, which also introduced Eddie in a physical form. According to an interview found on The Early Days DVD, in the scene where Eddie gets up on the hospital bed, the man wearing the mask suffered a cut on his forehead after hitting the camera face-first. The actress Leslie Ash can be seen in the video - she is the blonde nurse seen at 0:52 in the video.

The single cover features an image of Margaret Thatcher with a Sterling submachine gun, preparing to attack Eddie. This was a joke done in response to the infamous "Sanctuary" cover, that featured Eddie killing Thatcher.

The B-Side of the single, "Invasion", is a re-recorded version of a song that originally appeared on The Soundhouse Tapes and also features on Best of the 'B' Sides.

Track listing

1. "Women in Uniform" (Macainsh; Skyhooks cover) − 3:11
2. "Invasion" (Steve Harris) − 2:39
3. "Phantom of the Opera" Live at the Marquee, London 1980)" (Harris) − 7:12

Chart performance

Notes

1. ^ Re-release of both singles as part of "The First Ten Years" box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.

Iron Maiden Personnel

• Paul Di'Anno – vocals
• Dave Murray – guitar
• Dennis Stratton – guitar, backing vocals
• Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Clive Burr – drums

Other cover versions

• The Whitlams performed this song at the 1998 ARIA Awards and released a limited edition single the following year, which also included "High Ground" and "1999".

References