AXE ATTACK (K-tel, 1980)

“Warning! This album is LOUD and HEAVY!” snarled British rock DJ Tommy Vance in the TV ad for this UK Top 20 LP. Bringing together the biggest names defining heavy metal as the 80s dawned, it was eagerly snapped up by a generation of headbangers with budgets confined to Woolworths’ bargain bin. The songs sold it: Paranoid, Breaking The Law, Highway To Hell, Bomber, Doctor Doctor. Weirdly, the first pressing featured a demo version of Running Free by mistake, the track remaining an exclusive Maiden rarity for decades. Girlschool were the only other NWOBHM kids on display, rounded out with classic rock royalty Rainbow, Scorpions, Whitesnake, Aerosmith and Ian Gillan.