Ten fantastic live albums from the 1980s

Well if the 1970s was crammed full of great music captured on some stunning live albums, what about the 1980s? The good news is that the following decade was exceptional too. It'd be a close call to decide which of the two decades, the 1970s or 1980s, had the better live albums. 

The 1980s certainly had quite a diverse mix of music genres. New bands and artists with different styles emerged though heavy rock remained throughout. That’s all reflected in the range of live albums released.

Here are ten of those that I reckon rank amongst the best that decade has to offer. As always people will have their views and preferences, that's fine. Have a read and see which of your personal choices are included or missing. 

10 stunning live albums from the 1980s

Iron Maiden - Live After Death

When it comes to live heavy metal albums there aren't many, if any, that can top Iron Maiden and their 1985 release Live After Death. This album featured the band on their lengthy World Slavery Tour. The live show was visually amazing and a video was filmed and released too. 

That doesn't detract from the music with Iron Maiden at their most powerful throughout. Recorded mainly at Long Beach California in October 1984, it’s a double album with 102 minutes of top metal from the band. As you'd expect plenty of their classic songs are featured and the band knocks them out of the park performance-wise.

Minimal overdubbing in production retains the live authenticity. For many fans and reviewers, they'd rate it as the top live heavy metal album ever. It’s hard to argue with that.