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Iron Maiden | |
|---|---|
 Top: Steve Harris (L), Dave Murray (R) Middle: Adrian Smith (L), Bruce Dickinson (R) Bottom: Nicko McBrain (L), Janick Gers (R) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Heavy metal[1] |
| Discography | Iron Maiden discography |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
| Website | ironmaiden |
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most of the band's history has consisted of Harris, lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers. As pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, Iron Maiden released a series of UK and US Platinum and Gold albums, including 1980's debut album, 1981's Killers, and 1982's The Number of the Beast – its first album with Bruce Dickinson, who in 1981 replaced Paul Di'Anno as lead singer. The addition of Dickinson was a turning point in their career, establishing them as one of heavy metal's most important bands. The Number of the Beast is among the most popular heavy metal albums of all time, having sold almost 20 million copies worldwide.
After some turbulence in the 1990s, the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999 saw the band undergo a resurgence in popularity, with a series of new albums and highly successful tours. Their three most recent albums — The Final Frontier (2010), The Book of Souls (2015), and Senjutsu (2021) — have all reached number 1 in more than 25 countries. Iron Maiden have sold over 130 million copies of their albums worldwide and have obtained over 600 certifications. The band is considered to be one of the most influential and revered rock bands of all time. They have received multiple industry awards, including the Grammy and Brit Awards, and are also a permanent part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The band have released 41 albums, including 17 studio albums, 13 live albums, four EPs and seven compilations. They have also released 47 singles and 20 video albums, and two video games. Iron Maiden's lyrics cover such topics as history, literature, war, mythology, dark fantasy, science fiction, society and religion. As of October 2019[update], the band have played 2,500 live shows. For over 40 years the band have featured their signature mascot, "Eddie", on the covers of almost all of their releases.
History[edit]
Early years (1975–1978)[edit]
Iron Maiden were formed on Christmas Day, 25 December 1975, by bassist Steve Harris shortly after he left his previous group, Smiler. Harris attributed the band's name to a film adaptation of The Man in the Iron Mask from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, as the title reminded him of the iron maiden torture device.[3] They originally used the name Ash Mountain, but most of the band members preferred the name Iron Maiden. After months of rehearsal, Iron Maiden made their debut at St. Nicks Hall in Poplar on 1 May 1976,[4] before taking up a semi-residency at the Cart and Horses Pub in Maryland, Stratford.[5] The original line-up was short-lived, with vocalist Paul Day being the first to go as, according to Harris, he lacked "energy or charisma on stage".[6] He was replaced by Dennis Wilcock, a Kiss fan who used makeup and fake blood during live performances.[6] Wilcock's friend, guitarist Dave Murray, was invited to join, much to the dismay of the band's guitarists Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance.[7] Their frustration led Harris to temporarily disband Iron Maiden in 1976,[7] though the group reformed soon after with Murray as the sole guitarist. Harris and Murray remain the band's longest-serving members and have performed on all of their releases.
Iron Maiden recruited another guitarist in 1977, Bob Sawyer, who was sacked for embarrassing the band on stage by pretending to play guitar with his teeth.[8] Tension ensued again, causing a rift between Murray and Wilcock, who convinced Harris to fire Murray,[9] as well as original drummer Ron Matthews.[4] A new line-up was put together, including future Cutting Crew member Tony Moore on keyboards, Terry Wapram on guitar and drummer Barry Purkis (better known today as Thunderstick). After a single gig with the band in January 1978, Moore was asked to leave as Harris decided keyboards did not suit the band's sound.[10] Dave Murray rejoined in late March 1978, and when Terry Wapram disapproved he was sacked. A few weeks later, Dennis Wilcock decided to leave Iron Maiden to form his own band, V1, with Wapram, and drummer Barry Purkis also left. Doug Sampson was at Dennis' and Thunderstick's last gig, and joined the band afterwards.
Harris, Murray and Sampson spent the summer and autumn of 1978 rehearsing while they searched for a singer to complete the band's new line-up.[11] A chance meeting at the Red Lion, a pub in Leytonstone, in November 1978 evolved into a successful audition for vocalist Paul Di'Anno.[12] Steve Harris said, "There's sort of a quality in Paul's voice, a raspiness in his voice, or whatever you want to call it, that just gave it this great edge".[13] At this time, Murray would typically act as their sole guitarist, with Harris commenting, "Davey was so good he could do a lot of it on his own. The plan was always to get a second guitarist in, but finding one that could match Davey was really difficult".[14]
Record contract and early releases (1978–1981)[edit]
On New Year's Eve, 1978, Iron Maiden recorded a four-song demo at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge.[15] Hoping the recording would help them secure more gigs,[15] the band gave a copy to Neal Kay, who, at the time, was managing a heavy metal club called "Bandwagon Heavy Metal Soundhouse".[16] After hearing the tape, Kay began playing the demo regularly at the Bandwagon, and one of the songs, "Prowler", eventually went to number 1 in the Soundhouse charts, which were published weekly in Sounds magazine.[17] A copy was also acquired by Rod Smallwood, who soon became the band's manager.[18] As Iron Maiden's popularity increased, they released the demo on their own record label as The Soundhouse Tapes, named after the club.[19] Featuring only three tracks (one song, "Strange World", was excluded as the band were unsatisfied with its production),[20] all 5,000 copies sold out within weeks.[17]
In December 1979, the band secured a major record deal with EMI[21] and asked Dave Murray's childhood friend, Adrian Smith of Urchin, to join the group as their second guitarist.[22] Busy with his own band, Smith declined and Dennis Stratton was hired instead.[23] Shortly after, Doug Sampson left due to health issues and was replaced by ex-Samson drummer Clive Burr at Stratton's suggestion on 26 December 1979.[24] Iron Maiden's first appearance on an EMI album was on the Metal for Muthas compilation (released on 15 February 1980) with two early versions of "Sanctuary" and "Wrathchild".[25] The release led to a tour including several other bands linked with the new wave of British heavy metal movement.[26]
Iron Maiden released their self-titled album in 1980, which debuted at number 4 in the UK Albums Chart.[27] In addition to the title track, the album included other early favourites such as "Running Free", "Transylvania", "Phantom of the Opera" and "Sanctuary" – which was not on the original UK release, but appeared on the US version and subsequent remasters. The band embarked on a headline tour of the UK, before opening for Kiss on their 1980 Unmasked Tour's European leg as well as supporting Judas Priest on select dates. After the Kiss tour, Dennis Stratton was dismissed from the band as a result of creative and personal differences,[28] and was replaced by Smith in October 1980. In December, the band played at the Rainbow Theatre in London, where their first live video was filmed. Live at the Rainbow was released in May 1981, and "Iron Maiden" and "Wrathchild" from this video received heavy rotation on MTV during its first hours on the air as the first metal videos ever.[29][30][31]
In 1981, Iron Maiden released their second studio album, Killers. Although many tracks were written prior to their debut release, it had two new songs: "Prodigal Son" and "Murders in the Rue Morgue"[32] (the latter's title was taken from the short story by Edgar Allan Poe).[33] Unsatisfied with the production on their debut album,[34] the band hired veteran producer Martin Birch,[35] who would continue to work with Iron Maiden until his retirement in 1992.[36] The record was followed by the band's first world tour; their debut performance in the United States, opening for Judas Priest at The Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas. Killers marked the band's USA album charts debut, reaching number 78 on the Billboard 200,[37] and they booked 132 shows to promote the album, including their first concert in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.[38] During the summer, Iron Maiden played several festivals in Europe, including at the Golden Summernights 1981 festivals at Zeppelinfeld in Nuremberg in front of 100,000 people.[30]
Success (1981–1985)[edit]
By 1981, Paul Di'Anno was demonstrating increasingly erratic behaviour, particularly due to his drug usage,[4] about which Di'Anno comments, "It wasn't just that I was snorting a bit of coke, though; I was just going for it non-stop, 24 hours a day, every day ... the band had commitments piling up that went on for months, years, and I just couldn't see my way to the end of it. I knew I'd never last the whole tour. It was too much".[39] Di'Anno was dismissed following the Killer World Tour,[40] and the band had already selected his replacement.[41] After a meeting with Rod Smallwood at the Reading Festival,[42] Bruce Dickinson, formerly of Samson, auditioned for Iron Maiden in September 1981 and was immediately hired.[41] The following month, Dickinson went out on the road with the band on a small headlining tour in Italy and a one-off show at the Rainbow Theatre in the UK.[40] For the last show, and in anticipation of their forthcoming album, the band played "Children of the Damned" and "22 Acacia Avenue", introducing fans to their new material.[43]
In 1982, Iron Maiden released their third studio album, The Number of the Beast, which became the band's first number 1 record on the UK Albums Chart,[44] was a Top 10 hit in many other countries and reached number 33 on the Billboard 200.[37][45] At the time, Dickinson was in the midst of legal difficulties with Samson's management and was not permitted to add his name to any of the songwriting credits, although he still made what he described as a "moral contribution" to "Children of the Damned", "The Prisoner" and "Run to the Hills".[46] The band embarked on a world tour, dubbed The Beast on the Road, with shows in North America, Japan, Australia and Europe, including a headline appearance for 40,000 people at the Reading Festival. Iron Maiden played 188 shows in 10 months.[30] The Beast on the Road's US leg proved controversial when an American conservative political lobbying group claimed Iron Maiden were Satanic because of the new album's title track and "demonic" cover art,[45] and a group of Christian activists destroyed Iron Maiden records in protest.[47] Dickinson later said the band treated this as "silliness"[48] and the demonstrations in fact gave them "loads of publicity".[4] The Number of the Beast sold 2.5 million copies in its first year, 14 million by 2010, and 20 million by 2022.[49][50][51][52]
In December 1982, drummer Clive Burr was fired from the band and replaced by Nicko McBrain, who previously played for Trust.[53] Although Harris said the dismissal took place because his live performances were affected by offstage activities,[54] Burr later claimed he was unfairly ousted from the band.[55] The band then recorded the first of three consecutive albums at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas.[56] In 1983, they released their fourth studio album, Piece of Mind, which reached the number 3 spot in the UK[57] and number 14 on the Billboard 200.[37] Piece of Mind features the singles "The Trooper" and "Flight of Icarus", the latter being one of the band's few songs to gain substantial airplay in the US.[58] Iron Maiden played 147 concerts in Europe and North America as a part of the World Piece Tour. This was also their first major North American tour as headliners, selling out Madison Square Garden with a crowd of 20,000.[30][59]
After the success of Piece of Mind and its supporting tour, the band released their fifth studio album, Powerslave, on 9 September 1984. The album features the singles "2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Aces High", the title track, and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem of the same name).[60] Powerslave was another chart success, reaching number 12 on the Billboard 200[37] and eventually number 1 in the UK.[61][62][63] Band's fifth studio album sold over 4 million copies in its first year after the premiere.[64] The tour following the album, called World Slavery Tour, was the band's largest to date with 193 shows in 28 countries over 13 months,[60] playing to an estimated 3,500,000 people.[65][66] Many shows were played back to back in the same city, such as in Long Beach, California, where the band played four consecutive concerts at Long Beach Arena for a combined audience of 54,000 fans.[67] Iron Maiden also made their debut appearance in South America, where they co-headlined the Rock in Rio festival with Queen for an audience estimated at 350,000–500,000 people.[68][69] The tour started in August 1984 with five shows in Poland. Iron Maiden were the first Western artists to bring full-scale production behind the Iron Curtain. The band's third official video, entitled Behind the Iron Curtain, was released in October 1984. The World Slavery Tour documentary brought footage of the band touring Eastern Europe in 1984, performing shows in the countries visited, Behind the Iron Curtain was the first documentary ever published by a Western artist that showed them touring the countries of Eastern Bloc. The documentary movie was broadcast by MTV and local TV stations around the world.[70]
The tour was physically gruelling for the band, who demanded six months off when it ended (although this was later reduced to four months).[71] This was the first substantial touring break in the group's history, including the cancellation of a proposed supporting tour for the new live album,[72] with Bruce Dickinson threatening to quit unless the tour ended.[73] In October 1985, Iron Maiden released the double live album and home video, Live After Death. A critical and commercial success, it peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200[37] and number 2 in the UK.[74] The album was recorded at Long Beach Arena and also features additional tracks from four nights at London's Hammersmith Apollo.[75][76] In November 1985, Iron Maiden were named the best rock and metal band in the world and awarded at Public Choice International.[77]
Experimentation (1986–1989)[edit]
Returning from their time off, the band added different musical elements to their 1986 studio album, Somewhere in Time. These focused on synthesised bass and guitars to add textures and layers to the sound.[78] The release performed well across the world, particularly the single "Wasted Years", but included no writing credits from Dickinson, whose material was rejected by the rest of the band.[79] The album was the band's biggest American chart success to date, reaching number 11 on the Billboard 200[37] and number 2 in the UK charts.[74][80] The Somewhere on Tour was also a success. The band played 157 shows for over two and a half million fans, including eighty-one shows in North America. Once again, Iron Maiden visited Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia to play for tens of thousands of fans in each country.[81] The experimentation evident on Somewhere in Time continued on their next album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, which was released in 1988. A concept album recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich[82] and based on the 1987 novel Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card,[83] it was the band's first record to include keyboards, which were performed by Harris and Smith.[83] Dickinson's enthusiasm was also renewed as his ideas were accepted for this album.[84] Another popular release, it became Iron Maiden's second album to hit number 1 in the UK charts