80 Facts About Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris.

Iron Maiden have become one of the most influential and revered rock bands of all time and helped spawn an entire genre of music.

Iron Maiden's lyrics cover such topics as history, literature, war, mythology, society and religion.

Iron Maiden were formed on Christmas Day, 25 December 1975 by bassist Steve Harris shortly after he left his previous group, Smiler.

Iron Maiden was replaced by Dennis Wilcock, a Kiss fan who used make-up and fake blood during live performances.

Related searches

Iron Maiden recruited yet another guitarist in 1977, Bob Sawyer, who was sacked for embarrassing the band on stage by pretending to play guitar with his teeth.

On New Year's Eve 1978, Iron Maiden recorded a demo, consisting of four songs, at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge.

Iron Maiden appeared, to much acclaim, at the Reading Festival 1980 with almost 40, 000 in attendance.

An eponymous debut album achieved critical acclaim in Japan where Iron Maiden were named "The Best Newcoming Foreign Band" by readers of Music Life magazine and received their very first Gold certificate.

Iron Maiden is ranked at the similar positions in many other polls worldwide.

Iron Maiden played 45 shows in North America to several hundred thousand fans, including two headline gigs in Canada.

Iron Maiden then toured Japan for the first time in seven shows.

In 1982, Iron Maiden released their third studio album, The Number of the Beast.

Beast on the Road's US leg proved controversial when an American conservative political lobbying group claimed that Iron Maiden were Satanic because of the new album's title track and "demonic" cover art, to the point where a group of Christian activists destroyed Iron Maiden records in protest.

Iron Maiden headlined some Canadian dates, New York, Chicago free show and solo stops.

Iron Maiden were quickly promoted to the hard rock extra-league and avantgarde of heavy metal.

Iron Maiden played 151 concerts in Europe and North America as a part of World Piece Tour.

Iron Maiden used, inter alia, a 100, 000 watts sound system, a first for any group, designed specially for large sports arenas.

Iron Maiden became the most serious contenders for the title of "the biggest heavy metal formation in the world".

Iron Maiden were the first Western artists which brought full-scale production behind the Iron Curtain.

Iron Maiden played to capacity crowds all over Europe and the UK.

Behind the Iron Maiden Curtain was the first documentary published by a Western artist which pictured them touring the countries of Eastern Bloc.

Iron Maiden made their debut appearance in South America, where they co-headlined the Rock in Rio festival to an estimated 350, 000 – 500, 000 in attendance.

In November 1985, Iron Maiden were named the best rock and metal band in the world and awarded at Public Choice International.

Once again Iron Maiden visited Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia to play for tens of thousands fans in each country.

Related searches

In October 1987 Iron Maiden released 12 Wasted Years video documentary, focusing on the history of the band from 1975 to 1987.

In March 2013, Iron Maiden included the full documentary in a reissue of their 1989 concert film, Maiden England.

Iron Maiden was included in the Guinness Book of World Records Museum for its performance at the Monsters of Rock festival in 1988.

In 1991 Iron Maiden played North America, Japan and outdoors in France, Denmark and Switzerland.

Christian organisations prevented Iron Maiden from performing in Chile and accused musicians of being "emissaries of satanic propaganda".

Iron Maiden made their first appearance in Iceland and returned to Oceania after a seven-year hiatus.

The stage production was smaller than previous years but included many elements Iron Maiden were famous for: two Eddies, mobile lighting rig, conceptual stage set or backdrops.

In 1998 Iron Maiden released Virtual XI, whose chart scores were the band's lowest to date, failing to score one million worldwide sales for the first time in the band's history.

Bayley's tenure in Iron Maiden ended in January 1999 when he was asked to leave during a band meeting.

Iron Maiden used a two-part stage related to graphics from the promoted game, three movable screens surrounded by light ramps, projectors, huge backdrops, pyrotechnics, colourful props, visuals and two types of Eddie in the version known from the game.

Iron Maiden used a huge lighting rig with moving parts and 600 lamps, pyrotechnics, a walking Eddie and a large wicker Eddie with dancers in the center, a burning cross lifting Bruce Dickinson up, alongside backdrops and conceptual scenery related to the Brave New World album cover illustration.

In November 2002, Iron Maiden released their third "best of" compilation Edward the Great, and a limited edition of a very special collector's metal casket entitled Eddie's Archive.

In June 2003 Iron Maiden released a double DVD promo-video compilation entitled Visions of the Beast, which went multi-platinum worldwide.

Iron Maiden played 53 shows visiting European indoor arenas, North America, Latin American stadiums and Japan.

In 2004 Iron Maiden received the Special Achievement Award at the Nordoff-Robbins Silver Clef awards.

Iron Maiden played in North America, Japan and Europe selling out indoor arenas everywhere.

Iron Maiden performed at Olympic Stadium in Rome, Bazaly Stadium in Ostrava, Lokomotiv Stadium in Sofia, Sudweststadion in Ludwigshafen, Fair Arena in Belgrade, Bezigrad Stadion in Ljubjana, and played shows in the big indoor arenas of Dusseldorf and Athens.

Iron Maiden have performed in huge stadiums and arenas in every corner of the world.

Iron Maiden were awarded with the special sales recognition plaque for selling over 750, 000 of their albums in Finland.

Iron Maiden played in the big indoor arenas, stadiums and festivals around the world, sometimes for 100, 000 people.

Related searches

Iron Maiden decided to extend the pyrotechnics using even more than on previous tours, as Bruce Dickinson said "we like to alternate it every other year, because if you get the reputation that you've got to go and see a band because of the pyro and then you don't do the pyro, people think, 'Oh, I won't bother then.

Michele Stokley, organiser of Sarnia Bayfest stated, Iron Maiden "brought 22 tractor trailers and the [six] buses full of equipment for the show".

Iron Maiden closed their Maiden England World Tour in July 2014 headlining at Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth.

Iron Maiden headlining show marked the final chapter in the band's trilogy of tours performing their 80's repertoire.

Iron Maiden played 117 shows on six continents for well over two and a half million people.

That same month, Dickinson announced that Iron Maiden had been "been working together a little bit in the studio" for the follow-up to The Book of Souls.

On 15 July 2021, Iron Maiden released a video for their first song in six years "The Writing on the Wall", which was directed by Nicos Livesey.

Iron Maiden are a part of permanent exhibition of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Wacken Open Air Hall of Fame.

In February 2021, Iron Maiden were nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class.

Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie, is a perennial fixture in the band's science fiction and horror-influenced album cover art, as well as in live shows.

Iron Maiden has come almost on par with KISS when it comes to exploiting merchandising.

Finnish computer game developers Rovio Entertainment have teamed up with the management of Iron Maiden to include Eddie's group mascot as one of the characters creating a special instalment of the game "Angry Birds Evolution", related to the Halloween celebration in 2017.

Since 2021, Iron Maiden have welcomed in-game collaborations with the other rock and metal artists.

Iron Maiden teamed up with German power metal band, Powerwolf, to bring the Battle with Varcolac in games character showcase event: Macht Der Wolfe (Power of the Wolf) Queen Beast is the next character appearing in the game, created with collaboration with Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy.

Kiss co-founder Paul Stanley noted that Iron Maiden "have helped spawn an entire genre of music" and influenced literally thousands of other artists.

Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold stated that Iron Maiden "are by far the best live band in the world and their music is timeless", while Trivium singer Matt Heafy comments that "without Iron Maiden, Trivium surely wouldn't exist".

Iron Maiden could hit notes that were just sick, and he was a great showman.

Viking metallers of Swedish band Amon Amarth stated Iron Maiden is one of their biggest influence participated in Iron Maiden's Legacy of the Beast RPG game project.

Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante stated Iron Maiden "made every band that were influenced by them aspire to be like them.

Iron Maiden had something different, they brought out that Primal roar from us.

Related searches

Famous pop singer Lady Gaga stated she admires what Iron Maiden have achieved in their career and aims to follow in their path.

Iron Maiden's never had a hit song, and they tour stadiums around the world, and their fans live, breathe and die for Maiden, and that is my dream.

Lorenzo Raganzini a techno musician and the performer who uses remixes of metal music including Iron Maiden's classics, described the band as one of his greatest inspirations.

Iron Maiden took hard rock from the '70s, took it into the' 80s, and created a new genre that didn't exist before.

Ian Christe, the Swiss musician, music journalist and an author of publication entitled Sound of the Beast claimed that Iron Maiden are responsible for the further development of the genre, carried out under the aegis of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Iron Maiden is the author of the lion's share of the Iron Maiden's repertoire and the creator of the archetypal composition pattern in modern metal.

The creator of Iron Maiden has been repeatedly named the best and most influential metal bassist of all time.

Iron Maiden is the originator of extremely expressive, galloping bass lines.

The founder of Iron Maiden inspired masses of future musicians, including such thrash metal bassists as Frankie Bello of Anthrax, and former and current Metallica bassists Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted, and Robert Trujillo.

Iron Maiden have been referenced in Weezer's "Heart Songs", Blues Traveller's "Psycho Joe" (from 1997's Straight on till Morning), and NOFX's "Eddie, Bruce and Paul" (from their 2009 album Coaster), which Sputnikmusic describes as "a humorous retelling of Paul DiAnno's departure".

In 2010, Iron Maiden uniteD, an acoustic tribute band consisting of members of Ayreon, Threshold and Within Temptation, released Mind the Acoustic Pieces, a re-interpretation of the entire Piece of Mind album.

Iron Maiden songs have been featured in the soundtracks of several video games, including Carmageddon 2, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, SSX on Tour and Madden NFL 10.

Iron Maiden songs have appeared in films, such as Phenomena, and Murder by Numbers; while MTV's animated duo Beavis and Butt-Head have commented favourably on the band several times.

Iron Maiden frontman presented Bruce Dickinson's Friday Rock Show on BBC radio station 6 Music from 2002 to 2010.

Iron Maiden's singing and episode acting were presented in The Club Paradise, Mr Bean's Elected, and A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child Dickinson's aviation passion and storytelling talent were reflected in Flying Heavy Metal among many other documents.