Iron Maiden biography
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris, who is their only remaining original member. Since their inception, the group have released a collective total of thirty-one albums: fifteen studio albums; seven live albums; four EPs; and five compilations.
Pioneers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Iron Maiden achieved success during the early 1980s. After several line-up changes, the band went on to release a series of platinum and gold albums. These include the US platinum-selling albums The Number of the Beast in 1982, Piece of Mind in 1983, Powerslave in 1984, the live album Live After Death in 1985, Somewhere in Time in 1986, and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son in 1988. Their 2006 album A Matter of Life and Death peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and at number four in the UK; it is one of the few rock albums to be certified platinum in India. Their newest album, The Final Frontier, was released on 13 August 2010 in some countries, and worldwide on 16-17 August 2010, peaking at number one in 40 different countries.
As one of the most successful heavy metal bands in history, Iron Maiden have sold over 80 million records under EMI and a total of over 100 million records worldwide with almost no radio or television support. The band won the Ivor Novello Award for international achievement in 2002, and were also inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk in Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California during their United States tour in 2005. As of October 2009, the band has played over 2000 live shows during their career.
The band won the Ivor Novello Award for international achievement in 2002, and were also inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk in Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California during their United States tour in 2005. As of October 2009, the band has played over 2000 live shows during their career. For the past 30 years, the band has been supported by their famous mascot, "Eddie", who has appeared on almost all of their album and single covers, as well as their live shows.
Iron Maiden was formed on Christmas Day 1975, by bassist Steve Harris, shortly after he left his previous group, Smiler. Harris attributes the band name to a movie adaptation of The Man in the Iron Mask from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, which he saw around that time and which had a verbal connection to the Iron maiden torture device.
Vocalist Paul Day was fired as he lacked "energy or charisma onstage". He was replaced by Dennis Wilcock, a Kiss fan who utilised fire, make-up and fake blood during live performances. Wilcock's friend Dave Murray was invited to join, to the dismay of the band's guitarists Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance. Their frustration led Harris to temporarily disunite the band in 1976, though the group reformed soon after with Murray as the sole guitarist. Steve Harris and Dave Murray remain the longest-standing members of Iron Maiden.
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