| Formed in 1975, Iron Maiden has carved a niche for itself in the world of heavy metal music. This British heavy metal band was started and put together by idiosyncratic bassist Steve Harris. The band members have changed over the years, with members leaving and rejoining — only Steve Harris and guitarist Dave Murray have remained constant throughout. Keyboard player Tony Moore joined the band in 1977, but everyone soon realized that keyboards were not that big a hit. Original singer Paul Day was replaced by Dennis Wilcock who was the inspiration for Eddie, Iron Maiden’s mascot. 1978 brought the addition of frontman Paul Di’Anno and Drummer Doug Sampson. The band, deriving their name from “the Irons”, a club in the local area, released their debut album self-titled “Iron Maiden” in 1980. Iron maiden, which also stands for a medieval torture device, gives insights into the band’s dark, “horror” influence. The “Iron Maiden” number contains lyrics that describe the old method of execution. The band was a big hit in the U.K. Subsequently, they released their next album in 1981, titled “Killers”. Around that time, Paul Di’Anno’s performance began to suffer due to alcoholism and drug abuse; he was replaced by vocalist Bruce Dickinson. The band’s 1982 album “The Number of the Beast” was a world-wide success, containing songs like “The Number of the Beast”, “Run to the Hills” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. Iron Maiden embarked on a world tour marred by claims that they were a satanic group. (The band’s mascot Eddie is a steadfast feature on all of their horror-influenced album covers.) Iron Maiden has since released other influential albums including “Powerslave”, “Fear of the Dark” and “Brave New World”. The current band members of Iron Maiden are Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, Janick Gers,Adrian, Smith Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain. The band’s forthcoming release for 2006 is the album “A Matter of Life and Death”. |
