Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden is an English heavy metal band. They were one of the leading bands in the genre of New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Bassist Steve Harris is the founder-director of the band. The band was named after the iron maiden torture tool which appear in the movie adaptation ‘The man in the iron mask’ Iron Maiden have a total of thirty albums which includes fourteen studio albums, four Extended Plays, seven live albums, and four compilations. They have sold more than 65 million copies of their albums worldwide.
The band was formed in East London on 25th December, 1975 by nineteen-year old bassist and songwriter Steve Harris, who was previously part of the bands Gypsy’s Kiss and Smiler. The band endured a shaky start. However, Steve’s dedication and enthusiasm kept the band going.
The original members of the band were Steve Harris (bassist), Dave Murray (guitarist), Paul Day (vocalist), Terry Rance (guitarist), Ron ‘Rebel’ Matthews (drummer) and Dave Sullivan (guitarist). Harris dissolved the band temporarily in 1976 owing to personal differences. The band now comprises Bruce Dickinson (vocalist), Dave Murray (guitarist), Adrian Smith (guitarist), Janick Gers (guitarist), and Steve Harris (bassist) and Nicko McBrain (drummer).
Maiden recorded their first album The Soundhouse Tapes on 31st December, 1978. It had four songs, “Iron Maiden”, “Prowler”, “Strange World” and “Invasion”. Its lineup was Steve Harris (bass guitar), Paul Di’ Anno (vocals), Doug Sampson (drums) and Dave Murray (guitar). 5,000 copies of the album were sold. Subsequently, the band signed a long-term contract with EMI. The band released its debut album Iron Maiden in 1980 which was a hit. Their next album was Killers (1981). In 1982, they released The Number of the Beast. The album was opposed by Christian groups and became highly controversial due to the alleged satanic and occult nature of their music. It was even banned in Chile in the 90s. Other maiden albums are Piece of Mind (1983) Power slave (1984) Somewhere in Time (1986) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988), No Prayer for the Dying (1990), Fear of the Dark (1992), The X Factor (1995), Virtual XI (1998), Brave New World (2000) Dance of Death (2003) A Matter of Life and Death (2006). The album TBA will release in 2010. On 21 April, 2009 Universal music group and EMI records released a documentary film Titled Iron Maiden: Flight 666. Iron Maiden will be touring Sweden, Norway, and Finland in the year 2010.
Iron Maiden won many awards including the awards for Best U.K Band (2008), Best U.K. Band (2009), Best U.K. Act (2009), Best Heavy Metal Album for ‘A Matter of Life and Death’. In 2009, they won the BBC Heavy Metal World Cup award for Greatest Metal Band of All Times. The band stood fourth on MTV’s “Top 10 Greatest Heavy Metal Bands of All Time”. They secured third place on VH1 Classic’s Top 20 Metal Bands.
Designer Derek Riggs designed the band’s famous mascot Eddy who’s also called Edward the Head or Eddie the ‘Edd. It has evolved over the years and has caused many controversies. Maiden’s songs are considered to be Satanic and unholy. However, the band’s songs are in reality about war, terrorism, religion, corruption and present day disasters. Maiden’s music has influenced prominent bands like Metallica and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- Lovina Raymond
Tags: band, british, england, heavy metal band, iron maiden, music
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