Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden is a hard rock and heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, United Kingdom.
==History==
===Formation===
Iron Maiden was formed on December 25, 1975, by bassist Steve Harris shortly after he left his previous band, Smiler. Harris attributed the band's name to a torture device cabinet. After months of rehearsal, Iron Maiden debuted at St. Nicks Hall in Poplar on May 1, 1976. The original lineup consisted of Paul Day on vocals, Dave Sullivan, and Terry Rance as the guitarists, while Harris assumed duties at bass. Day would eventually leave after a few gigs and be replaced by Dennis Wilcock, an avid fan of Kiss. Wilcock invited guitarist Dave Murray to join, which prompted Sullivan and Rance to resign.
In early 1977, Iron Maiden recruited Bob Sawyer, another guitarist, who was fired after embarrassing the band on stage by pretending to play guitar with his teeth. Tension ensued again, causing a rift between Murray and Wilcock, who convinced Harris to fire Murray and original drummer Ron Matthews. Changes were made to the band's lineup again, with Tony Moore manning the keyboards, Terry Wapram as the secondary guitarist, and Barry Purkis playing the drums. In November 1977, Iron Maiden had a gig at the Bridgehouse, a pub located in Canning Town, which did not go well as planned. Afterward, the band parted ways with Purkis and replaced him with Doug Sampson. Around the same time, Moore left because Harris felt the keyboards did not fit the band's expectations yet. Months later, Wilcock resigned, and not too long after that, Wapram was dismissed, leaving Murray as the sole guitarist.
As a three-piece, Iron Maiden continue to rehearse during the fall of 1978. While at the Red Lion Pub in Leytonstone, London, England, they found vocalist Paul Di'Anno and hired him on the spot.
On New Year's Eve in 1978, Iron Maiden recorded a demo, consisting of four songs, at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge. The band presented a copy of their demo to Neal Kay, who was managing a heavy metal club located in Kingsbury Circle, northwest London. Upon hearing the tape, Kay began playing the demo regularly at the club. An EP titled The Soundhouse Tapes was released on November 9, 1979 exclusively in the UK. It contained three tracks and sold 5,000 copies within a few weeks.
In December 1979, Iron Maiden secured a record deal with EMI Records. Along the way, Murray met his childhood friend and guitarist, Adrian Smith, who was playing for a band known as Urchin. Murray asked Smith if he could join Iron Maiden, but Smith declined. Instead, Dennis Stratton joined the band as the secondary guitarist. Sampson left the band due to lingering health problems and was replaced by Clive Burr at drums.
Iron Maiden had two of their songs featured in the Metal for Muthas compilation that was released on February 15, 1980. The compilation featured tracks from various artists, especially "Sanctuary" and "Wrathchild" performed by Iron Maiden themselves.
===Self-titled album===
By December 1979, Iron Maiden entered Kingsway Studios in London to begin development for an album. Their first studio album, titled after the band itself, was released on April 14, 1980. There were eight tracks in the album, while the North American version included a ninth track, "Sanctuary". The other single was "Running Free". The band embarked on a global tour to promote their recent release. Their most notable performance was at the Reading Festival with 40,000 in attendance. Following the tour, Stratton was dismissed due to creative and personal differences. Adrian Smith, who was originally slated to join in as the secondary guitarist several months prior, officially joined in October 1980. In December 1980, numerous artists, including Iron Maiden played at the Rainbow Theatre, where the band's first live video was filmed.
On December 25, 1980, a live EP titled Live!! +one was released, which featured four tracks recorded live at the Marquee Club in London.
===Killers===
Between November 1980 and January 1981, Iron Maiden was at Battery Studios in London under development for their next album. Killers was released on February 2, 1981 in the UK and June 6, 1981 in the USA. The UK version contained ten tracks while the USA and Australian versions contained eleven tracks. "Twilight Zone" was the extra track featured in the USA version. The Australian version had a cover of "Women in Uniform" originally performed by The Skyhooks as the extra track. After the album's release, the band went on another tour. When the band reached the United States for the first time, they performed alongside with Judas Priest at the Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas. The tour amassed 132 shows, including 45 in North America. Around the same time, a home video titled Live at the Rainbow was released on May 11, 1981, which featured a live performance at the Rainbow Theatre with seven songs. A live EP titled Maiden Japan was released on September 14, 1981. The European and Japanese editions contained four tracks, while all other international editions contained five tracks.
Later in 1981, it was revealed that Di'Anno was drinking heavily and abusing drugs, which hampered the band's most recent tour. Following the conclusion of the tour, Di'Anno was dismissed, and the rest of the band was in sight to hire a new vocalist. By September 1981, the band was at the Reading Festival, where they encountered Bruce Dickenson, who previously played for a band known as Samson. Impressed with his ability, Iron Maiden hired Dickenson on the spot.
===The Number of the Beast===
Between January and February 1982, with Dickenson as the new vocalist, Iron Maiden was at Battery Studios in London under development for their next album. The band's third studio album, The Number of the Beast, was released on March 22, 1982. The album included eight tracks, while the Japanese edition had an additional ninth track, "Total Eclipse". Singles of this album featured the title track, "Run to the Hills", and "Hallowed by Thy Name". It turned out to be far more successful than the previous two albums, as its title track became a top ten hit in many international countries. Despite the recent success, Dickinson was facing legal difficulties with his previous band, Samson, and was declared ineligible to add his name to any of the songwriting credits on the album. The band embarked on another global tour to which they set sights in North America, Japan, Australia, and Europe. The band played about 188 concerts in 10 months.
The proceeding tour turned out to be somewhat 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, espcially to the point where a group of Christian activists destroyed Iron Maiden records in protest. The band opposed this, claiming that it would be no harm in any format. Their tenure in North America would land even bigger venues, especially at large sports stadiums. The Number of the Beast album sold about 20 million copies worldwide. By December 1982, drummer Clive Burr was dismissed and replaced by Nicko McBrain.
===Piece of Mind===
By January 1983, Iron Maiden debuted at the Bahamas and began development for their next album at Compass Point Studios for a three-month period. The band's fourth studio album, Piece of Mind, was released on May 16, 1983. The album contained nine tracks. "Flight of Icarus" and "Trooper" became singles and were both hugely successful. The song "Where Eagles Dare" was featured in the 1983 film bearing the same name. Another world tour kicked off, with about 151 concerts on schedule. About 90 of those concerts took place at large venues, especially a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. After performing four shows at the Hammersmith Odeon, Iron Maiden gained on large venues in Western Europe. It would be highlighted by two performances at the Rock & Pop Festival at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany. In September 1983, a home video titled Video Pieces was released, which featured five songs during live performances.
===Powerslave===
Coming off a massively successful world tour, Iron Maiden returned to Compass Point Studios to develop a new album. Their fifth studio album, Powerslave, was released on September 3, 1984. The album included eight tracks. "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight" became singles. The eighth and final track, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", which was named after a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, was more than 13 minutes in length. The ensuing tour consisted of 193 concerts in 28 different countries for more than 13 months. Custom made props were used during the tour, especially a mascot named Eddie standing as high as 33-feet tall. About six gargantuan articulated trucks, three tour buses, and a road crew of 62 were used for the tour.
Iron Maiden introduced their music for the first time in Poland, playing about five shows there. The first show took place at the Torwar Arena with about 14,000 in attendance. In Budapest, an estimated 50,000 packed a parking lot. The band would continue to tour in Europe and North America, highlighting a four-day tenure at the Long Beach Arena and followed it up with five concerts at the Radio City Music Hall. Dickenson began to experience illness while at New York, which prevented five shows from being seven. In October 1984, a home video titled Behind the Iron Curtain was released, which featured four songs performed live.
Later in the tour, Iron Maiden performed in South America for the first time. One concert helped headline with Queen at the Rock in Rio festival with an estimated 350,000 in attendance. Despite such great success, the tour turned out to be somewhat physically gruelling for the band. The band took four months off to help themselves recover, although their break was originally slated to be six months. In October 1985, Iron Maiden released a live album titled Live After Death, which contained 18 tracks altogether.
===Somewhere in Time===
After a massive world tour that prematurely ended due to a lengthy break, Iron Maiden returned to Compass Point Studios to develop a new album. Their sixth studio album, Somewhere in Time, was released on September 29, 1986. The album included eight tracks. The tracks featured synthesised sounds that added as a texture and layer to the sound. "Wasted Years" and "Strangers in a Strange Land" both became singles. The album was certified gold in the UK and double platinum in the USA. The next tour had somewhat of an ambitious approach, especially with the band using the same custom stage equipment plus some newer components. Some of the equipment featured custom PA systems and monitors that combined a total power rating of 180,000 watts. Other accessories featured flexible lighting rigs that held over 1100 lamps hanged over futuristic stage sets including flying space ships, inflatable props, laser guns, pyrotechnics, hydraulic stands, backdrops, and the monumental Eddie's appearance.
The proceeding tour consisted of 157 concerts with 81 of them taking place in North America. Iron Maiden would even visit Hungary and Yugoslavia for the first time during the tour. A six-night performance at Hammersmith Odeon easily sold out. In October 1987, a documentary video called 12 Wasted Years was released.
===Seventh Son of a Seventh Son===
By February 1988, Iron Maiden began development for their next album at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, the seventh studio album, was released on April 11, 1988. The album contained eight tracks. "Infinite Dreams", "Can I Play with Madness", "The Evil That Men Do", and "The Clairvoyant" became singles. It was also the first album to feature keyboards. Embarking on another tour, Iron Maiden headlined at the Monsters of Rock festival for the first time. They headlined stadiums and festivals in UK, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. On August 20, 1988, the band headlined another Monsters of Rock festival at Donington Park with an estimated 107,000 in attendance. Also on the bill were Kiss, David Lee Roth, Megadeth, Guns N' Roses, and Helloween. The concert was overshadowed by two deaths during the time Guns N' Roses performed, which led to the cancellation for next year's festival. A home video titled Maiden England was released on November 8, 1989, which featured 15 tracks performed live at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England.
Meanwhile, Iron Maiden hosted an evening of television, radio and press interviews at Castle Schnellenberg in Attendorn, Germany. The next tour consisted of 103 concerts in seven months. Michael Kenney, who was said to be Steve Harris' bass technician, helped out play the keyboards during the ensuing tour. The band was included in the Guinness Book of World Records Museum for its performance at the Monsters of Rock festival in 1988.
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