By 1981, Paul Di’Anno was demonstrating increasingly erratic behaviour, particularly due to his drug usage, about which Di’Anno comments, “It wasn’t just that I was snorting a bit of coke, though; I was just going for it non-stop, 24 hours a day, every day … the band had commitments piling…
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In 1981, Iron Maiden released their second studio album, Killers . Although many tracks were written prior to their debut release, it had two new songs: “Prodigal Son” and “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (the latter’s title was taken from the short story by Edgar Allan Poe ). Unsatisfied with…
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After a three-year hiatus – a record for the band at the time – Iron Maiden released their next studio album, The X Factor . The band had their lowest chart position since 1981 for an album in the UK, debuting at number 8; however, the album went on to…
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Iron Maiden released their self-titled debut album in 1980, which debuted at number 4 in the UK Albums Chart . In addition to the title track, the album included other early favourites such as ” Running Free “, “Transylvania”, “Phantom of the Opera” and ” Sanctuary ” – which was…
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In December 1979, the band secured a major record deal with EMI and asked Dave Murray’s childhood friend, Adrian Smith of Urchin , to join the group as their second guitarist. Busy with his own band, Smith declined and Dennis Stratton was hired instead. Shortly after, Doug Sampson left due…
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Harris, Murray and Sampson spent the summer and autumn of 1978 rehearsing while they searched for a singer to complete the band’s new line-up. A chance meeting at the Red Lion, a pub in Leytonstone , in November 1978 evolved into a successful audition for vocalist Paul Di’Anno . Steve…
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Iron Maiden recruited another guitarist in 1977, Bob Sawyer, who was sacked for 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, as well as original drummer Ron Matthews. A…
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On New Year’s Eve, 1978, Iron Maiden recorded a four-song demo at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge. Hoping the recording would help them secure more gigs, the band gave a copy to Neal Kay , who, at the time, was managing a heavy metal club called “Bandwagon Heavy Metal Soundhouse”. After…
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Bassist Steve Harris formed Iron Maiden in 1975, a few months before Christmas. Harris attributed the band’s name to a film adaptation of The Man in the Iron Mask from the novel by Alexandre Dumas , as the title reminded him of the iron maiden torture device . They originally…
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