Who is Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden was first formed in London, England, in 1976.  The band was named after a medieval torture device which suited the music which was heavy and intense.  The band featured Harris, Dave Murray (b. 23 December 1958, London, England; guitar), Paul Di'Anno (b. 17 May 1959, Chingford, London, England; vocals) and Doug Sampson (drums).

The band made its first live performance at the Cart and Horses Pub in Stratford in 1977.  The band improved their sound performing at local pubs over the next two years.  They had a hard time landing a contract from a record company until the DJ Neal Kay, from London's hard rock disco.  Kay helped Iron Maiden release the Soundhouse Tapes on the band's own label.

Tony Parsons joined the band as a second guitarist in 1979.  But before the band started recording their debut album, he was replaced by Dennis Stratton and Sampson by Clive Burr. 

The self titled album, Iron Maiden, was roughly produced but still reached number 4 in the UK album listings partly thanks to touring with Judas Priest.  Around this time Dennis Stratton left the band and was replaced by Adrian Smith.

At this time, Iron Maiden was becoming very popular with heavy metal fans.  Manager Rod Smallwood and the bands mascot, Eddie, helped bring the band to the heavy metal scenes forefront.

The band kept making albums and their popularity continued to grow.  By this time, Iron Maiden was a household name for heavy metal fans around the world.  In the mid 1980's, the band was performing elaborate shows with lighting and pyrotechnics which helped to ensure the bands success.

Iron Maiden slowed down a bit after releasing Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.  This led to another tour which was followed by a break for quite some time. 

After this long break, the band came back on the scene but with some new faces, Adrian Smith left and was replaced by Janick Gers who used to play with the band White Spirit.

Maiden started performing in smaller venues which really connected the band to their fans again.  As momentum increased, a world tour followed.  It was during this tour that Bruce Dickinson announced that he was going to leave the band.

Dickinson was replaced by Blaze Bayley who had his work cut out for him to replace the legendary front man.  To win the hearts of the fans, Bayley had to learn Maidens entire catalog of music.

By early 1999, Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith rejoined the band which restored their classic 1980's lineup. 

Today, Iron Maiden still records and performs to sold out venues.