20 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Maiden

8/18/2019 20 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Maiden

1/10

SHARE

T WEET EMAIL REDDIT

20 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Iron Maiden Eduardo Rivadavia

EMI

http://loudwire.com/author/edrivadaviayahoo-com/http://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http://loudwire.com/20-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-iron-maiden/%3Ftrackback%3Dreddit_top_flat_4&title=20+Facts+You+Probably+Didn%E2%80%99t+Know+About+Iron+Maidenmailto:?subject=Check%20out%2020%20Facts%20You%20Probably%20Didn%E2%80%99t%20Know%20About%20Iron%20Maiden&body=http%3A%2F%2Floudwire.com%2F20-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-iron-maiden%2F%3Ftrackback%3Demail_top_flat_4http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Check%20out%2020%20Facts%20You%20Probably%20Didn%E2%80%99t%20Know%20About%20Iron%20Maiden%20http%3A%2F%2Floudwire.com%2F20-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-iron-maiden%2F%3Ftrackback%3Dtwitter_top_flat_4%20%40Loudwirehttp://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Floudwire.com%2F20-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-iron-maiden%2F%3Ftrackback%3Dfbshare_top_flat_4&t=20+Facts+You+Probably+Didn%26%238217%3Bt+Know+About+Iron+Maidenhttp://loudwire.com/


2/10

1

2

As one of heavy metal’s most popular and most well-documented bands, Iron Maiden have seen their fans leave almost no stones

unturned when it comes to random trivia and obscure facts associated with their historic, four-decade career. But we think we’ve

identified a few, which we bring to you now in these 20 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Iron Maiden. Enjoy!

No overnight sensation, Iron Maiden formed onChristmas Day, 1975, and spent the next fouryears scraping and fighting for recognitionbefore finally scoring their deal with EMIRecords.

Iron Maiden’s celebrity mascot, Eddie the Headwas thus named because, at first, he wasnothing but a modest stage prop, consisting of aghostly mask (or giant head) hung over theband’s logo and drum kit.

http://loudwire.com/tags/iron-maiden


3/10

3

4

Maiden guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smithwere childhood friends. Smith bought his firstelectric guitar from Murray for 5 British pounds,and the pair formed some of their first bandstogether.

The main character of the song ‘Charlotte theHarlot,’ from the first Iron Maiden album, laterappeared in songs like ’22 Acacia Avenue’ (1982),


4/10

5

‘Hooks in You’ (1990), and ‘From Here to Eternity’(1992).

Before he was deemed too “unreliable” andreplaced with Bruce Dickinson, Maiden’s firstrecorded singer, Paul Di’Anno, had replaced aneven less suitable singer named Dennis Wilcock,who had tried convincing Steve Harris to baseMaiden’s image on Kiss.

EMI


5/10

6

7

The striking cover art developed by Derek Riggsfor ‘The Number of the Beast’ featured a blue,instead of black night sky, due to shoddy qualitycontrol at the printing factory! The color blunderwas finally rectified in 1998.

Producer Martin Birch was involved in aterrifying car crash during sessions for ‘TheNumber of the Beast,’ and when he received the

i bill i f i l £666 H f d


6/10

8

9

10

repair bill, it was for precisely £666. He refusedto pay it until they added an extra pound.

Steve Harris still regrets placing the excellent‘Number of the Beast’ outtake ‘Total Eclipse’ onthe B-side of 1982’s ‘Run to the Hills’ single,instead of the inferior ‘Gangland,’ which made itonto the album.

After taking a lot of flak from religious groupsover ‘The Number of the Beast,’ Maiden recorded

a backwards message for the ‘Piece of Mind’song, ‘Still Life,’ featuring drummer NickoMcBrain doing one of his trademarked comedyaccents, but nothing satanic.

Depending on where you bought your copy of ‘Piece of Mind,’ the last song can be listed as‘Dune’ and/or ‘To Tame a Land.’ That’s becauseauthor Frank Herbert, creator of the acclaimedscience fiction series, was no fan of heavymetal and refused to give his blessing.


7/10

11

12

Look closely at the numerous Egyptian hieroglyphscovering the detailed ‘Powerslave’ album sleeve andyou’ll find hidden messages like “bollocks,” “Indiana

Jones was here” and “Wot, no Guinness?”

After vehemently rejecting synthesizers duringthe early part of their career, Iron Maidensurprised many fans by using them all over the‘Somewhere in Time’ LP. Every song, in fact,except its biggest single, ‘Wasted Years.’


8/10

13

14

15

16

The ‘Can I Play With Madness’ video markedone of the final on-screen appearance of MontyPython legend Graham Chapman (he’s theornery professor). Chapman passed in Octoberof 1989.

Before becoming part of the Iron Maidenfamily, guitarist Janick Gers was part of thecompetition. In 1980, he was the driving forcebehind Maiden’s N.W.O.B.H.M. foils White

Spirit, best remembered for their serious sonicfixation with Deep Purple.

Bruce Dickinson wrote ‘Bring Your Daughter…to the Slaughter’ for his first solo album, butwound up relenting when Steve Harrispestered him to let Maiden record it for 1990’s‘No Prayer for the Dying.’

Maiden’s ninth album ‘Fear of the Dark ’ was


9/10

17

18

19

Maiden s ninth album, Fear of the Dark, wastheir first whose Eddie cover wasn’t designedby Derek Riggs. A submission by Melvyn Grantwas utilized instead.

Blaze Bailey, who replaced Bruce Dickinson inMaiden between 1994 and ’99, had enjoyedmercurial success with his former band,Wolfsbane, which in 1989 became the first UKgroup signed to Rick Rubin’s Def Americanlabel.

Believe it or not, after Blaze Bailey’s dismissalin 1999, Steve Harris was not initially sold oninviting Bruce Dickinson back into the IronMaiden fold. Thank Eddie all involvedeventually saw the light!

‘Journeyman,’ which closed 2003’s ‘Dance of Death’ album, is Iron Maiden’s only song to befully recorded on acoustic guitars.

Bruce Dickinson coauthored the script for the


10/10

Bruce Dickinson coauthored the script for the2008 motion picture, ‘Chemical Wedding,’which, as diehard fans know all too well, sharesa title with one of the singer’s 1990s soloalbums.

Share a Cool Fact About Iron Maiden.If we missed a great obscure fact about Iron Maiden, share it in the comments section below.

Documents

20 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Iron Maiden