From the East End of London, Iron Maiden turned heavy metal into an art form, with their formidable guitar barrage, incessant pounding rhythms and a flair for the spectacular resulting in 200m record sales over three decades. Legend has it that they were formed by bass player Steve Harris on Christmas Day, 1975, taking their name from the torture device in the novel The Man In The Iron Mask after he'd quit former band Smile. At a point when British metal music was woefully unfashionable, early progress was slow until Paul Di'Anno joined as singer. Their self-titled 1980 debut LP made inroads into the UK album charts but it was when ex-Samson singer Bruce Dickinson replaced Di'Anno that the seeds were sown for their classic The Number Of The Beast album and their reign as one of the UK's most successful bands began. Despite various personnel changes and solo projects from the multi-talented Dickinson, their appeal has endured and was endorsed in 2011 when they won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance.Artist biography compiled by BDS/West 10. All rights reserved
