Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are a British heavy metal band from east London. The band were formed in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris, formerly a member of Gypsy's Kiss and Smiler. Iron Maiden are one of the most successful and influential bands in the heavy metal genre, having sold 80 million albums worldwide. The band won the Ivor Novello award for international achievement in 2002.

The band have headlined several major events in its career, notably Rock in Rio, Ozzfest alongside Black Sabbath, Donington's "Monsters of Rock" and "Download" Festivals and the "Reading and Leeds Festivals."

Iron Maiden are a heavy metal band, influenced by Thin Lizzy, UFO and Deep Purple among others. Some perceive punk in their early music overtones mainly due to vocalist Paul Di'Anno's style and the band's rougher approach to music . However Steve Harris always denied direct punk rock influences in his songwriting. The NWOBHM as a whole however, was clearly linked to punk (it was spawned by similar situations and Maiden were frontrunners in the NWOBHM movement at the time.

Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie, is a perennial fixture in the band's horror-influenced album cover art, as well as in live shows. Eddie was drawn by Derek Riggs until 1992, although there have been various incarnations by numerous artists including Melvyn Grant. Eddie is also featured in a first-person shooter video game from the band, Ed Hunter, as well as numerous books, graphic comics and band-related merchandise.