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Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris. After several lineup changes prior to their recording career, they settled on Harris, vocalist Paul Di'Anno, guitarist Dave Murray and drummer Doug Sampson. The band currently consists of Harris and Murray with guitarist Adrian Smith (who first joined in 1980), vocalist Bruce Dickinson (who first joined in 1981), drummer Nicko McBrain (since 1982) and guitarist Janick Gers (since 1990).

History

The bands original line-up in December 1975, included Harris with singer Paul Mario Day, guitarists Terry Rance and Dave Sulivan and drummer Ron Matthews. Day left in October 1976 due to not having enough stage charisma, he was replaced by Dennis Wilcock. Harris temporarily disbanded Iron Maiden in December 1976 so he could replace Rance and Sulivan with guitarists Dave Murray and Bob Sawyer. By mid-1977 Matthews, Murray and Sawyer were all fired after conflicts with either Wilcock or Harris, and replaced by guitarist Terry Wapram and keyboardist Tony Moore and drummer Thunderstick (real name Barry Purkis). This line-up only lasted one show before Moore was fired by Harris, as he felt that keyboards didn't fit in to Iron Maiden's music at the time.

Murray was reinstated in March 1978, after which Wapram left. Wilcock and Thunderstick also left shortly afterwards. The band were quickly joined by Doug Sampson on drums, who Harris had played with before forming Iron Maiden, and began auditioned new singers, settling on Paul Di'Anno joined in November. The band were also joined by second guitarist Paul Cairns in Winter 1978, who played on their 1979 demo The Soundhouse Tapes. Cairns stayed for three months before being dismissed due to not fitting in.

The band were joined by guitarist Paul Todd in June 1979, however he left after a week, not playing any shows due to his girlfriend not letting him. Todd would later join Paul Mario Day's post Iron Maiden band More. Tony Parsons was the bands next guitarist, joining in September 1979, before being dismissed in December due to having less technical ability than Murray, just before the band signed to EMI. He later joined Dennis Wilcock's band Gibraltar.

The band hired Dennis Stratton (guitar, backing vocals). Doug Sampson amicably left the band as he was unable to cope with the touring schedule. At the suggestion of Stratton, Sampson was replaced by Clive Burr, with whom the band recorded their self-titled debut album in 1980. Later that year, Stratton was replaced by Adrian Smith (the band's original choice), due to musical and personal differences brought about by Stratton choosing to travel with the road crew instead of the band on tour.

During the tour supporting their second studio album, Di'Anno was fired from the band after drug and alcohol abuse affected his live performance. Vocalist Bruce Dickinson left his previous band, Samson, which had also included Burr, to audition for Iron Maiden in September 1981 and joined shortly afterwards. After the release of their third album, The Number of the Beast, drummer Nicko McBrain (of support act Trust) replaced Burr, who left due to personal and scheduling problems on the subsequent Beast on the Road tour. This is considered by many as their quintessential lineup, with which they released a series of high-impact works.

In 1990, prior to the recording of their eighth studio album, Smith was asked to leave the band due to a lack of enthusiasm, brought about by the "stripped-down" musical direction they were taking, which Smith considered "a step backwards" from the progressive direction they had been taking. Janick Gers, an old friend of Dickinson's who performed on his debut solo album, became the new guitarist. This formation recorded one more album before Dickinson departed in 1993, in order to pursue his solo career further.

The band listened to hundreds of tapes submitted by vocalists before asking Blaze Bayley to audition, with whom they would go on to release two studio albums, after which Bayley left the band by mutual consent in January 1999. At that point, the band were in talks with Dickinson, who, after a meeting with Steve Harris and Rod Smallwood (the group's manager) in Brighton, agreed to rejoin along with Adrian Smith, who was telephoned a few hours later. Iron Maiden thus became a six-piece band and have gone on to make six further studio releases. This lineup is now the longest and most stable in the band's history.

On 7 December 2024, McBrain announced he was retiring from touring due to health issues following the band's show on that day, but would remain a member of the band. The following day, Simon Dawson of Harris's band British Lion was announced as the band's new touring drummer.

Members

Current members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Steve Harris	1975–present	bass backing vocals studio keyboards (1988, 1997–present)	all Iron Maiden releases
	Dave Murray	1976–1977 1978–present	guitars
	Adrian Smith	1980–1990 1999–present	guitars backing and occasional lead vocals studio keyboards (1988)	all Iron Maiden releases from Killers (1981) to Maiden England (1989), then from Brave New World (2000) to present
	Bruce Dickinson	1981–1993 1999–present	lead vocals additional guitars (1983–1985) piano (2015)	all Iron Maiden releases from The Number of the Beast (1982) to Raising Hell (1994) then from Brave New World (2000) to present
	Nicko McBrain	1982–present (not touring as of 2025)	drums percussion	all Iron Maiden releases from Piece of Mind (1983) to present
	Janick Gers	1990–present	guitars	all Iron Maiden releases from No Prayer for the Dying (1990) to present

Former members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Ron (Rebel) Matthews	1975–1977	drums	none
	Terry Rance	1975–1976	guitars
	Dave Sullivan
	Paul Day		vocals
	Dennis Wilcock	1976–1978
	Bob Sawyer (later Rob Angelo)	1977	guitars
	Terry Wapram	1977–1978
	Thunderstick (Barry Purkis)		drums
	Tony Moore	1977	keyboards
	Doug Sampson	1978–1979	drums	The Soundhouse Tapes (1979 demo) BBC Archives (four songs from 1979)
	Paul Di'Anno	1978–1981 (died 2024)	vocals	all Iron Maiden releases from The Soundhouse Tapes (1979 demo) to Maiden Japan (1981 live)
	Paul Cairns (a.k.a. "Mad Mac")	1978–1979	guitars	The Soundhouse Tapes (1979 demo)
	Paul Todd	1979		none
	Tony Parsons			BBC Archives (four songs from 1979)
	Dennis Stratton	1979–1980	guitars backing vocals	Iron Maiden (1980) Live!! +one (1980 live)
	Clive Burr	1979–1982 (died 2013)	drums	all Iron Maiden releases from Iron Maiden (1980) to The Number of the Beast (1982)
	Blaze Bayley	1994–1999	vocals	The X Factor (1995) Best of the Beast (1996 – compilation, two new tracks) Virtual XI (1998)

Touring/session musicians

Timeline

Line-ups

Notes

1. The band's original drummer Matthews states he was expelled from the band by their second vocalist, Wilcock.
2. As one of the band's original guitarists Rance disagreed on Murray's entrance in the band, taking it as a slight on his own ability. To allow Murray to join Harris temporarily disbanded Iron Maiden in December 1976 and reformed the group soon afterwards without Rance or Dave Sullivan, the band's other original guitarist.
3. According to Sullivan himself, he "wasn't too bothered" with the prospect of Murray joining the group as he understood that "the lead sound was a bit lacking." However along with Rance, Sullivan was not invited to rejoin Iron Maiden when they temporarily disbanded in 1976.
4. Day was the band's original lead vocalist but was the first to leave the group because according to Harris, "he didn't really have enough energy or charisma onstage." Years later being interviewed he claimed the co-authorship of the song "Strange World", which never could be proven.
5. Wilcock replaced original vocalist Day and was the first to introduce special effects to the band's stage show, including fake blood capsules (placed in his mouth as he'd run a sword across his lips) and face paint. Wilcock convinced Harris to sack most of the band including Murray following a row they had after a show at the Bridgehouse pub, Canning Town in 1977. It was also claimed in The Early Days documentary that Wilcock disliked Murray's girlfriend. Eventually, Wilcock decided he'd had enough with the group and left to form his own band, "V1".
6. Sawyer (who would later go by the name of "Rob Angelo") would always try to upstage Murray, resulting in a confrontation with Harris (and expulsion from the group) after pretending to play guitar with his teeth when the audience could see that it was a trick.
7. After Murray's dismissal from the group by Wilcock, Wapram was brought in as his replacement. Having only played in Iron Maiden as the sole guitarist, Wapram was sacked after expressing that he was not content with Murray's reinstatement following Wilcock's departure.
8. Mick Wall reports that, following Dennis Wilcock's departure, the band spent six months rehearsing as a three-piece whilst looking for a new lead vocalist.

References

1. ^ Wall 2004, p. 27.
2. ^ Wall 2004, p. 33.
3. ^ Wall 2004, p. 34.
4. ^ Wall 2004, p. 46.
5. ^ Wall 2004, p. 48.
6. ^ Wall 2004, p. 50.
7. ^ EMI 2004.
8. Wall 2004, p. 49.
9. Wall 2004, pp. 25–26.
10. Wall 2004, pp. 53–54.
11. ^ Wall 2004, p. 64.
12. ^ Dome 2014.
13. Newhouse 2013.
14. ^ Bushell & Halfin 1985, p. 26.
15. ^ MetalTalk (2015-02-11). "Outside Iron Maiden: A Book By Erwin Lucas". www.metaltalk.net. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
16. ^ Wall 2004, p. 108.
17. Wall 2004, pp. 122–123.
18. Wall 2004, pp. 122–124.
19. Wall 2004, pp. 160–163.
20. Wall 2004, pp. 194–195.
21. Wall 2004, pp. 232–234.
22. Prato.
23. MTV 2006.
24. Wall 2004, pp. 283–284.
25. Wall 2004, p. 293.
26. ^ Wall 2004, p. 301.
27. ^ Wall 2004, p. 324.
28. ^ Wall 2004, p. 329.
29. Wall 2004, pp. 330–331.
30. ^ Alderslade, Merlin (2024-12-07). ""Today will be my final gig with Iron Maiden." Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain retires from live shows after 42 years". louder. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
31. Lewry, Fraser (8 December 2024). "Watch Bruce Dickinson pay tribute to Nicko McBrain during his final ever show". Louder. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
32. ^ Kaufman, Spencer (2024-12-08). "Iron Maiden announce Simon Dawson as their new touring drummer". Consequence. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
33. Somewhere in Time Remastered (liner notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 1998.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
34. ^ Wall 2004, p. 32.
35. "Original IRON MAIDEN Singer PAUL MARIO DAY Says Dispute Over 'Strange World' Song Is 'Finished With'". Blabbermouth.net. January 27, 2019.
36. Wall 2004, p. 44.
37. EMI 2006.
38. Wall 2004, p. 266.
39. ^ Gennet 2010.
40. Grow 2012.
41. Iron Maiden (2023-08-11). Iron Maiden - Steve's Rig. Retrieved 2024-09-30 – via YouTube.
42. Cite error: The named reference :22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
43. Wall 2004, p. 43.
44. Wall 2004, p. 52.
45. Wall 2004, p. 54.
46. Wall 2004, p. 124.
47. ^ Wall 2004, p. 162.
48. ^ Wall 2004, p. 216.
49. Wall 2004, p. 235.
50. Wall 2004, p. 241.
51. ^ Wall 2004, p. 285.
52. Wall 2004, p. 298.

• "Janick Gers interview- Talking Metal Pirate Radio #5". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
• Bushell, Garry; Halfin, Ross (1985). Running Free, The Official Story of Iron Maiden (second ed.). Zomba Books. ISBN 0-946391-84-X.
• Dome, Malcolm (2014). "The Ex-Factor". Classic Rock Presents Iron Maiden: From the East End to the World: 8–9.
• The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days (DVD). EMI. 23 November 2004.
• "Documentary". Death on the Road (DVD). EMI. 6 February 2006.
• Gennet, Robbie (3 October 2010). "Michael Kenney – the Man Behind the Maiden". Keyboard Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
• Grow, Kory (5 July 1012). "Live Review: Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper, Live in Newark, New Jersey". Revolver. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012. ... an organist who looked like a medieval witch rose up and played with the band.
• "The Greatest Metal Bands of All Time". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. 14 July 2006. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
• Newhouse, Steve (4 February 2013). "Loopy's World: Part Five A – Recording Demos at Minus 20 Degrees Revisited". Metaltalk.net. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
• Prato, Greg. "Piece of Mind > Review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
• Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (third ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.

• Iron Maiden members
• Lists of members by band