Iron Maiden are an institution. Over the course of 44 years they have come to embody a spirit of fearless creative independence, ferocious dedication to their fans, and a cheerful indifference to their critics that’s won them a following that spans every culture, generation, and time-zone. A story of gritty determination and courageous defiance of the naysayers, theirs has been an adventure like no other. And with the current Legacy Of The Beast tour selling out headline stadium, arena and festival shows across Europe and North, South and Central America with the band playing to close to two million ecstatic fans and attracting unanimously rave reviews, Maiden are showing no signs of slowing down any time just yet.

Founded by bassist Steve Harris in the mid ‘70s, Iron Maiden were already firmly established as heavy metal’s brightest hopes when they stormed the world with their third album (and first with vocalist Bruce Dickinson) The Number Of The Beast in 1982. It would kick off a decade of classic releases and dogged touring that would come to epitomise the unrelenting, uncompromising, unswerving commitment they are now so well known for. That marvellous decade would also yield seven new studio albums, one live album, seven World Tours, as well as the creation of Eddie - one of the most iconic and recognisable figureheads of our age and the calling card of the most impassioned fan-bases anywhere.  

What makes these qualities even more notable is that they developed almost entirely without the acknowledgement of mainstream media. While celebrity culture and the next big thing occupied the airwaves, Iron Maiden were embarking on the marathon 192-date 1984/5 World Slavery tour, playing at Rock In Rio in 1985, and mounting a command performance at the biggest-ever Monsters Of Rock festival at Donington in 1988 with 107,000 fans in attendance. But it’s really Iron Maiden’s iron-clad resolve to always push the boundaries that gives their career such astonishing distinction. From groundbreaking performances in Poland behind the Iron Curtain in 1984 at the height of the Cold War, around South America in 1992, through the Middle East and India in 2007, and Indonesia in 2011 among many others, Iron Maiden’s relentless forward momentum has left an indelible impression on the globe.

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With over 90 million album sales, more than 2000 live performances in 63* countries, tens of millions of fans and 16 studio albums of unerring quality and power to their name, Iron Maiden have more than earned their proudly-held status as one of the most influential and revered rock bands of all time. 

Alexander Milas