<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Wait\u2026what?\u00a0 Who is Eddie and why are we happy that he is 50?\u00a0 First off, my father\u2019s given name was Eddie Rudolf Raisanen and there is a 50 year connection to that moniker, but we will come back to that a little later.\u00a0 The Eddie in the above title is the beloved mascot of the British band Iron Maiden.\u00a0 This year marks the band\u2019s 50th anniversary as the standard bearers of a genre that became known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, or NWOBHM for short.\u00a0 Technically, Eddie (his full name is \u2018Eddie the Head\u2019 but nobody seems to call him that any more) is only 46 years old.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Eddie was first drawn by visual artist Derek Riggs to grace the cover of their first EP (<\/span>The Soundhouse Tapes<\/span><\/i>) in 1979.\u00a0 Eddie is so iconic that the master of marketing for all things KISS, Gene Simmons, is on record calling him, \u201cthe perfect trademark.\u201d\u00a0 During their early live shows, Eddie appeared on stage as a fake blood squirting paper-mache mask.\u00a0 His visage has also appeared on numerous album covers and copious numbers of tee shirts and posters.\u00a0 Riggs was the exclusive Eddie artist until 1992 when the band branched out and began using artwork by other artists including Melvyn Grant.\u00a0 Grant is perhaps best known for his pioneering art work using digitizing tablets and software like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter.\u00a0 Large Eddie Puppets have appeared at carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro (and other South American cities) while his onstage appearance has evolved throughout Iron Maiden\u2019s long career.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Image sells music and even the lettering used for the Iron Maiden logo has a history.\u00a0 It is very similar to the typeface used with Vic Fair\u2019s movie poster design for the 1976 science fiction film <\/span>The Man Who Fell to Earth.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Maiden bassist and founder Steve Harris claims he designed it himself – he was trained and was working as an architectural draughtsman when the band first formed.\u00a0 This would be as good a time as any to fire up the Wayback Machine and examine the birth of Iron Maiden and the NWOBHM.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Iron Maiden\u2019s origin story starts with bassist \/ songwriter Steve Harris.\u00a0 In 1975, the 19 year-old Harris had already been through the teenage \u2018form a band\u2019 thing and had even taken a stab at writing original songs.\u00a0 Though his first song (called <\/span>Endless Pit<\/span><\/i>) had rather forgettable lyrics penned by a high school friend, the riff would survive and resurface later as <\/span>Innocent Exile<\/span><\/i> which he performed in a band called Smiler.\u00a0 The song would be carried over into his next band and can be considered to be the first Iron Maiden song.\u00a0 Harris is the only member of this early Iron Maiden lineup to have remained in the band since the fall of 1975,\u00a0 He recalled that when he decided on the name in December of that year, even his mother liked it.\u00a0 He was still working as a draughtsman in East London at the time, but his real future occupation was just starting to take shape.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As a bass player, his songwriting method developed differently than a guitar player\u2019s style .\u00a0 Inspired by rock bands like Deep Purple, UFO, (and on the progressive side) Jethro Tull, King Crimson, and Genesis, Harris\u2019s writing style began to evolve.\u00a0 Describing the process employed\u00a0 writing one of Maiden\u2019s definitive songs (<\/span>Phantom of the Opera<\/span><\/i>), Harris told <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine\u2019s <\/span><\/i>Paul Elliot (Issue 337, March 2025), \u201cWith <\/span>Phantom <\/span><\/i>it was obvious that my style of writing was very different to what people were used to, and what guitarists were used to.\u00a0 My songs are unusual, a bit quirky, but it felt natural to me.\u00a0 I wanted to play with aggression.\u201d\u00a0 Not a fan of punk music, he told Elliot that Maiden\u2019s music in no way resembled punk:\u00a0 \u201cAt that age, you are full of energy and you want that to come through, but with loads of melody.\u00a0 That is why I wanted twin guitars.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the time the band recorded their first LP, they had gone through multiple personnel changes as things began to gel.\u00a0 Dave Murray had aleady been fired once, but when he was back in the fold in 1978, he became Harris\u2019s second lieutenant in the band.\u00a0 Vocalist Paul Di\u2019Anno (nee: Andrews) provided the powerful voice and presence the band needed.\u00a0 Drummer Clive Burr was nicked form rival band Samson and the second guitarist then was Dennis Straton.\u00a0 Equally important was Iron Maiden being, as Harris put it, \u201cIn the right place at the right time,\u201d to get in on the growing NWOBHM scene.\u00a0 When Rod Smallwood, a former booking agent, became their manager, it was akin to what happened with Jimmy Page hooked up with Peter Grant.\u00a0 It was Smallwood who got the band their 1979 record deal with EMI records.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the release of their second album in 1981 (<\/span>Killers), <\/span><\/i>Stratton had been replaced by Adrian Smith.\u00a0 <\/span>Killers <\/span><\/i>would also be their last album with Di\u2019Anno on vocals.\u00a0 Di\u2019Anno\u2019s career with the band was described as \u2018erratic\u2019 and his \u2018chaotic lifestyle\u2019 led to his departure.\u00a0 Harris described the later singer (who passed away in 2024 from heart failure) as, \u201cA loveable rogue.\u00a0 He liked to annoy me by dressing up like Adam Ant.\u00a0 Anything to wind me up.\u00a0 He liked to ruffle a few feathers, let\u2019s put it that way.\u00a0 And ruffle he did!\u201d\u00a0 After he was dismissed from the band, Di\u2019Anno took full credit for his exit – too much booze and coke combined with blowing out his voice on the road were cited as his main troubles.\u00a0 Harris continued, \u201cPaul had a rawness to his voice but he didn\u2019t take care of himself.\u00a0 I got the impression that he never really believed he had it in him to get to the next level.\u00a0 It was an insecurity thing.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The band Samson would again find one of its members departing to join Iron Maiden.\u00a0 Bruce Dickinson had none of the insecurities that tanked Di\u2019Anno.\u00a0 Harris was somewhat worried what a change of singers would do at this point in the band\u2019s history, but the power and range Dickinson displayed on 1982\u2019s <\/span>Run To the Hills<\/span><\/i> single put them into the UK Top Ten.\u00a0 The attention generated by the single helped push the source album (<\/span>The Number of the Beast<\/span><\/i>)<\/span> to number one.\u00a0 Garry Bushell of <\/span>Sounds <\/span><\/i>described the album as \u2018epic stuff\u2019.\u00a0 The subsequent tour would be the last for drummer Burr who would be replaced by Nicko McBain for 1983\u2019s <\/span>Piece of Mind<\/span><\/i> record.\u00a0 The follow up, <\/span>Powerslave<\/span><\/i> pushed them into the realm of the world\u2019s leading metal band.\u00a0 \u201cIt was full-on in those years,\u201d Harris said.\u00a0 \u201cAlbum, tour, album, tour.\u00a0 We hardly got any time off, but that is what we wanted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Not everyone wanted this relentless schedule as much as Harris did.\u00a0 In 1990, guitarist Smith left the band and was replaced with former Gillan guitarist Janich Gers.\u00a0 By 1993, it was Dickinsen\u2019s turn to step back with Blaze Bayley stepping in on vocals.\u00a0 These were hard times for the band but even as he divorced his first wife and replaced his singer, Harris said, \u201cWe were the underdogs again, but I liked the challenge.\u201d\u00a0 Bayley\u2019s biggest downside was the simple fact that he was not Bruce Dickinsen nor did he have Bruce\u2019s range and power.\u00a0 By 1999, Steve had to make the hard decision to let Bayley go, paving the way for the return of Dickinsen.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Actually, Dickinsen and Smith both decided to come back at the same time.\u00a0 Both had been working on solo projects when the opportunity arose to return to Maiden.\u00a0 Gers took it in stride and offered to step aside for Smith\u2019s return, but Harris surprised him and said, \u201cNo, we are going to do this with three guitarists going forward.\u201d\u00a0 Smith had been asked to make a guest appearance when Maiden played the Monsters of Rock festival in 1992.\u00a0 Having already had a try out to fill the vacant second guitar slot in Def Leppard, Adrian\u2019s wife encouraged him to do the guest spot with Maiden at Donington.\u00a0 The experience relit his enthusiasm for Iron Maiden and opened the door for his return.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Dickinsen described life in Iron Maiden to Elliot in unusual terms:\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re not part of normal society.\u00a0 PTSD, dislocation – that\u2019s effectively what you\u2019ve got.\u00a0 And depending on your personality type, you deal with it in different ways.\u00a0 Steve became a recluse.\u00a0 Adrian was drinking himself to an early grave.\u201d\u00a0 He described his own behavior as, \u201cout of control, and none of it healthy.\u201d \u00a0 Bruce, who is also a licensed pilot and has actually flown the band\u2019s plane from time to time, took up hobbies like fencing to burn off extra stress.\u00a0 He tours with his solo band between Maiden tours and has made a remarkable come back from a bout with throat cancer. \u00a0 He says he got off lucky as the cancer was near to but did not affect his vocal chords – which meant thoughts of replacing him in the band again were moot in the end.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Harris also has a side project called British Lion which plays shorter tours and smaller venues than Maiden.\u00a0 While he lives in the Bahamas, he spends more time on the road than off.\u00a0 It hit him how much time when he read an article about British Lion in an Irish paper:\u00a0 \u201cSteve Harris could be laying on the beach in the Bahamas but he would rather be in Glasgow freezing his buns off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Guitarist Murray is perhaps the most affable of the crew next to Smith.\u00a0 The two guitarists grew up only two streets apart and have been friends since they were school boys in East London.\u00a0 Their first band together was named Stone Free after the Jimi Hendrix song of the same title.\u00a0 Harris says Murray\u2019s personality is a direct opposite of his own (he acknowledged Di\u2019Anno sometimes called him \u2018Hitler\u2019 for his strong arm rule of the band).\u00a0 On stage, Murray\u00a0 seems to be in his own world.\u00a0 He claims he tunes out the audience and loses himself in the music:\u00a0 \u201cThere are a million things that could distract you during a show so you have to be good at tuning them out.\u201d\u00a0 He is content with his more Zen-like approach to music and defers the band\u2019s leadership to Rod, Bruce, and Steve.\u00a0 Murray told Elliot, \u201cI\u2019m more of a team player, and I am happy to be in that position.\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t have a whole band with people as laid-back as me, or else nothing else would get done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At the end of their 2024 tour, drummer McBain announced he was retiring from the road.\u00a0 After surviving a stroke in 2023, he has been able to play but has found some of the more intricate parts hard to recreate live.\u00a0 \u201cI love Jesus,\u201d he told Elliot, \u201cand I believe in the Lord, and personally think, \u201cHow long is he going to give me?\u201d\u00a0 He jokes the best way to go would be to die on live TV like fabled comedian Tommy Cooper did in 1984, \u201cbut I am not sure the boys would have wanted that.\u201d\u00a0 He has no regrets after the magical 42 years he spent with Maiden.\u00a0 The 2025 tour will see Simon Dawson (who has toured with a number of big acts like The Outfield) taking over the drummer\u2019s throne.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Before we finish up, I need to explain my fifty year connection with Eddie.\u00a0 When I started teaching in Ontonagon fifty years ago this fall, a student asked me what my middle initial stood for.\u00a0 For some silly reason, I challenged them to guess, adding, \u201cBut you never will get it right.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n They went through Edward, Edwin, Edgar, and even Elvis.\u00a0 If they had tried \u2018Eddie\u2019 I would have still said , \u201cNope.\u201d \u00a0 Why?\u00a0 My dad mentioned a long time ago that he believed his father intended his first name to be \u2018Eti\u2019 and the clerk misheard him and put \u2018Eddie\u2019 on his birth certificate.\u00a0 I am not sure what possessed me to play this word game over the years, but it was just a little bit of fun – one of those questions that never had a right answer, even if they had guessed \u2018Eddie\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As for Iron Maiden, Dickinsen looks back at the band\u2019s history with gratitude:\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s great.\u00a0 I now appreciate how fantastic it is.\u00a0 So I am constantly grateful at sixty-six to be able to still do it.\u00a0 And, hopefully, do it well.\u201d\u00a0 Harris wraps up pondering the future:\u00a0 \u201cObviously,\u00a0 we can\u2019t carry on forever.\u00a0 How long can we keep going?\u00a0 I really don\u2019t know.\u00a0 We were asked the very same question twenty years ago, and ever since.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The faces have changed little in the past 40 years, but Maiden carries on.\u00a0 If and when Harris steps aside, he probably would be the one piece of the puzzle that would be hard to replace.\u00a0 Until then, Iron Maiden will be on the road doing what they do best.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0\u00a0Run To The Hills\u00a0<\/em>was the track that made everyone thinking replacing Paul Di’Anno may not have been a mistake!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Wait\u2026what?\u00a0 Who is Eddie and why are we happy that he is 50?\u00a0 First off, my father\u2019s given name was Eddie Rudolf Raisanen and there is a 50 year connection to that moniker, but we will come back to that a little later.\u00a0 The Eddie in the above title is the beloved mascot of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,6,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bands-musicians","category-from-the-vaults","category-new-music","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3468"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3488,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468\/revisions\/3488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}