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IRON MAIDEN HAVE A UK CHART HIT:

January 10, 2005

Iron Maiden’s 1982 metal classic ‘The Number of the Beast’ is the number three song in the U.K. this week.

The song was released as a single by EMI to mark the 25th anniversary of the band’s first release.

‘The Number of the Beast’ was the title track off their third album. The album was the first to give them their commercial break-through.

Iron Maiden actually formed in 1976 and released their first EP ‘The Soundhouse Tapes’ themselves on their own Rock Hard Records.

In 1980, they released their first album through EMI. The self-titled ‘Iron Maiden’ went to number five on the British charts.

In 1982, lead singer Paul Di’anno departed the band and was replaced by Bruce Dickinson. Dickinson’s first album was ‘Number of the Beast’.

The title track was inspired by The Omen movies which featured the satanic Damien who had the mark of the Devil ‘666’ as a birthmark on his scalp.

Dickinson wasn’t the only new member to join that year. In 1982, Iron Maiden also adopted a ten foot rotting corpse named Eddie. Eddie is still the band’s mascot.

Iron Maiden is still a creative force. In 2003, they released Dance of Death and headlined Denmark’s Roskilde Festival.

Courtesy of www.undercover.com.au