Iron Maiden are a British heavy metal band led by founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris. Since forming in 1975 they have released 14 studio albums, nine live albums, four EPs and eight compilations.

As a pioneer of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, Iron Maiden rose to fame in the early 1980s, and after several lineup changes, they went on to release a string of platinum and gold albums.

These include the US platinum-selling landmark The Number of the Beast in 1982 and the follow up Piece of Mind in 1983. Iron Maiden released their newest studio effort in 2006 entitled A Matter of Life and Death peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold in the UK.

As one of the most commercially successful heavy metal bands of all time, Iron Maiden have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide including five US platinum albums.

The band won the Ivor Novello Awards for international achievement in 2002, and were also inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk in Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles County, California during their tour in the United States in 2005. Their influences include Thin Lizzy, UFO, Deep Purple, and Wishbone Ash.