After some turbulence in the 1990s, the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999 saw the band undergo a resurgence in popularity, with a series of new albums and highly successful tours.

Iron Maiden's lyrics cover such topics as history, literature, war, mythology, dark fantasy, science fiction, society and religion.

After months of rehearsal, Iron Maiden made their debut at St. Nicks Hall in Poplar on 1 May 1976,[3] before taking up a semi-residency at the Cart and Horses Pub in Maryland, Stratford.

[5] He was replaced by Dennis Wilcock, a Kiss fan who used makeup and fake blood during live performances[5] and had earlier played with Harris and Doug Sampson in the band Smiler.

[3] A new line-up was put together, including future Cutting Crew member Tony Moore on keyboards, Terry Wapram on guitar and drummer Barry Purkis (better known today as Thunderstick).

[16] After hearing the tape, Kay began playing the demo regularly at the Bandwagon, and one of the songs, "Prowler", eventually went to number 1 in the Soundhouse charts, which were published weekly in Sounds magazine.

[17] In December 1979, the band secured a major record deal with EMI[21] and asked Dave Murray's childhood friend, Adrian Smith of Urchin, to join the group as their second guitarist.

[27] In addition to the title track, the album included other early favourites such as "Running Free", "Transylvania", "Phantom of the Opera" and "Sanctuary" – which was not on the original UK release, but appeared on the US version and subsequent remasters.

Although many tracks were written prior to their debut release, it had two new songs: "Prodigal Son" and "Murders in the Rue Morgue"[32] (the latter's title was taken from the short story by Edgar Allan Poe).

[37][45] At the time, Dickinson was in the midst of legal difficulties with Samson's management and was not permitted to add his name to any of the songwriting credits, although he still made what he described as a "moral contribution" to "Children of the Damned", "The Prisoner", and "Run to the Hills".

[46] The band embarked on a world tour, dubbed The Beast on the Road, with shows in North America, Japan, Australia and Europe, including a headline appearance for 40,000 people at the Reading Festival.

[86] The tour concluded with several headline shows in the UK in November and December 1988, with the concerts at the NEC Arena, Birmingham, recorded for a live video, entitled Maiden England.

[92] At the same time, to mark the band's 10-year recording anniversary, Iron Maiden released a compilation collection, The First Ten Years, a series of 10 CDs and double 12-inch singles.

The extensive worldwide tour that followed included their first-ever Latin American leg, although Christian organisations prevented Iron Maiden from performing in Chile and accused them of being "emissaries of satanic propaganda",[100] and headlining the Monsters of Rock festivals in seven European countries.

The biggest show of the whole tour was a headline appearance for 60,000 people at the Monsters of Rock festival in São Paulo, Brazil.The X Factor sold 1.3 million copies, the lowest sales result since 1981.

[134] While the performance was being produced for a CD and DVD release in March 2002, under the name Rock in Rio,[135] the band took a year off from touring, although they played three consecutive shows at Brixton Academy to raise funds for former drummer Clive Burr, who had recently announced that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

[149] In 2005, the band announced the Eddie Rips Up the World Tour, which, tying in with their 2004 DVD entitled The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days, only featured material from their first four albums.

[160][159] The band then played a string of European dates, including an appearance at Download Festival, their fourth headline performance at Donington Park,[161] to approximately 80,000 people.

The album's supporting tour saw the band perform 101 shows across the globe to an estimated audience of over two and a half million,[182] including their first visits to Singapore, Indonesia, and South Korea.

[195] In February 2016, the band embarked on The Book of Souls World Tour, with shows in 35 countries across six continents, including their first performances in China, El Salvador, and Lithuania.

[257] Originally a papier-mâché mask which would squirt fake blood during their live shows,[258] the character featured on the band's debut album cover, also done by Derek Riggs.

[260] During the Cavalcade of Magi 2021 in the Spanish city of Cadiz, next to dolls representing characters known from the world of pop culture, there was a huge, inflatable mummy inspired by the image of the Iron Maiden mascot from 1985.

[266][267] According to Guitar World, Iron Maiden's music has "influenced generations of newer metal acts, from legends like Metallica to current stars like Avenged Sevenfold.

"[284] Music journalist and the writer Neil Daniels said Iron Maiden "redefined the whole genre blending classic heavy rock influence with punky vibe, twin guitars attack and progressive approach which finally have created the new quality.

The artwork and title track led to Christian groups in the United States branding the band as Satanists, encouraging people to destroy copies of the release.

[47] The band's manager, Rod Smallwood, later said the groups initially burnt the records, but later decided to destroy them with hammers due to fear of breathing in the melting vinyl's fumes.

[301] The aeroplane was converted into a combi configuration, which enabled it to carry the band, their crew and stage production, allowing the group to perform in countries which were previously deemed unreachable logistically.

[303] The aircraft, named "Ed Force One" after a competition on the band's website,[304] was flown by Dickinson until 2022,[305] as he was also a commercial airline pilot for Astraeus; the plane also appears in the documentary[306] Iron Maiden: Flight 666.

[175] For The Book of Souls World Tour in 2016, the band upgraded to an ex-Air France Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet[307] which allows for more space without the aircraft having to undergo a significant conversion to carry their equipment.

[308] Steve Harris, Iron Maiden's bassist and primary songwriter,[309] has said his influences include Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, Thin Lizzy, UFO, Queen, and Wishbone Ash.