• [Dailystar Icon]
• Music
• Rare coin

Iron Maiden facts to rock your world - nuns car crash to decapitated head

Iron Maiden have turned 50 and putting out a new coin to celebrate possibly because theyre so minted. Raise a glass to the rockers with our fascinating facts

[Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden performs at Co-op Live in June ]

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden performs at Co-op Live in June (Image: WireImage)

Iron Maiden are celebrating their half-century with new commemorative coins from the Royal Mint, as the Daily Star revealed yesterday. The design shows Eddie, the bands zombie-like mascot, stomping through a stormy graveyard.

But its not the first time the heavy metal giants have caused a stir. Here MEG JORSH give you 15 headbanging facts

1. Iron Maiden were founded in Leyton, East London, on Christmas Day 1975, by bassist and songwriter Steve Harris. He is now the only original member of the band.

2. But Steves life could have taken a very different turn. The keen footballer was once asked to train for West Ham, but decided he would rather be a rock star in his teens.

3. Singer Bruce Dickinson was also a teenage tearaway. He was expelled from posh boarding school Oundle, in Northamptonshire, allegedly for urinating in the headmasters dinner.

4. The band was named after the human-shaped boxes lined with spikes, said to be a medieval method of torture. Many historians now claim they were never actually used.

5. Bruce, 66, is a qualified pilot who once worked for now-defunct Icelandic firm Astraeus Airlines. He often captains the bands chartered planes, nicknamed Ed Force One, during their world tours.

6. Its a far cry from their original tour van an old army fire truck nicknamed the Green Goddess. They had it converted to hold beds for the group and two roadies.

7. There have now been three versions of the Ed Force One two Boeing 757s and a Boeing 747-400. The latest was scrapped earlier this year and used to make souvenir tags.

Car crash with nuns

8. The plane was named after Maidens spooky mascot, Eddie The Head. He was based on a photo of a soldiers decapitated head, displayed on a tank during the Vietnam war.

9. In December 1994, singer Bruce risked his life to play a concert in Sarajevo at the height of the Bosnian War. He was made an honorary citizen in 2019.

10. On a 1984 tour of Poland, Iron Maiden stopped their tour bus at what they thought was a disco. It turned out to be a wedding so they treated the guests to a cover of Deep Purples Smoke On The Water.

11. While recording 1982 album The Number of the Beast, producer Martin Birch got in a car crash with a bus full of nuns. The repair bill for his Range Rover came to 666.

12. On top of being a pilot and a rock star, Dickinson is also a competitive fencer. He came 13 th in the veterans category at the prestigious Circuit Europen 2025 tournament in January.

13. Bruce once teamed up with Rowan Atkinson to make a Mr Bean music video. Their version of Alice Coopers (I Want To Be) Elected came out in 1992 in support of Comic Relief.

14. Maiden percussionist Nicko McBrain got into a drum battle with puppet dog Sweep during a 1988 appearance on the BBCs The Sooty Show. He now keeps a Sooty toy propped up on his kit.

15. The band released a video game Legacy of the Beast in 2016 and they still have their own range of Trooper branded beers.

[Dailystar Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Star as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.