| Eddie on the covers |
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On the cover of every Iron Maiden album and single [Barring 1991's 'hit' single 'From Here To Eternity'. ] , the subject and focus of attention has been a zombie called Eddie. Usually up to no good, Eddie is a crucial part of Maiden. Without Eddie, the band lacks a little something, that little bit of individuality. He is the ultimate Maiden fan, the seventh member! Iron Maiden (1980)
During Maiden's pub and club years, Eddie had been a head on a board at the back of the venue with the band's name on it. He would have flashing eyes and spew blood from his mouth when the band played their signature song, 'Iron Maiden'. It would also be normal for their manger and/or roadies to don Eddie masks and run around the stage screaming and jumping around at fans. Eddie has always been a part of the band's spectacular live act. On the cover of their self-titled debut album ( not inspired by the picture of Neal Kay, the man pretty much responsible for the NWOBHM [New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. ] ), Eddie is simply there . On the 1998 reissue of the album, Eddie was changed slightly. The hair became white instead of gingerish, and he had cool glowing red eyes. Killers (1981)
Eddie's hair on this album has been white since the day it was issued; no tinkering involved here. The album is called Killers , and Eddie has been caught doing exactly that. Holding a bloodied axe and with manacled hands clawing at his shirt, his eyes have turned to you and he reaches out with one hand in a 'better run' pose. Derek Riggs was fond of including Easter eggs [Easter eggs are little amusing tidbits deliberately thrown into things, in the name of humour, clues, or inside jokes. ] in his works, and the Killers cover is the first to have a good one. Look at the red window in the background, and you can see Charlotte the Harlot [This is the eponymous character of a single from the band's first album. ] from the first album. The Number of the Beast (1982)
This album sparked controversy among American evangelists, with the cover adding fuel to the fire. Set in Hell, Eddie is towering over a finger-puppet of Satan, manipulating it with glee. However, Satan also has a finger-puppet, of Eddie. Who's manipulating who? However, the picture can have another meaning. Look at it the opposite way. Eddie is being manipulated by Satan, or so Beelzebub thinks. However, the real Eddie is towering over Lucifer, manipulating him! Eddie is all powerful, powerful enough to control Satan himself! Iron Maiden's gonna get you, no matter how far away you think you are! Piece of Mind (1983)
Setting a trend for every picture to come after this one, Eddie is alone and chained to a cell, having just undergone a lobotomy. His long white hair is gone, and a small metal tab keeps the top of his head attached to the rest of him. Every other picture of Eddie is more or less faithful to this one. Powerslave (1984)
This shows Eddie as an Egyptian Pharaoh, cast in stone on a pyramid. There is no deeper meaning in the image itself, though on the back cover all the figures in the hieroglyphics have been lobotomized (this is best looked for on LP covers). Live after Death (1985)
Bursting out of the grave with lightning striking his forehead and bursting along his manacles, Eddie gets ready for the gig in Long Beach Arena, Los Angeles, California. Among the graves in the yard, there is one for Derek Riggs, and the one that Eddie is coming out of, Edward T Head. The date on his is 1975 - ... Somewhere in Time (1986)
Set in a futuristic age, Eddie is a cyborg cop, having just blown another villain to shreds. This cover is the best for aforementioned Easter eggs. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
By now Maiden were a rather different band compared to ten years earlier. Only two members from the 1980 line-up were still around, and the music sure sounded different. No Prayer For The Dying marked a return to Maiden's roots, and that make over included Eddie. Bursting out of another, unrelated grave, and grabbing some poor bloke by the scruff of his neck, Eddie looks more or less identical to what he did eight years earlier. Fear of the Dark (1991)
For the first time, Maiden decided to let a different artist have a stab at painting Eddie. They chose Melvyn Grant, who concocted a Nosferatu-esque picture of Eddie looming out of a nightmarish tree, part of the tree, on a moonlit night. It may sound impressive, but it isn't really. A Real Live Dead One (1993)
A Real Live One and A Real Dead One were two live albums, reissued as one in 1998. The cover of A Real Live One was used for the double-album that was the reissue, and it was a very simple cover. Eddie, in the nude and a shade of blue, tears open a cable and is in the process of electrocuting himself. The dead one was more humorous. Eddie is the DJ on Radio Hell (666FM), and is tearing the decks to shreds and screaming into the microphone as fans try to break in from the burning outside. Derek Riggs was back at the helm drawing Eddie pictures. Live At Donnington (1993)
Previously a bootleg, this was made into an album in 1998 due to popular demand. The least Eddie-like incarnation of Eddie, as instead of your conventional zombie, he is more of a giant bat. The X Factor (1995)
New singer, new sound, new look cover. The most grim, gothic, graphic, and probably one of the best to date. The art from this album depicts the birth of Eddie. Eddie is stuck on an operating table in grim blackness. His lower half is missing and his guts trail out. He is again being lobotomized, though this time it is to get his brain in. His head is clamped tight and a skewer has been driven through his cheeks. He is holding onto two handles that are picking out the flesh from his chest. It's quite a sight, which is why the band was forced to make an alternative cover. The alternative cover is no less grim though; Eddie is stuck in an electric chair, alone and unloved. Best of the Beast (1996)
The cover is a collage of Eddie through the ages. In a straightjacket, mummified, pointing his cyborg gun, wielding his axe, flashing his hooks, dressed in Victorian-era British army uniform and rejuvenated by lightning. It shows seven forms of Eddie, all in new, dynamic poses (barring two) and looking more energetic than ever. The gravestone from Live After Death is there too. Virtual XI (1998)
1998 was quite a year for Maiden. Their back-catalogue was reissued with enhanced sections for PCs and Macs, they had a PC game called Ed Hunter released, and their official website went up. Maiden has always been one to recognise and use the potential of computers and the Internet, and having a special bond with their fans made things easier with the net. This was reflected on the cover of this album. Painted by Melvin Grant, it is actually a bit of a mess to look at. All you can see of Eddie is his head, shoulders, and a hand reaching out for a kid wearing a virtual reality headset. The bottom left corner shows a football game (Maiden are big football fans - West Ham FC in particular), and in the background are ruined buildings and tortured souls. The grim redness of the background and sides clashes with the brightness of the kid and the football game, so this cover is a bit of an eyesore. Seeing as the game Ed Hunter was released at this time, we saw a lot of Eddie in digital form, wearing nothing but a shredded pair of blue trousers and looking a bit like a guy with no nose and a skin disease. Brave New World (2000)
The bottom half of this picture is futuristic London. The top half shows Eddie's face in the clouds, grinning at this Brave New World. The cover of the CD version of 'The Wicker Man' single used a band picture instead of Eddie. However, the 12" picture disc and transparent CD versions of the single did have Eddie on, so Maiden redeemed themselves there. Dance Of Death (2003)
(The Dance of Death artwork did not feature the bolt on Eddies forehead) |
