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A stamp issue on January 12 celebrates the long career of the influential British heavy metal rock band, Iron Maiden.

Founded in east London in the mid-1970s, the group has amassed 17 studio albums, more than 100 million record sales and more than 2,000 live performances in 64 countries.

Their debut single, Running Free, and album, Iron Maiden, were released in 1980. Their third album, The Number of the Beast, became one of the biggest-selling heavy metal albums of all time in 1982.

Since then they have built up a devoted and passionate international fan base, not least through increasingly ambitious live shows.

Eight stamps in counter sheets reproduce photographs from their worldwide gigs. Although membership of the band has changed over the years, the images focus on their current six-piece line-up.

An accompanying four-stamp miniature sheet features artwork of the band’s mascot, Eddie, who has become a pop-cultural icon, evolving over the years to match the themes of individual records and tours. Eddie has graced the cover of all of the band’s albums, and makes regular appearances on stage.

The issue was designed by Royal Mail Group, and printed in litho by Cartor. The counter sheet stamps are available in se-tenant strips of four.

1st class VANCOUVER 2010
Founder, songwriter and bassist Steve Harris on stage in Vancouver, Canada, in June 2010.

1st class HAMMERSMITH 1883
Vocalist Bruce Dickinson on stage at Hammersmith Odeon in London in May 1983.

1st class PAMPLONA 1988
Guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith on stage with Harris in Pamplona, Spain, in September 1988.

1st class QUITO 2009
Drummer Nicko McBrain on stage in Quito, Ecuador, in March 2009.

£1.85 RIO DE JANEIRO 2001
Murray, Dickinson and guitarist Janick Gers on stage in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in January 2001.

£1.85 HELSINKI 2018
Smith and Harris on stage in Helsinki, Finland, in May 2018.

£1.85 TWICKENHAM 2008
Iron Maiden on stage at Twickenham Stadium in London in July 2008.

£1.85 BIRMINGHAM 2018
Bruce Dickinson sword-fights with Eddie on stage in Birmingham in August 2018.

MINIATURE SHEET

£1.85
Eddie as depicted on the cover of the album Iron Maiden in 1980.

1st class
Eddie as depicted on the cover of the single The Trooper in 1983.

1st class
Eddie as depicted on the cover of the single Aces High in 1984.

£1.85
Eddie as depicted on the cover of the cover of the album Senjutsu in 2021.

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS
The presentation pack offers a detailed insight into Iron Maiden’s career, including the band’s line-up changes over the years.

A press sheet of 15 unguillotined and imperforate miniature sheets is available, along with first day covers, stamp cards and small selections of the stamps in limited-edition ‘fan sheets’.

PRICES
Set of 8 stamps £11.20
Miniature sheet £5.60
Press sheet £84.00
Presentation pack £17.70
First day cover (stamps) £14.10
First day cover (mini sheet) £7.40
Stamp cards £5.85

VERDICT
COMMEMORATIVE WORTH 3/5
Iron Maiden have niche popularity and longevity, but is the annual tribute to a musical act now being stretched too far?

QUALITY OF DESIGN 1/5
The miniature sheet uses existing artwork while the individual stamps are simply based on photographs

WOW FACTOR 2/5
Although the mascot artwork is eye-catching, the concert images are generic and unspectacular at stamp size