A new documentary film, Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition, traces the remarkable journey of the iconic heavy metal band Iron Maiden, from their early days in East End clubs to the pinnacle of the British heavy metal scene. Directed by Malcolm Venville to celebrate the band's 50th anniversary, the film features voice-overs from all current and former band members, as well as appearances by high-profile fans including Gene Simmons of Kiss, Chuck D from Public Enemy, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, and actor Javier Bardem, a lifelong Maiden fan.
A Rollercoaster Career
Described by singer Bruce Dickinson as “the world’s biggest rollercoaster,” Iron Maiden’s career has seen multi-platinum highs, crashing lows, Satanic controversies, life-threatening illnesses, and literal blood, sweat, and tears. The documentary begins with original singer Paul Di’Anno quitting due to cocaine and alcohol issues that led to tour cancellations. However, this is no ordinary tale of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll.
When Dickinson was poached from fellow rockers Samson in 1981, he famously declined a line of cocaine offered by manager Rod Smallwood during his interview, stating, “No, I don’t do that kind of stuff.” Dickinson, dubbed “the human air raid siren” by critics, combined Maiden’s virtuosic metal with a stratospheric rock voice and stage-owning showmanship. Bassist and band mastermind Steve Harris even wanted him sacked for hogging the limelight, but instead, Dickinson led the band to monumental success throughout the 1980s and beyond.
Controversy and Success
Iron Maiden sold almost 20 million albums and topped the UK charts with records such as The Number of the Beast and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, as well as the 1990 single “Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter,” the only British heavy metal song ever to reach Number One. “We just achieved terminal velocity and stayed there for five f***ing years,” Dickinson recalls.
Their success brought controversy. Songs like “The Number of the Beast” and artwork depicting their undead mascot Eddie as the puppetmaster of the devil led media and religious groups to accuse the band of Satanism. The band denied such claims, but the infamy only made them more popular. As Bardem explains, “Suddenly, the devil is fun.”
Maiden played up to their devilish image, evolving Eddie into zombie soldiers, mummies, and alien androids, and taking advantage of onstage accidents to ramp up the gore. When Dickinson suffered a head wound from a guitar at the Rock in Rio festival in 1985, he kept playing despite blood pouring down his face. A message came from Rod Smallwood: “Can you squeeze it and make it bleed a bit more, it looks amazing on the cameras.”
Burnout and Return
After years of touring in what he called “the golden cage,” Dickinson reached burnout in 1993. “We had no time to sit back, we were still on the rollercoaster. It kept getting bigger and bigger. I felt like packing it in… I was ready for the funny farm,” he says. He quit the band for six years, during which time Wolfsbane singer Blaze Bayley took his place, and Iron Maiden shrank back into clubs and theatres, where disgruntled fans would spit at the new singer.
With his solo career floundering, Dickinson returned in 1999. “Bruce came in and Steve said ‘why do you want to come back into this band?’” recalls Smallwood. “And Bruce says ‘I want to play big gigs again and I think we’ll be great.’ And Steve was like ‘okay’ and we went to the pub. That was the meeting.”
Since then, Iron Maiden have returned to the top table of heavy metal over a quarter-century marred only by Dickinson’s brush with throat cancer in 2015. Thankfully, due to swift treatment, he made a full recovery. “You’ve got to destroy a bit of yourself to get rid of it,” he says, but Smallwood was amazed at his vocal comeback: “His voice was actually stronger than it was before. It was a miracle.”
Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition will be released in cinemas worldwide starting May 7.
