Iron Maiden are coming to an envelope near you (Picture: Royal Mail/PA)
They’ve won a Grammy, a Brit Award and an Ivor Novello, but Iron Maiden have now been cemented further in history as Royal Mail has created a series of stamps to celebrate the ‘bona fide rock legends’.
The heavy metal band are only the fifth music group to feature in a dedicated stamp issue, following The Beatles in 2007, Pink Floyd in 2016, Queen in 2020 and The Rolling Stones in 2022.
There are 12 stamps in the Iron Maiden collection – with eight featuring performances from across the band’s almost 50-year career, and four paying homage to the band’s mascot Eddie, including him as a samurai warrior from their recent Senjutsu album.
Lead singer Bruce Dickinson, guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Janick Gers, drummer Nicko McBrain and bassist Steve Harris all appear in the commemorative project.
Steve said: ‘We were all absolutely astounded – in a good way – when we heard first about the commemorative project, and equally pretty much speechless when we saw the stamps for the very first time.
‘They look superb and I think they really capture the essence and energy of Maiden.
Eight of the stamps feature Iron Maiden’s live performances (Picture: Royal Mail/PA Wire)
‘We’re all very proud that Royal Mail has chosen to honour the band’s legacy like this and we know our fans will feel the same way.’
Iron Maiden’s manager Rod Smallwood added: ‘As a band who have never played by anyone else’s rules for over 40 years, it’s very gratifying to see them honoured in their home country in this way.
‘We’re proud to show how these six band members are still appealing to more and more fans every year with their music and their legendary shows – which I think these stamps really capture well.
The band’s mascot Eddie even gets his own stamp (Picture: Royal Mail/PA Wire)
The stamps are available to order now (Picture: Royal Mail/PA Wire)
‘It’s also fantastic that Eddie has been honoured too – it’s incredible to think that Her Majesty, may she rest in peace, saw these and lent her iconic silhouette to them too.’
Meanwhile, David Gold, director of external public affairs and policy at Royal Mail, said: ‘Few bands in the history of rock music can be called bona fide rock legends – but Iron Maiden are just that – and more.’
They are the fifth band in history to feature on stamps (Picture: Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images)
Iron Maiden have had 35 songs reach the UK top 40 singles chart – including the number 1988 number one Bring Your Daughter… To The Slaughter – according to Official Charts Company.
They have also had five number-one albums: Fear Of The Dark, The Book Of Souls, The Final Frontier, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son and The Number Of The Beast.
In total, the band have sold more than 100 million records and performed around 2,500 gigs across 64 countries.
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They will hit the road again this year on their The Future Past tour, which begins in Slovenia on May 28.
Iron Maiden’s Royal Mail stamps are available to order now and are on sale from January 12 2023.
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They’re the fifth band in history to be honoured in this way.
