GYPSY'S KISS - Nov '73
Paul Sears - Drums
Bob Verschoyle - Vocals
Dave Smith - Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
(Tim Wotsit - Guitar)
SMILER - Oct '74
Steve Harris - Bass
Dennis (Den) Wilcock - Vocals
Doug Sampson - Drums
Tony Clee - Guitar
Mick Clee - Guitar
IRON MAIDEN - May '76
Dave Sullivan - Lead/Rhythm guitar
Ron 'Rebel' Matthews - Drums
Paul Day - Vocals
Terry Rance - Lead/Rhythm guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
IRON MAIDEN - Nov '76
Steve Harris - Bass
Dennis Wilcock - Vocals
Ron 'Rebel' Matthews - Drums
Dave Murray - Guitar
Bob Sawyer (Bob Angelo) - Guitar
IRON MAIDEN - End of '76
Steve Harris - Bass
Dennis Wilcock - Vocals
Ron (Rebel) Matthews - Drums
Dave Murray - Guitar
IRON MAIDEN - Spring '77 (1 gig!)
Steve Harris - Bass
Dennis Wilcock - Vocals
Barry Graham (aka Thunderstick) - Drums
Terry Wapram - Guitar
Tony Moore - Keyboards
IRON MAIDEN - Mid '77
Steve Harris - Bass
Barry Graham (Thunderstick) - Drums
Dennis Wilcock - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitar
IRON MAIDEN - Mid '78
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Doug Sampson - Drums
Paul Di'Anno - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - Early '79
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Paul Cairns - Guitar
Doug Sampson - Drums
Paul Di'Anno - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - Oct '79 (the 2 day lineup)
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Paul Todd - Guitar
Doug Sampson - Drums
Paul Di'Anno - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - End '79/Early '80
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Tony Parsons - Guitar
Doug Sampson - Drums
Paul Di'Anno - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - Jan '80
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Dennis Stratton - Guitar
Clive Burr - Drums
Paul Di'Anno - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - Oct '80
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Clive Burr - Drums
Paul Di'Anno - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - Sep '81
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Clive Burr - Drums
Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - Dec '82
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Nicko McBrain - Drums
Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - Jan '90
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Janick Gers - Guitar
Nicko McBrain - Drums
Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - Sep '93
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Janick Gers - Guitar
Nicko McBrain - Drums
IRON MAIDEN - Jan '94
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Janick Gers - Guitar
Nicko McBrain - Drums
Blaze Bayley - Vocals
IRON MAIDEN - 1999
Steve Harris - Bass
Dave Murray - Guitar
Janick Gers - Guitar
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Nicko McBrain - Drums
Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
* Steve Harris left GYPSY'S KISS for SMILER...who knows.
* Steve Harris left SMILER to form IRON MAIDEN - SMILER was stifling Steve
with its "tunnel vision" - no room to experiment...kinda "rockabilly"
versions of rock songs. He left in end '75.
* Terry Rance and Dave Sullivan were good at rhythm, but lacked in the 'lead'
department. Murray came in, they kinda got the picture and said
"either
him or us..." They were dropped in late '76. :)
* Paul Day's voice was good, but lacked energy on stage. So he was out
in
mid '76. He played with More and Wildfire after leaving.
* Bob Sawyer had been dropped earlier along the way (end of '76), because he
was always trying to upstage Dave Murray, instead of complementing his
style.
He played with Praying Mantis afterwards.
* Dave Murray lasted about 6 months (until early '77), before he and Den
Wilcock had a big argument at a Bridge House gig, Wilcock clocked him
one,
and Dave Murray went off to join pal Adrian Smith's URCHIN.
* Ron Matthews had decided to 'rebel' no longer :), and took off in early
'77. After his stint in Maiden he played with John McCoy and Bernie Torme.
* Tony Moore was axed 'cos keyboards obviously didn't fit in with Maiden's
style (after 1 gig), in mid '77.
* Terry Wapram insisted he could only work with an organist/keyboardist, so
that was the end of him too, in mid '77.
* Den Wilcock decided he'd "had enough," right before a gig at the Green
Man Plumstead, England. Mid '77.
* Thunderstick quickly followed suit, with the band temporarily on ice.
* Paul Cairns lasted under 3 months. Left in mid '79.
* Paul Todd lasted less than a week (2 days), 'cos his girlfriend didn't want
him to go on tour on the road. (What a wuss). Left in Oct
'79.
* Tony Parsons lasted about 10 weeks. Left at end '79, 'cos he just wasn't
happy on stage...and wasn't a tremendous success on stage or anything.
* Doug Sampson quit due to ill health upon touring. Jan '80.
* Dennis Stratton left the band to form Lionheart around Oct '80, at which
time rifts between he and the rest of the band were developing.
He had a
passion for 'classic rock' bands like the Eagles, was a good bit older
than the rest of the band, and problems with "the general attitude to
various aspects of the band" as well. The split wasn't particularly
amicable at first (some name calling at first...Steve was said to have
rather sacked a band member than tolerate dissent...), but after a few
months things worked out okay.
* Paul Di'Anno left the band in September 1981. According to sources,
his
biggest problem was that he just didn't respect his most valuable asset:
his voice. He smoked, he drank too much, and generally lived the
rock 'n'
roll lifestyle to the fullest. And naturally his singing suffered.
He
went on to several other projects, such as LONE WOLF, DI'ANNO, BATTLEZONE,
PRAYING MANTIS, KILLERS, etc.
* Clive Burr left the band in December 1982, despite getting voted 3rd best
drummer in the world in a KERRANG poll (who was 1st and 2nd, I wonder?!).
Clive said he was leaving "for personal reasons" and that he intended
to
quit the music business for good (although he has been around ever since
here and there - see the section in the FAQ on the MAIDEN "family tree").
He was also tired of the very hectic touring schedule. It was an
amicable
split and Clive got a special thanks and "good luck mate" on the PIECE
OF
MIND album sleeve credits.
* Adrian Smith left the band in January 1990 to pursue other things. He
also
was becoming more uncomfortable with his performance in Maiden, especially
when songs couldn't be played perfectly, or if the show went off with
little hitches here and there. You gotta figure that he also wanted
a
change of scenery, after a little more than 9 years in the band.
His next
musical project was A.S.A.P. (Adrian Smith and Project), and was quite
a
bit different than his typical Maiden stuff. It was a pretty amicable
split from what I understand. He also made a guest appearance during
the closing song, Running Free, when Maiden headlined the Monsters of
Rock in August 1992. This has been recorded on the Donington video
and
the double CD/triple LP Donington Bootleg.
* Bruce Dickinson left Maiden in September 1993, to pursue his solo career
and other projects, spend more time with his family, and to do other
things, like maybe another book, more fencing, and to take a break in
general.
* Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith returned to Iron Maiden in 1999.