Iron Maiden's early years are the subject of a new photo book set for publication this summer.
Scheduled for July, Iron Maiden: The Paul Di'Anno Years will be published as part of Rufus Publications' Portraits series.
Featuring iconic images from George Bodnar, PG Brunelli, Barry Plummer and more, the 240 page book documents Steve Harris' band at play, rehearsing, recording and of course, performing live at a series of pivotal early gigs - including those at East London's Ruskin Arms - as they emerged as one of the key bands of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.
The book is 230mm square, and printed on luxury 170gsm matt coated paper. It comes with a fold out poster and is presented in a black slipcase with a gold foil logo. The main edition comes in 666 numbered copies.
In addition to this a much larger, ultra-limited Leather And Metal edition measuring 375mm square and presented in recycled leather and a hand welded aluminum metal slipcase is also being prepared in a run length of just 66 numbered copies. This will sell for £500 and comes with a copy of the standard edition plus a limited-edition print. Classic Rock's Geoff Barton (ex-Sounds/Kerrang!'s founding editor) also shares his thoughts as an eye-witness and hugely influential early champion.
Take a look inside the book below:
Online orders for Iron Maiden: The Paul Di'Anno Years will commence on Friday, March 10 at 3pm UK time. The books will ship worldwide in July 2023.
Paul Di'Anno exited Iron Maiden in 1981, and told Classic Rock last year, “I don’t blame them for getting rid of me.”
By his own admission, as he revealed to Classic Rock’s Dave Ling, Di’Anno “didn’t know what the fuck I was doing” when Steve Harris’ band began work on their self-titled debut album with producer Will Malone in January 1980. But he recalled that the East London band felt “too much excitement to feel any pressure.”
“We knew that what we had was unique compared to every other band around, and we had spent the previous couple of years playing every shithole in the UK, also some decent venues as well,” said Di’Anno. “The only person who might have had any doubts was me. Though I was a cocky frontman, I was all mouth and no trousers.”
