In celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden are digging through their own archives as well as sharing artifacts submitted by fans, with photos of concert ticket stubs dating back to 1982, signed tour programs and more.
The band's historic third album, and first with singer Bruce Dickinson and last with Clive Burr, was released on March 22, 1982 and featured the enduring hits "Run to the Hills" and the infamous title track with others going on to become fan-favorites that would occasionally get dusted off live — "The Prisoner," "Children of the Damned" — and, lest we forget, that immortal, epic closing track "Hallowed By Thy Name."
Inviting Maiden fans to take part in the jubilation, the band will be sharing submission highlights, backed by the #NOTB40 hashtag.
Let's take a look at what's been shared so far and keep an eye out for more throughout the day by following Iron Maiden on Twitter.
The first photo to be shared from Maiden's own archive was a press folder from the album cycle where an overflowing pile of papers are seen atop a desk. "Just opened an old press folder and got a big waft of the 1980s," the band wrote.
One fan wisely shot back, "Maiden is overdue for a museum exhibit," and we couldn't agree more.
Fans fortunate enough to have seen Iron Maiden live 40 years ago were eager to share some concert memories and they had the ticket stub to prove it. One headbanger from Toronto, Canada uploaded a shot of a stub from a June 23 show, while another caught Maiden just over two weeks before the release of The Number of the Beast.
Perhaps the sweetest of the bunch is a signed program from The Beast on the Road tour from one fan who caught a March 1 gig and got to hear "Hallowed Be Thy Name" three weeks before much of the world did.
Here, an old school fan club member is pictured with the group at an album signing event.
Reliving the earliest thrills of portable audio, here's a video clip set to a handful of The Number of the Beast tracks that relives the liberating feeling of being able to take a new album with you wherever you go.
