“Fifty years is a long time, it’s an achievement. And long may it continue!” A note from Steve Harris on Iron Maiden’s 50th birthday

Merry Christmas! Although there's an even bigger thing to celebrate this year than the 2,025th birthday of young Jesus Christ. It's half a century to the day that a 19-year-old Steve Harris put together the first line-up of Iron Maiden.

Having already played in London bands Gypsy's Kiss and Smiler, on Christmas Day 1975, Steve recruited guitarists Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance, drummer Ron ‘Rebel’ Matthews, and singer Paul Day. This, of course, is very different than the version of Maiden that would make their self-titled debut five years later, but it was nevertheless the beginning of the story that would change heavy music forever.

"It’s pretty incredible when you think about it, but we don’t think about it too much," Steve tells Kerrang!. "The band don’t really say, ‘Wow, this is 50 years!’ It’s brought to us by other people like management or whoever is making a bigger fuss about it. We just do what we do. But it is a long, long time. It’s an achievement. We won’t harp on about it ourselves, but we’re aware of that. And long may it continue.

"Is there anything left that I’d like to accomplish? Not really, though there are a couple of countries here and there we’d still like to get to. Like, we were once supposed to play Bangkok, but three weeks before there was a military coup and we had to cancel. Maybe one day we’ll drag the Iron Maiden plane out again to go and do them, because that makes those shows a lot easier!"

Musing on the prospect of hanging up his bass, Steve continued, “I’m not thinking about retirement, but we all know that it’s coming at some point when you’ll be forced into it by one thing or another. I still stay fit, playing football and tennis and things, but you never know what’s coming round the corner. That’s why you’ve got to make the most of this while you can, going out enjoy every gig for the sake of it. I’ve been saying that for the last 10 years, but it’s truer now than ever.”

That's not for a bit yet, as Maiden are returning to Knebworth on July 11, 2026.

Anyway, here's to you, Iron Maiden! Happy birthday.

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