Eddie the Mascott

The original Eddie was just this theatrical mask. You can kind of see it in the band photos on the first album and also on the "Running Free" single picture sleeve. It's a face right next to the band logo. It was connected to a pump that would spurt out various kinds of liquids and it would drool all over Doug Sampson or Clive Burr or whoever was at the drums that time. People would also try to sling stuff into it. Its full name was "Eddie The Head" (Edward T.H. on the "Live After Death" cover) and it comes from the following old joke :

Eddie was born with no body and no arms and no legs. Just a head. But despite this slight birth defect his parents loved him very much cared for him and were always giving him all these presents like hats and blow things at parties and other cool stuff. So on his sixteenth birthday they run into a doctor that says "Hey, I can give Eddie a body" so the parents are going totally nuts because finally their kid can have a body and be like other normal people. They go home and are really excited and say "We have got a surprise for you. It's the best present ever !" and Eddie says "Oh, no, not another fucking hat !"

They gave the name "Eddie" to that mask. By the time of them being signed to EMI Records, they got Derek Riggs to do cover artwork. The first was the cover to the "Running Free" single, and you see that zombie in the back missing an arm (which somehow is in front of a guy who looks a lot like Bruce Dickinson running away from that zombie). The band liked the zombie guy so much that the name Eddie was transferred over to the zombie when they lost that mask with the pump.

Derek Riggs trademark symbol is something like the following. It seems to be his initials...a (mirrored) D, and the R on the right-hand side. Or something like that !

                                 /--|--\
                                /   |   \
                                \   |    /
                                 \--|--/  \
                                    |       \
                        .--,        |         \--,
                        |__|        |         |__|
                                   \./

• IRON MAIDEN: check the second brick from the left, six rows down

  
  

• KILLERS: in the window at the bottom on the right

  
  

• THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST: just right of the Devil's ankle

  
  

• PIECE OF MIND: On the back cover, as part of a necklace held within a skeletal hand. (The signature is not on the cd version since part of the picture has been cut off)

  
  

• POWERSLAVE: at the pyramid's entrance, where Eddie's privates would be

  
  

• LIVE AFTER DEATH: Open up the CD case and follow the stone path back through the center of the cemetery. There's a tombstone in the middle back there with his symbol on it. Did you notice that another tombstone behind the cat and the red rose has 'Here Lies Derek Riggs'? This painting also has religious references in it. Just look over all the crosses and tombstones, and of course the shadowy figure in the sky.

  
  

• SOMEWHERE IN TIME: Eddie's breastplate

  
  

• SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON: in the water (plain as day)

  
  

• NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING: out in the grass somewhere OR the "dot" over the 'i' in Dying appears to be the signature

  
  

• FEAR OF THE DARK: (This cover done by Melvyn Grant, see note at end)

  
  

• A REAL DEAD ONE: On the outside corner of Eddie's right eye

  
  

• A REAL LIVE ONE: On the inside of Eddie's right thigh

  
  

• Running Free single: on the cardboard box to the right of the uncovered trashcan

  
  

• Sanctuary single: on the folded over part of the IRON MAIDEN poster.

  
  

• Women in Uniform: on the stone wall just right of the trashcan, beneath Margaret Thatcher's right elbow.

  
  

• Purgatory single: plain as day left of Satan's throat

  
  

• The Trooper single: on the ground beneath Eddie's legs.

  
  

• Aces High: on the front of the plane, just below the cockpit, on the left hand side.

  
  

• The Judge (First Ten Years) - It appears to be sideways on the righthand corner of the book in front of Eddie.

  
  

• The Prophet (inside 7th son): on the right hand corner of the book that Eddie is writing in.

  
  

• Maiden Japan: between Eddie's ankle and the 81

  
  

• Maiden England video: at the corner of the Union Jack flag closest to Eddie

  
  

• A REAL LIVE ONE: On the head of the bass guitar

  
  

• A REAL DEAD ONE: On the wrist of the hand that is pulling down on Eddie's mouth.

Note :

The Fear Of The Dark illustration was not done by Derek Riggs. According to page 15 of the CD booklet: "Illustration : Melvyn Grant". I don't know if Melvyn Grant is a total unknown, or if he has done other work or not...

You can find the letters "MEL" printed a bit to the right of where Eddies foot should be. I suppose that is the way he use when signing his artworks... According to an interview with Bruce Dickinson on MTV shortly after FEAR OF THE DARK was released, they picked three different artists to do a cover for the album, and they would pick the best one out of the three submitted. He went on to state that Derek would still be involved with future artwork and that he wasn't fired or anything).