Editing Iron Maiden (section)

===Success (1981–1985)===
{{main|The Number of the Beast (album)|Piece of Mind|Powerslave|Live After Death}}
[[File:Iron Maiden in San Sebastian.jpg|thumb|Stage set 1982]]

By 1981, [[Paul Di'Anno]] was demonstrating increasingly erratic behaviour, particularly due to his drug usage,{{sfn|EMI|2004}} about which Di'Anno comments, "It wasn't just that I was snorting a bit of coke, though; I was just going for it non-stop, 24 hours a day, every day&nbsp;... the band had commitments piling up that went on for months, years, and I just couldn't see my way to the end of it. I knew I'd never last the whole tour. It was too much".{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=194}} Di'Anno was dismissed following the Killer World Tour{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=219}} with the band already having selected his replacement.{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=218}} After a meeting with Rod Smallwood at the [[Reading and Leeds Festivals|Reading Festival]],{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=217}} [[Bruce Dickinson]], formerly of [[Samson (band)|Samson]], auditioned for Iron Maiden in September 1981 and was immediately hired.{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=218}} The following month, Dickinson went out on the road with the band on a small headlining tour in Italy and a one-off show at the [[Rainbow Theatre]] in the UK.{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=219}} For the last show, and in anticipation of their forthcoming album, the band played "Children of the Damned" and "22 Acacia Avenue", introducing fans to their new material.{{sfn|Dome|2014}}

In 1982, Iron Maiden released their third studio album, ''[[The Number of the Beast (album)|The Number of the Beast]]'', which became the band's first number&nbsp;1 record on the UK Albums Chart,{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=227}} was a Top 10 hit in many other countries, and reached number&nbsp;33 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].{{sfn|Billboard}}{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=228}} At the time, Dickinson was in the midst of legal difficulties with Samson's management and was not permitted to add his name to any of the songwriting credits, although he still made what he described as a "moral contribution" to "Children of the Damned", "The Prisoner", and "[[Run to the Hills]]".{{sfn|Shooman|2007|p=82}} The band embarked on a world tour, dubbed The Beast on the Road, with shows in North America, Japan, Australia and Europe, including a headline appearance for 40,000 people at the [[Reading festival|Reading Festival]]. Iron Maiden played 188 shows in 10 months.{{sfn|DDotB|2021}} The Beast on the Road's US leg proved controversial when an American conservative political lobbying group claimed Iron Maiden were [[Satanism|Satanic]] because of the new album's title track and "demonic" cover art,{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=228}} and a group of Christian [[activism|activists]] destroyed Iron Maiden records in protest.{{sfn|Young(1)}} Dickinson later said the band treated this as "silliness"{{sfn|Eagle Vision|2001}} and the demonstrations in fact gave them "loads of publicity".{{sfn|EMI|2004}} ''The Number of the Beast'' sold 2.5 million copies in its first year, 14 million by 2010, and 20 million by 2022.{{sfn|39Anos|2021}}{{sfn|Pfanner|2010}}{{sfn|NOTB40CS|2022}}{{sfn|TNOTB40|2022}}

[[File:Nicko McBrain 2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Nicko McBrain]] was Iron Maiden's drummer from 1982.]]
In December 1982, drummer [[Clive Burr]] was fired from the band and replaced by [[Nicko McBrain]], who previously played for [[Trust (French band)|Trust]].{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=233}} Although Harris said the dismissal took place because his live performances were affected by offstage activities,{{sfn|Wall|2004|pp=232–233}} Burr later claimed he was unfairly ousted from the band.{{sfn|Marlow|2011}} The band then recorded the first of three consecutive albums at [[Compass Point Studios]] in the Bahamas.{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=246}} In 1983, they released their fourth studio album, ''[[Piece of Mind]]'', which reached the number&nbsp;3 spot in the UK{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=247}} and number&nbsp;14 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].{{sfn|Billboard}} ''Piece of Mind'' features the singles "[[The Trooper]]" and "[[Flight of Icarus]]", the latter being one of the band's few songs to gain substantial airplay in the US.{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=245}} Iron Maiden played 147 concerts in Europe and North America as a part of the World Piece Tour. This was also their first major North American tour as headliners, selling out [[Madison Square Garden]] with a crowd of 20,000.{{sfn|DDotB|2021}}{{sfn|WPT|2021}}

After the success of ''Piece of Mind'' and its supporting tour, the band released their fifth studio album, ''[[Powerslave]]'', on 9 September 1984. The album features the singles "[[2 Minutes to Midnight]]" and "[[Aces High (song)|Aces High]]", the title track, and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (based on [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]'s poem ''[[Rime of the Ancient Mariner]]'').{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=253}} ''Powerslave'' was another chart success, reaching number&nbsp;12 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]{{sfn|Billboard}} and eventually number&nbsp;1 in the UK.{{sfn|Powerslave Charts |2024}}{{sfn|Wall|2004|pp=253–255}}{{sfn|PS1|2024}} The band's fifth studio album sold over 4 million copies in its first year after the premiere.{{Sfn|40PS|2024}} The tour following the album, called [[World Slavery Tour]], was the band's largest to date with 193 shows in 28 countries over 13 months,{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=253}} playing to an estimated 3,500,000 people.{{sfn|LouderSound|2021}}{{sfn|Stenning 1|2006|p=102}} Many shows were played back to back in the same city, such as in Long Beach, California, where the band played four consecutive concerts at [[Long Beach Arena]] for a combined audience of 54,000 fans.{{sfn|Golden Era|2021}} Iron Maiden also made their debut appearance in South America, where they co-headlined the [[Rock in Rio]] festival with [[Queen (band)|Queen]] for an audience estimated at 350,000–500,000 people.{{sfn|RiRAt|2022}}{{sfn|EMI|2008}} The tour started in August 1984 with five shows in Poland. Iron Maiden were the first Western artists to bring full-scale production behind the [[Iron Curtain]]. The band's third official video, entitled ''[[Behind the Iron Curtain (video)|Behind the Iron Curtain]]'', was released in October 1984. The World Slavery Tour documentary brought footage of the band touring Eastern Europe in 1984, performing shows in the countries visited, ''Behind the Iron Curtain'' was the first documentary ever published by a Western artist that showed them touring the countries of [[Eastern Bloc]]. The documentary movie was broadcast by [[MTV]] and local TV stations around the world.{{Sfn|1984T|2023}}

The tour was physically gruelling for the band, who demanded six months off when it ended (although this was later reduced to four months).{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=258}} This was the first substantial touring break in the group's history, including the cancellation of a proposed supporting tour for the new live album,{{sfn|Stenning 2|2006|p=104}} with Bruce Dickinson threatening to quit unless the tour ended.{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=255}} In October 1985, Iron Maiden released the double live album and home video, ''[[Live After Death]]''. A critical and commercial success, it peaked at number&nbsp;19 on the ''[[Billboard 200]]''{{sfn|Billboard}} and number&nbsp;2 in the UK.{{sfn|Wall|2004|p=257}} The album was recorded at [[Long Beach Arena]] and also features additional tracks from four nights at London's [[Hammersmith Apollo]].{{sfn|LAD|2021|p=193}}{{sfn|Live Coll|2021}} In November 1985, Iron Maiden were named the best rock and metal band in the world and awarded at Public Choice International.{{sfn|IPCH1985|2021}}