Flag Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast

Name: Flag Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Brand: Iron Maiden
Price: 13.99 EUR
Availability: InStock

SKU:dr1iron1

€13,99

Sale Sold out

Taxes included. Shipping calculated at checkout.

Quantity

Iron Maiden Flag – The Number of the Beast

This Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast flag reproduces the famous artwork created by Derek Riggs in 1982. In a hellish landscape, a gigantic Eddie controls Satan like a puppet, while Satan himself controls a miniature Eddie.

This striking visual loop became one of the most famous images in Iron Maiden's history.

The Number of the Beast: Bruce Dickinson arrives

Released on 22 March 1982, The Number of the Beast is Iron Maiden's third studio album and the first to feature Bruce Dickinson on vocals.

Produced by Martin Birch, it includes Run to the Hills, The Number of the Beast, Children of the Damned and Hallowed Be Thy Name. The album reached number one in the UK and marked a decisive step in the band's international rise.

Eddie pulls the strings

The artwork places Eddie above Satan in a chain of puppet masters: Eddie controls the Devil, who in turn controls a miniature Eddie. The concept deliberately plays with the question of who is really pulling the strings.

The confrontation between Eddie and Satan also forms part of a visual sequence developed by Derek Riggs around this period. On the Run to the Hills single artwork, the two characters fight each other directly. By The Number of the Beast, Eddie has clearly gained the upper hand.

Did you know?

This illustration was not originally created for The Number of the Beast. It was intended as the artwork for the 1981 single Purgatory, but Iron Maiden's management considered the painting too strong to use on a single and decided to save it for something bigger.

By the time Steve Harris wrote The Number of the Beast, the band therefore already had an artwork that perfectly matched the title of their forthcoming album.

Another famous detail concerns its colours. On early pressings, the sky and clouds appeared much bluer than Derek Riggs had intended. Later editions restored the darker background closer to the original artwork.