Iron Maiden founder and bassist Steve Harris has opened up about the massive undertaking of curating the band’s new visual history book, revealing that his role as the group’s archivist was born out of necessity—and sobriety.
In a new interview with Neil Jones of TotalRock, Harris discussed the creation of “Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams – The Official Visual History,” a comprehensive tome released on October 7 via Thames & Hudson. While Harris is known for his forward-thinking mindset, this project required a deep dive into five decades of the band’s past.
According to Harris, the responsibility fell on his shoulders largely because he was the only member who retained both the physical items and the memories to contextualize them.
“Well, it wasn’t weird, but it was difficult because I was the only one who could really do it because I was the one that had all the archive stuff and could comment about it and stuff like that, really,” Harris explained (via Blabbermouth). “I suppose David [Murray] could comment on a few things, but I suppose back in the day I was the only sensible one at the time, because I had to be, ’cause I pulled the bull by the horns and did a lot of the driving, so I didn’t get sort of too drunk back in them days. And some people working [with us back in] them days can’t remember a lot because they were sort of inebriated a lot of the time — people like Dave Murray or [our old] drum road or whatever.”
Harris noted that he received significant assistance from Ben Smallwood—son of longtime manager Rod Smallwood—in organizing the vast collection, but the bulk of the preservation was his burden to bear.
“So, yeah, it was down to me to sort of pull it all together, I suppose… It’s nice to get it out there, really. It’s almost a relief in a way to get it out there because it’s stuff that’s been lying around for a long time. It needed to be sorted out and then put into some sort of perspective and some sort of formulated form so that people can just hopefully enjoy it.”
When asked if his preservation of band history was intentional, Harris admitted to having a “hoarder” instinct, though he expressed regret that he didn’t document the day-to-day details even more rigorously during the band’s formative years.
“Well, I’ve always been sort of a bit of a hoarder, I suppose, with stuff like that, but it’s come in handy in later life, I think. There’s so much stuff that I’ve kept,” he said. “And in fact I suppose these days I wish I’d kept more, even more stuff. I wish I’d kept a diary for longer as well, because I only kept a diary in the first place just because to log, really, how much we were getting paid or how much we weren’t getting paid in [some] cases. And then I used to make a few notes on what the gig was like and stuff like that. But I wish I’d carried it on, really.”
Infinite Dreams covers the band’s journey chronologically, from their 1975 pub origins to the current “Run For Your Lives” world tour. The book features never-before-seen photographs, handwritten lyrics, stage props, and a detailed look at the evolution of their mascot, Eddie, with input from creator Derek Riggs.
