Did Eddie potentially ruin Maiden for people?

chaosapiant

chaosapiant

Ancient Marinade
I'm just curious if there is anyone out there who avoided listening to Maiden at one time or another because they didnt' like the cover art.  Either they thought it was scary or too cheesy.  My wife, who is a recent maidenite converted by yours truly, told me that growing up she avoided them because of their "scary" album covers.  Ironic, considering she grew up on Slayer, Motley Crue, and Metallica.  Now that she listens to Maiden, she is constantly kicking herself for not getting into them sooner.
 
Haha, I think that I was one of those people that thought the mascot looked a little to wtf/cheesy for me.  Then I heard some of their songs on the radio and thought to myself "Holy crap!  I NEED TO LISTEN TO THESE GUYS."  Nowadays, I love Eddie, the artwork hes been in, and all the various interpretations of him.  He is indeed, the coolest band mascot out there!
 
Honestly, my affinity for the artwork was the reason why I checked them out in the first place.  I've never found Eddie cheesy or lame.
 
As Donner said, Eddie may be the thing that first got my attention before I even heard a single Maiden song.

Btw, wife growing up on Slayer and finding Maiden's album covers scary? :D
 
Ranko said:
As Donner said, Eddie may be the thing that first got my attention before I even heard a single Maiden song.

Btw, wife growing up on Slayer and finding Maiden's album covers scary? :D
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Yea, I quoted that same irony to her.  Poor woman!  I can't imagine missing out on Maiden all those years.
 
CHEESY this CHEESY that, It's making me hungry!!  Back to topic, My first Maiden introduction was the Killers cover on a denim Jacket back in like 1982, being a black sheep 8 year old punk, I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen, and had to hear the music.  Overall Eddie has brought in more fans than he's kept away....
 
Eddie was one of the things that induced me to buy my first Maiden album. But from the moment the needle first hit vinyl, I realized they're completely separate. Only the music is important; Eddie and the artwork is interesting but irrelevant.

For instance, I don't like the new Eddie. But that has no impact on my anticipation for TFF.
 
Excellent point about the separation of the Music and Edward.  I know people who are turned off by our friend Ed, and may have missed out on some of the finest music of all time because of it.  And yes the new Eddie is far less appealing to my taste than past renderings.  Will this keep the volume down on FF?  Uh..No.
 
Excellent question.

I think Eddie was a brilliant marketing idea -- the powerslave album cover caught my eye as a young lad in '84 and I've never looked back. 

Conversely, I think it may occassionally get under their skin.  One of the reasons why Bruce initially left the band was because he outgrew the 'comic book' metal image/ lyrics and wanted to do something a bit more 'grownup' (check out the Wall book).  As cool as Eddie is, there have to be times when the band are thinking "I'm 50+ years old and am standing next to a puppet on stage...WTF?" 
 
Jed said:
As cool as Eddie is, there have to be times when the band are thinking "I'm 50+ years old and am standing next to a puppet on stage...WTF?" 
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I think that would only happen if they were already unhappy with being in the band for some other reason. My experience of playing live is that if the crowd is into it (and Maiden's crowd always is), then you always get caught up in the moment, and it'll be fun.

Unless, of course, they're having that thought in a "cool, why the fuck not?" kind of way.

Offstage, it could be different. But onstage, the moment is all.
 
I do truly believe that Eddie has brought in more fans than it has turned them away, and probably is much more responsible for their popularity than any radio play.  I just feel a little sorry for people, like my wife, who shyed away from the band because of album art.  To me, Maiden is musically and artistically superior to any other band, bar none, and I feel a little bad for those who miss out on that.  And since my first ever Maiden show is coming up in DC on July 20th, I can't wait to finally see Eddie in person!
 
I'm the only Maiden (scrap that, the only metal) fan amongst my closer friends. Because they've seen my iPod album wheel (where all the cover arts are shown) and I've worn Iron Maiden (Killers) shirts around they know who Eddie is (they all laugh at him/me though).

Anyway a few of them have been on holiday and whilst they were there they found a picture of Eddie (The Trooper) on a wall in a bar and they've all had there picture with it and they've all come back yesterday and uploaded the pics and I've ended up being tagged as Eddie in the pic.

So yeah, Eddie rules! Not only because I'm awesome but he's obviously an easily identifiable icon so works from a marketing perspective too.
 
I totally agree with SMX's view of Eddie and the music being two seperate things. That said, Eddie is the shit. I think it gives a focus to the band's cover art like no other band before or since. I look forward to the cover art and incarnation of Eddie almost as much as the songs themselves, plus what are they going to do with him on each tour. I look forward to new albums by other bands, but never their cover art or their actual stage sets. I think it's that dynamic that makes maiden different from any other group out there.
 
I do think that the Eddie artwork has perhaps contributed to the average listener not taking the band seriously.  That said, it is clear that Eddie, while somewhat ridiculous at times, is a stroke of marketing and merchandising genius, and has brought in many, many new fans, even now.  As a friend pointed out to me after attending his first Maiden concert last month, while the music and lyrical themes are heavy, Maiden has a fair amount of whimsy, and in the end, it's all about having fun.  Eddie personifies that.     
 
Eddie never played a role in my liking of the band as I heard all the songs up to BNW before seeing the artwork.  (I bought all the records subsequently). 
 
I know, when I was a kid, those album covers used to scare the hell out of me.

It wasn't until I was 17 that I took the plunge and actually listened to an Iron Maiden album. The album was Brave New World, and I saw it in the library and was curious. 10 years later, and I haven't looked back since.

Eddie is actually pretty cool. I'm into Stephen King and horror movies, so I find him interesting. I know a lot of people won't give Maiden a chance, though, because of the artwork...which is a damn shame.
 
I still daresay that Maiden wouldn't be where they are now, without Eddie!

Come on, Derek Riggs' Eddie artworks are the reason why I collect Maiden vinyls after all.
 
eddie DIDN'T ruin iron maiden  :mad: eddie is awesome at the live shows and the album covers are awesome too  :edmetal:  :shred:
 
Hi chappies! Newbie here :)

I remember when I was about 10 years old seeing the Somewhere in Time album cover in a record shop for the first time, and being pretty scared by the cover (yeah i was a wuss for a 10 yr old lad ;P) - Thing is, with Sir Edward of the 'Ed being such a fascinating character, it stuck in my mind so much so that every time we were in a music shop (which was ofthen with my father in those days) - I would seek out Maiden records to look at them! - It wasn't until I was 12 that I picked up SSOASS - mainly cos of the cover!

I still remember hearing Moonchild in my dad's Reliant Robin (yeah they had radios lol) and thinking 'Holy cr*p this is awesome! and so ,on that day a Maiden fan was born :)

By the way For anyone that doesn't know / isnt form the UK - This is a Reliant Robin: Being dropped of at school was - interesting - to say the least!
http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&safe=off&q=reliant+robin&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=n7RfTNCoA4Lw0wTh2e2-Bw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDUQsAQwAw&biw=1899&bih=913

So I guess in answer to the question, nope, he didnt ruin, rather the opposite, he inspired me to buy (good marketing right there) !!
 
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