Eddie the Head

Eddie the Head
The Somewhere Back in Time World Tour "Walk-on" Eddie in Paris, France
First appearance	8 February 1980
Created by	Derek Riggs

Eddie, also known as Eddie the Head, is the mascot for the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He is a perennial fixture of the group's artwork, appearing in all of their album covers (as well as most of their singles) and in their merchandise, which includes T-shirts, posters and action figures. On top of this, Eddie features in all of the band's concerts, as well as in the first-person shooter video game, Ed Hunter, and the role-playing game, Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast.

Originally a papier-mâché mask used in Iron Maiden's stage backdrop, the band transferred the name "Eddie" from the mask to an illustration by Derek Riggs, which was used as the band's debut album cover. Although he is occasionally described as "zombie-like" in the press, Eddie assumes a different guise relating to the themes of individual albums and their corresponding world tours, and has appeared as a cyborg, an Egyptian mummy and a lobotomised mental patient amongst others.

The very first version of Eddie was a mask made by an art student who was friends with Dave "Lights" Beasley, then in charge of lighting, pyrotechnics and other effects for Iron Maiden's live show. According to Beasley, the original mask was a papier-mâché mould of his own face, which was then used in the band's backdrop, consisting of lights and the band's logo. At the end of their live set, during the "Iron Maiden" song, a fish tank pump was used to squirt fake blood out of the mask's mouth, which typically covered their then-drummer Doug Sampson. After this initial incarnation, Beasley constructed a larger mask out of fibreglass, equipped with flashing eyes and the ability to release red smoke from its mouth.

The band's bassist and founding member Steve Harris states that the name "Eddie" comes from the fact that said mask was referred to as "The Head", which sounded like "Ead" in the band members' London accent. According to guitarist Dave Murray the name was also inspired by an old joke: