The death of the Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne this July, and the huge reaction it provoked worldwide, represented something of a landmark to us heavy metal fans. After decades of having been shunned, scorned and ridiculed, this genre had not only become acceptable, but the passing of the frontman of heavy metal’s founding fathers became an occasion for national mourning.

How different it had been in the 1980s. In that decade, heavy metal was deemed a form of music made by morons, for morons. And the undisputed kings of the genre in that decade were Iron Maiden. They were certainly my favourite band at the tail end of that decade – I first saw them live in concert at Wembley Arena in 1990. But I was an outlier. Being a rare metaller aged 15 wasn’t much fun. The cool kids were into The Cure and The Stone Roses.

If I may lapse into therapy-speak (my ostracism only lasted a year), not only have I survived, but so have they. After a slump in fortunes in the 1990s, Iron Maiden experienced a rebirth in the new millennium as the genre they had come to personify shed its stigma. Iron Maiden are still in rude health, and this Christmas marks the fiftieth anniversary of their foundation.

Formed on 25 December 1975 by Steve Harris, who grew up in Leyton, east London, and who had taught himself to play bass guitar, the band came to national attention in 1980 with their self-titled debut album. It was one that came to define their sound – one that........

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