Iron Maiden Pay Tribute To Original Drummer Clive Burr, Dead At 56

Sad news for Iron Maiden and fans of the band from the late 70’s and early 80’s, the British metal legends’ former drummer Clive Burr has sadly passed away. He was just 56.

Formerly in the metal band Samson, Burr joined Bruce Dickinson and the rest in 1979 and played on the group’s first three albums, 1980’s Iron Maiden, 1981’s Killers and 1982’s The Number Of The Beast – the band’s first number one album in the UK. However he left the group later in that same year, though remained on good enough terms with the group so that, when he was sadly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, they rallied around and formed the Clive Burr MS Trust Fund to help raise money for his living costs. When things go too bad financially for the drummer they played several benefit concerts in his honour.

The current incarnation of Iron Maiden have paid tribute to Burr

In a statement reported by The Independent, one of Iron Maiden’s founders and still current bassist, Steve Harris, said “This is terribly sad news. Clive was a very old friend of all of us. He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days when we were starting out.” Lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson added that Burr was “a great guy and a man who really lived his life to the full” and commented that "Even during the darkest days of his M.S., Clive never lost his sense of humour or irreverence.”

Iron Maiden's Clive Burr featuring classic Run To The Hills