Derek Riggs is a British artist best known for creating the heavy metal band Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie. He is also well known for working with the heavy metal band Gamma Ray. Heavy metal (also referred to simply as metal) is a form of music characterised by aggressive, driving rhythms and highly amplified distorted guitars. ... Iron Maiden are a British heavy metal band from east London. ... Mascots at the Mascot Olympics in Orlando, FL. A mascot is something, typically an animal or human character used to represent a group with a common identity, such as a school, professional sports team, or corporation. ... Eddie, whose full name is Eddie the Head or Edward the Head (see below), is the British heavy metal band Iron Maidens mascot. ... Gamma Ray is a power metal band from Germany, founded by former Helloween guitarist, singer and songwriter - Kai Hansen. ...

His claim to fame is indeed of Eddie, Iron Maiden's mascot. Quite by accident, the original character "electric Matthew" was a painting Riggs did in symbolization of the rebelious punk movement of the early 1980's in the United Kingdom. Iron Maiden's management came across the painting, and realised they had something. Asking for a redo with some added hair on the figure, they aquired their first cover for the Iron Maiden album, released in 1980. The Mona Lisa is perhaps the best-known artistic painting in the Western world. ... London Punks Punk culture as it is seen today started in the mid 1970s as a movement or rebellion against some styles of music which existed at the time such as Prog Rock and Heavy Metal whose stars were seen as out of touch with their fans. ... An album cover is a printed cardboard cover that was typically used to package 12 gramophone records from the 1960s through to the 1980s when the 12 record was the major format for distribution of popular music. ... Iron Maiden, released on April 14, 1980, was the first full-length album by Iron Maiden, reaching position 4 in the UK album charts. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

See also

• Eddie the Head
• Iron Maiden

Eddie, whose full name is Eddie the Head or Edward the Head (see below), is the British heavy metal band Iron Maidens mascot. ... Iron Maiden is a British heavy metal band from east London. ...

External links

• Official website
• Interview from August 27th, 2000