Album
The Number of the Beast
The Number of the Beast is Iron Maiden's third studio album, released on 22 March 1982. It follows their self-titled debut and Killers, and it marks a turning point: it was the first record to feature vocalist Bruce Dickinson, and the last with drummer Clive Burr.
It brought the band their first UK number one album and a place in the US top 40. "Run to the Hills" became their first top-ten UK single, and the title track sat alongside it as the other single. The religious imagery in the artwork and lyrics stirred controversy, particularly in America. The name stuck, too: "The Beast" became a nickname for the band, turning up in compilation and live album titles such as Best of the Beast and Visions of the Beast.
The Number of the Beast on Riffology
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The Number of the Beast: tracklist, credits and charts
8 tracks · 40:20Tracklist
- 1InvadersSteve Harris3:24
- 2Children of the DamnedSteve Harris4:35
- 3The PrisonerSteve Harris and Adrian Smith6:02
- 422 Acacia AvenueSteve Harris and Adrian Smith6:36
- 5The Number of the BeastSteve Harris4:50
- 6Run to the HillsSteve Harris3:53
- 7GanglandClive Burr and Adrian Smith3:49
- 8Hallowed Be Thy NameSteve Harris7:11
- Produced by
- Martin Birch
- Recorded at
- Battery (London)
- Recorded
- 1981
- Mixed at
- Battery Studios
- Engineered by
- Nigel Hewitt, Martin Birch
- Artwork
- Rod Smallwood, Derek Riggs
- Label
- EMI
- Length
- 40:20
Line-up
- Steve Harris · background vocals, electric bass guitar
- Adrian Smith · background vocals, electric guitar
- Clive Burr · drums (drum set)
- Dave Murray · electric guitar
- Bruce Dickinson · lead vocals
Singles
- “Run to the Hills” · 12 February 1982
- “The Number of the Beast” · 26 April 1982
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1982–1983 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1982–1983 | 33 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2018–2022 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums · 1982–1983 | 3 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1982–1983 | 4 |
| Croatian Albums · 2018–2022 | 5 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1982–1983 | 5 |
| Dutch Albums · 1982–1983 | 6 |
| Swedish Albums · 1982–1983 | 7 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1982–1983 | 8 |
All 25 charts
| Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) · 1982–1983 | 10 |
| Spanish Albums · 2018–2022 | 10 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1982–1983 | 11 |
| German Albums · 1982–1983 | 11 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1982–1983 | 13 |
| Scottish Albums · 2018–2022 | 13 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1982–1983 | 18 |
| Greek Albums · 2018–2022 | 20 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2018–2022 | 21 |
| Swiss Albums · 2018–2022 | 23 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1982–1983 | 28 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2018–2022 | 51 |
| Mexican Albums · 2010 | 95 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2018–2022 | 122 |
| French Albums · 2015 | 172 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1982 | Platinum |
| Austria | Gold |
| Belgium | Gold |
| Canada | 3× Platinum |
| France · 1983 | Gold |
| Germany | Gold |
| Italy · 2019 | Gold |
| Japan · 1982 | Gold |
| Netherlands · 1996 | Gold |
| New Zealand · 1982 | Gold |
| Poland · 2023 | Gold |
| Spain · 1983 | Gold |
| Switzerland | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Platinum |
| United States | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
86.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
10k
ListenBrainz listeners
292k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
68k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 22 March
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More from Iron Maiden
Full discography →
The Soundhouse Tapes
1979
Iron Maiden
1980
Live!! + One
1980
Killers
1981
Maiden Japan
1981
Iron Maiden Lo mejor de Iron Maiden 1983
Lo mejor de Iron Maiden
1983
Iron Maiden No me puedes dejar así / Decídete 1983
No me puedes dejar así / Decídete
1983
Piece of Mind
1983
Powerslave
1984
Iron Maiden Christmas EP 1984
Christmas EP
1984
Live After Death
1985
Iron Maiden Audio Pieces 1986
Audio Pieces
1986
Somewhere in Time
1986
Iron Maiden Maiden Mania 80–87 1987
Maiden Mania 80–87
1987
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
1988
Maiden England
1989
The First Ten Years
1990
No Prayer for the Dying
1990
Fear of the Dark
1992
A Real Live One
1993
A Real Dead One
1993
Live at Donington: August 22nd 1992
1993
The X Factor
1995
Best of the Beast
1996
Iron Maiden An Introduction to… Virtual XI 1998
An Introduction to… Virtual XI
1998
Virtual XI
1998
A Real Live Dead One
1998
Ed Hunter
1999
Brave New World
2000
Rock in Rio
2002
Iron Maiden Eddie's Archive 2002
Eddie's Archive
2002
Edward the Great
2002
BBC Archives
2002
Beast Over Hammersmith
2002
Dance of Death
2003
No More Lies: Dance of Death Souvenir EP
2004
The Essential Iron Maiden
2005
Death on the Road
2005
A Matter of Life and Death
2006
Somewhere Back in Time
2008
Somewhere Back in Time: The Best of 1980–1989
2008
Iron Maiden Flight 666 2009
Flight 666
2009
The Final Frontier
2010
From Fear to Eternity: The Best of 1990–2010
2011
En Vivo!
2012
Maiden England ’88
2013
The Book of Souls
2015
The Book of Souls: Live Chapter
2017
Nights of the Dead, Legacy of the Beast: Live in Mexico City
2020
Senjutsu
2021
The best of 1982
All of 1982 →
More on EMI
The label →
A Night at the Opera
Queen · 1975
Piece of Mind
Iron Maiden · 1983
Powerslave
Iron Maiden · 1984
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden · 1992
Hot Space
Queen · 1982
Somewhere in Time
Iron Maiden · 1986
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Iron Maiden · 1988
The Works
Queen · 1984
A Kind of Magic
Queen · 1986
13
Black Sabbath · 2013
Queen II
Queen · 1974
Dance of Death
Iron Maiden · 2003
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1982-03-29 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 29 March 1982 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 22 March 1982 | |
| Wikidata | 22 March 1982 | |
| US release | 1982 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 29 March 1982 | earliest UK or European date |
50 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ZA | EMI United Kingdom | 6002140677924 | other |
| — | NL | EMI | 077774636421 | other |
| — | NL | EMI | 077774636421 | other |
| — | US | Sanctuary Records | 4050538426960 | other |
| — | US | Capitol Records | 0208314105271 | other |
| — | AT | EMI | 077774636421 | other |
| 1982 | — | EMI | other | |
| 1982 | FR | Pathé Marconi EMI | other | |
| 1982 | PT | EMI | other | |
| 1982 | DE | EMI Electrola GmbH | other | |
| 1982 | GR | EMI | other | |
| 1982 | NL | EMI | other | |
| 1982 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 1982 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 1982 | XE | EMI | other | |
| 1982 | US | Harvest | other | |
| 29 March 1982 | NZ | EMI Music New Zealand | original | |
| 29 March 1982 | GB | EMI | original | |
| 29 March 1982 | NZ | EMI Music New Zealand | original | |
| 1985 | DE | EMI Electrola GmbH | other | |
| 1 March 1986 | JP | EMI | other | |
| 1987 | AU | EMI | 077774636421 | other |
| 1987 | US | Capitol Records | 077774636421 | other |
| 1987 | NL | EMI | 077774636421 | other |
| 1987 | CA | Capitol Records | 07777463642 | other |
| 2 February 1987 | GB | EMI | 077774636421 | other |
| 1988 | XE | EMI | 5099910760819 | other |
| 1990 | CA | Columbia House | 777497880674 | other |
| 1993 | RU | Gala Records | other | |
| 1994 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 077774636421 | other |
| July 1994 | GB | EMI | 077774636421 | other |
| 1995 | GB | EMI United Kingdom | 724383587025 | other |
| 9 October 1995 | US | Castle Records | 600234010426 | other |
| 29 November 1995 | JP | COOLPRICE | 4988006707450 | other |
| 1997 | GB | EMI | 724385566912 | other |
| 1998 | XE | Parlophone | 724349691803 | other |
| 1998 | AR | Parlophone | 724349691803 | other |
| 14 September 1998 | GB | EMI | 724349691803 | other |
| 15 September 1998 | CA | EMI Music Canada | 724349691803 | other |
| 22 September 1998 | GB | Raw Power | 602923012926 | other |
| 29 September 1998 | US | BMG Direct Marketing, Inc. | 602923012926 | other |
| 2002 | US | Columbia | 696998604629 | other |
| 26 March 2002 | US | Sanctuary Records | 696998621022 | other |
| 13 October 2014 | XE | Parlophone | 825646252404 | other |
| 2015 | US | Sanctuary Records | 881034134448 | other |
| 6 April 2015 | — | Parlophone | 190295524241 | remaster |
| 6 April 2015 | US | Sanctuary Records | 4050538463965 | remaster |
| 25 May 2015 | — | Parlophone | 825646129232 | other |
| 16 November 2018 | US | BMG | 4050538426960 | other |
| 16 November 2018 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295567743 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| coverartarchive | 1400×1400 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |