There are Iron Maiden fans… and then there are Iron Maiden fans brave enough to sit in the famous Mastermind black chair and have their knowledge tested on national television.
And that is exactly what contestant Fernanda Partridge did when she chose the mighty Iron Maiden as her specialist subject on Mastermind. 🎸🔥
Forget simply knowing the chorus to Run to the Hills or owning three different versions of The Number of the Beast. The questions went digging through decades of Maiden history, obscure B-sides, artwork, television appearances, secret gigs and Steve Harris trivia.
Basically, this wasn’t pub-quiz Maiden.
This was PhD-level Eddie studies. 😂
And Fernanda managed an impressive nine correct answers from 12 questions, with two wrong answers and one pass.
So naturally, here at The Riff Report, there’s only one sensible thing to do…
PUT YOU LOT IN THE BLACK CHAIR.
No Google.
No Wikipedia.
No grabbing your Maiden biography off the shelf.
And absolutely no asking your mate who’s seen them 47 times.
Let’s see what you’ve got, butt. 🤘
🧠 The Iron Maiden Mastermind Challenge
Imagine the lights dropping.
You’re sitting in that intimidating black leather chair.
Clive Myrie looks across at you.
Your specialist subject?
Iron Maiden.
Your time starts… NOW.
QUESTION 1 🤘
Which singer performed lead vocals on Iron Maiden’s 1979 debut EP The Soundhouse Tapes and remained the band’s frontman until he was replaced by Bruce Dickinson in 1981?
Think you’ve got it?
Easy start perhaps…
QUESTION 2 😈
Which politician appeared alongside Eddie on the artwork for the early Iron Maiden singles Sanctuary and Women in Uniform?
Still feeling confident?
Right.
We’re warming up.
QUESTION 3 🔥
During their 1988 touring activities, Iron Maiden performed secret warm-up gigs — including one at Queen Mary College in London.
What false band name did they use?
Ooooooh.
There’s your first proper pub-table destroyer.
QUESTION 4 ⚔️
Iron Maiden scored a UK hit in 1983 with The Trooper.
The song was partly inspired by which famous 19th-century poem?
Anyone wearing a Trooper shirt while reading this has absolutely no excuse. 😂
QUESTION 5 💋
Iron Maiden toured Britain alongside Judas Priest in 1980 before heading into mainland Europe supporting which massive American rock band?
Come on, rock historians…
QUESTION 6 👀
What song, appearing as a B-side on the 12-inch version of Wasted Years, affectionately takes the mick out of legendary Maiden manager Rod Smallwood?
This is where the casual listeners begin quietly leaving the room.
QUESTION 7 📺
In 1982, Iron Maiden appeared on which children’s television programme, where viewers were offered the chance to win a leather jacket worn by Eddie?
Yep.
We’re into vintage telly territory now.
QUESTION 8 🇨🇱
Iron Maiden’s 2012 live album En Vivo! captured a concert performed in which country the previous year?
Festival veterans should have this one.
QUESTION 9 🔮
Steve Harris has said he was inspired to write The Clairvoyant after reading a newspaper story concerning the death of which famous spiritualist and professional medium?
Good grief.
Who writes these questions?!
😂😂😂
QUESTION 10 🎤
Complete the lyric from the 1995 Iron Maiden single Man on the Edge:
“Across the city, he leaves in his wake, a glimpse of the future, a…”
What comes next?
Don’t start humming it.
Actually…
Definitely start humming it.
QUESTION 11 🌳
Which Iron Maiden album features artwork showing Eddie fused with a tree and became the band’s first studio album whose cover wasn’t designed by Derek Riggs?
Artwork nerds — THIS IS YOUR MOMENT.
QUESTION 12 🥁
Which song from Iron Maiden’s 2003 album Dance of Death is unusually co-written by drummer Nicko McBrain and features lyrics reflecting his concerns surrounding human cloning?
And…
TIME’S UP!
🤘🤘🤘
🚨 STOP SCROLLING!
Seriously.
If you’re actually playing along, don’t cheat.
Grab a cuppa.
Grab a pint.
Write down your answers.
Argue with your mate about question six.
Then come back.
Ready?
Here we go…
✅ THE ANSWERS
1. Paul Di’Anno
The unmistakable voice of Maiden’s early era and the man behind the vocals on The Soundhouse Tapes.
2. Margaret Thatcher
The former Prime Minister famously found herself tangled up with Eddie in some wonderfully provocative early Maiden artwork.
3. Charlotte and the Harlots
Be honest.
How many of you got THAT one?
Absolute nightmare question. 😈
4. The Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s famous poem helped inspire The Trooper.
5. KISS
Imagine that bill in 1980.
Young Iron Maiden supporting KISS across Europe.
Take our money immediately. 🤘
6. The Sheriff of Huddersfield
A loving musical roasting of manager Rod Smallwood.
Deep-cut territory.
7. Tiswas
Because apparently there was once a period in British television history where Iron Maiden could turn up on children’s telly and Eddie could effectively become part of the madness.
What a time to be alive.
8. Chile
En Vivo! captured Maiden performing at Estadio Nacional in Santiago during 2011’s The Final Frontier World Tour.
9. Doris Stokes
Fernanda answered Aleister Crowley here, but the answer was famous British medium Doris Stokes.
That’s a seriously difficult bit of Steve Harris trivia.
10. “Carnival state”
Fernanda answered “chemical state”.
Close enough to make you start questioning your own brain under pressure!
11. Fear of the Dark
Released in 1992, Fear of the Dark marked a notable change in Maiden’s visual history, with Melvyn Grant creating the artwork rather than longtime Eddie artist Derek Riggs.
12. New Frontier
Nicko McBrain received a songwriting credit alongside Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith on the Dance of Death track.
And breathe.
🍺
🏆 HOW DID YOU SCORE?
Time for the completely unofficial Riff Report Maiden Mastermind Scale™.
0–3 correct:
🐣 Maiden Rookie
You’ve heard Run to the Hills and bought the T-shirt.
There’s hope yet.
4–6 correct:
🤘 Proper Maiden Fan
You’ve definitely shouted “SCREAM FOR ME!” at inappropriate moments.
7–8 correct:
🔥 Eddie’s Apprentice
We’re impressed.
You know your Maiden history.
9 correct:
🧠 Fernanda Level
You’ve matched the actual Mastermind performance.
Respect.
10–11 correct:
⚔️ Steve Harris Has Entered the Chat
Seriously, what are you reading in your spare time?
12/12:
👑 MAIDEN MASTERMIND
Either you’re an absolute Iron Maiden encyclopaedia…
…or you cheated.
We’re watching you. 👀😂
🤯 Nine Points Under That Pressure Is Seriously Impressive
Fernanda’s nine becomes even more impressive when you look at what she was actually being asked.
This wasn’t simply:
“Who sings for Iron Maiden?”
or:
“What’s their mascot called?”
There were questions about B-sides, literary influences, Rod Smallwood, old television appearances, artwork history and secret gig pseudonyms.
Fernanda eventually finished the episode with 19 points overall, adding ten points in general knowledge. She came agonisingly close to victory, finishing just one point behind Donald Campbell on 20.
But there’s another brilliant bit of Maiden trivia here.
This wasn’t the band’s first encounter with the famous black chair.
🤘 Iron Maiden Have Mastermind History
Other brave souls have previously selected Maiden as their specialist subject.
In 2007, Rachel Hobbs reportedly scored a monster 16 points on Iron Maiden.
Four years later, Tom Scotney scored 12.
Then there are the celebrity attempts.
Singer-songwriter and certified Maiden nut Frank Turner chose Iron Maiden when appearing on Celebrity Mastermind in 2014, scoring seven during his specialist round before smashing the general knowledge section and actually winning the programme with 20 points.
BBC football commentator Guy Mowbray later scored ten on Maiden during a celebrity edition in 2017.
So apparently there’s an unofficial Iron Maiden Mastermind league table.
And we’re completely here for it.
🎸 Iron Maiden: Not Just a Band, Apparently an Academic Subject
The best thing about seeing Iron Maiden appear on something like Mastermind is that it demonstrates just how enormous the band’s history has become.
We’re talking about a group formed by Steve Harris in London in 1975 that has grown into one of the defining institutions of heavy metal.
Albums.
World tours.
Line-up changes.
Eddie artwork.
Aircraft.
Literary references.
Historical battles.
B-sides.
Secret shows.
Massive festival appearances.
And enough trivia to absolutely ruin someone’s evening in the Mastermind chair.
😂
For Maiden fans, though, that’s part of the fun.
You don’t simply listen to Iron Maiden.
Eventually you start learning why songs were written, recognising obscure Eddie artwork, remembering forgotten tour names and somehow developing strong opinions about which live version of Fear of the Dark has the loudest crowd.
That’s when you know they’ve got you.
🧠 So… Can YOU Beat Nine?
That’s the challenge.
Fernanda managed nine correct answers under television lights, against the clock, sitting in Britain’s most intimidating chair.
Doing it from the sofa with a cuppa is one thing.
Doing it while Clive Myrie fires questions at your face is another matter entirely.
So be truthful…
How many did you get?
Drop your score in the comments and let’s discover who among The Riff Report readership deserves to be crowned our resident Maiden Mastermind. 👑🤘
And remember…
NO GOOGLE.
Eddie knows.
😈
UP THE IRONS! 🤘🔥🇬🇧
The Riff Report – Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Zero Apologies.
