EXCLUSIVE Derek Riggs Interview-Eddie Origins, Maiden Japan DI'ANNO Severed Head, Album Covers-Pt 1

[@UFO1601]

Big mistake by Maiden getting ride of Derek, the cover artwork has never been the same since.

[@JulianEmdon]

He might be the number 1 reason for Maiden's success. How many people were drawn in by the artwork before they heard the music?

[@MrRelaxedanderson]

That Derek Riggs giggle takes me right back to watching the 12 Wasted Years video in the 80s.

[@guinholaiho]

I thought the same, that came right in my mind when watching this, golden years

[@MrRelaxedanderson]

@@guinholaiho Don't waste your time always searching for them...

[@wnerko7484]

It sure does

[@billbog25]

Couldn't wait to see the new album each year. The music was amazing. The artwork incredible. They put so much effort into everything. NO music today even comes close. Thank you Derek and Maiden!

[@wnerko7484]

Agreed!!! After 7th son i was so excited to see WHAT NEXT!!! and they crapped out No Prayer for the dying....😔..i was like.uhhhh i guess i like it?? I like it,but its not epic like the previous stuff.then they totally got rid of him by fear of the dark.😢

[@YourArtistRob]

Derek Riggs , You are one of my original inspirations for pursuing art throughout my life. It's really good to get your personal perspective on the realities of your experience with this medium . After watching this interview I am shocked to realize that you have not been compensated nearly enough for your contribution to the iron maiden legacy. As good as their music was and is, Your album cover designs were a CRUCIAL part to their success! Every single iron maiden fan that I have ever known has always held to this shared understanding. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT YOU DESERVE FINANCIAL ROYALTIES for your INTEGRAL CONTRIBUTIONS to their brand. Not to mention what your artistic contribution has done for the heavy metal rock industry as a whole! I THANK YOU PERSONALLY FOR YOUR SHARED INSPIRATIONAL ARTISTIC TALENT! I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL!

[@aovermont]

Thank you Derek Riggs. You made a massive impact on art, music, and culture.

[@Forgottenchannels]

Derek, you downplay your early art to the point that I want to cry. Those street lamps alone made a HUGE influence on my childhood and life overall. I obsessed over your art. You'll never know I guess. Bloke outside of Chicago here. Born and bred.

[@steve-vx3lx]

he certainly understood the physics of light for sure

[@cbr9914]

i can take or leave eddie.....it's his backgrounds and skies that blew my mind as a kid (and still do). the art for the first 2 maiden records and associated singles absolutely captivated me-the way he managed to perfectly capture that seedy, inner city vibe.

[@thebluep0tat0]

Agreed!!

[@bjrnsjohnsen1278]

Good point!

[@doricdave]

Eh? 😂 Eddie is great!!

[@steve-vx3lx]

yeah agree on that but gotta agree the cyborg detail was decent

[@szithaanu9934]

Yeah same here. There was something so ominous about his skies and the way he used the light. Even if you took the Eddie out, and had nothing happening in the image, you'd still get the feeling that something bad was going down somewhere.

[@11Chaos76]

15:21 And from his imagination, he just comes up with something like the cover for 'Somewhere In Time' or 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son' or just any other album sleeve he has done. Simply amazing. Thank you Derek for helping complete the image of Iron Maiden to perfection.

[@domenicbell2834]

Good interview Kenny . For those few vital years , for us Maiden fans , Derek was kind of the 6th member of the band i reckon. Sensationally talented and totally integral to Maidens succsess visualy and merchandise wise. To this day, on bedroom walls, music rooms , rehersal studios , and human bodys (either clothing or tattoos) , Maiden fans around the world still proudly display his attention to detail and craftsmanship with those Maiden covers, ...and the bands art department has struggled to come up with anything any where near his stunning work since he wielded the pen and brush for them. Onya Riggsy.

[@steve-vx3lx]

yeah i reckon anything maiden is the hardest stuff to tattoo accurately...i rarely see anything half decent

[@epasternak4206]

I would love to see the original art for fear of the dark man., i hated that album cover when it came out, i said thats not eddie, Derek is is a gigantic part of Maiden obviously. I really enjoyt this so thanks a bunch

[@jloud3992]

It was an absolute pleasure getting to be a part of this interview. Sitting there doing the video, I had to try and keep steady as Derek had me laughing here & there, he's a great guy & funny as hell!!! Derek & his wife are just great people!

[@edwardgreat]

So so so Amazing drawings, Mr. Riggs ! Thank You so much for all of your Eddie artworks Live After Death is my No. 1 favorite

[@jamesbailey2377]

Let me tell you, you will never know how much this interview with the GREAT Derek Riggs means to me. I started with Maiden in 1985 and it was Derek Riggs’ artwork that brought me to Maiden first. Not the music. He sold as many Maiden albums in the 80s as the band’s music did-if not more. I still love them, but it sorely grieves me how little respect and money Derek received for what he did for Iron Maiden. He did A LOT for their legacy and success. I’m not sure Derek Riggs would simply take it, but Steve Harris should write him out a very lovely letter of thanks and attach a 5 million dollar check to it.

[@rockguitar2012]

Amazing interview! Thank you, as an art fan and a Maiden fan this is so exciting to see and to find out more of the stories behind the artwork

[@drunk247]

I love the Powerslave cover. That pyramid/temple/tomb is fucking massive!!!!

[@johnnymoraes23]

The greatest art Derek ever made, to me, it's Somewhere in Time. Perfect album and artwork.

[@steve-vx3lx]

yep agreed...then powerslave

[@steve-vx3lx]

actually i forgot...live after death gatefold

[@metalinsights9664]

We each have our favorites, but they are all really amazing.

[@TheMistriBox]

Great interview. The Sabbath cover for Mob Rules was painted by Greg Hildebrandt who sadly passed away this week. It was not originally painted for Sabbath and was changed much like Electric Matthew to suit the bands album aesthetic. The nude lady painting Derek mentioned is likely to be a famous work by Edouart Manet called the Luncheon. I think Derek was at Wessex on 24th or 25th Nov 1979 allowing time to make the changes to the art and the band to get it photographed and into the factory in time to print the sleeves before the album was released in April 1980. Hope that helps the comment section out. ;)

[@shanescott5148]

I was 8 in 81,I seen Eddie on the album cover in the store,im still a Maiden and Eddie fan, thanks Dereck

[@aloscalzo2112]

Hard to believe all these incredible works of art were done so quickly and off the cuff. Insane!

[@MrBillRizer]

Yeah and the band and management treated him pretty badly unfortunately, low pay and gave him very little time to finish, and I'm a huge Maiden fan (I've met them all except Dave). Absolutely love his art, we used to draw his signature in our school books 😂

[@TubeYouGuy]

Yes. I always had his signature on my folders and papers!​@@MrBillRizer

[@saschaeggert2148]

My son is 3 and half years of age, and he loves the Killers cover. He is also a lil bit cautious, not in a frightened way, more curious. He always says: Eddie ist ein cooler Hund, meaning: Eddie is a cool bloke!

[@hallowed45]

Ive met him and two signings and hes always so nice to the fans

[@ResidentBeagle]

Brilliant interview! Thanks so much 👍

[@interplanetarymusic7929]

Great interview, one of my favourite ailbum covers that Derick painted is Budgie - Nightflight, for me it's an early mixture of Powerslave and Somewhere In Time - but with a alien spacesuit wearing budgie with a spaceship a top of a pyramid like structure, check it out!!

[@TubeYouGuy]

Great album cover

[@thomasclarke2880]

Martin Birch is the reason Derek thinks Sabbath sounded like Maiden on Mob Rules. By the same respect Iron Maiden took Wishbone Ash's sound.

[@4stringz.]

Derek Riggs is my favorite artist of all time. His non Maiden works are absolutely stunning. Grab his book if you can. I could listen to him talk art all day

[@guitarstorms]

so genuine Derek is

[@SeaOfMadness]

None of the album artwork after Derek is anywhere near as good. Some were OK and some were downright dreadful but I'll always miss his Maiden covers - His style was just so incredible. Powerslave and SiT still blow me away to this day. Hoped he might end up doing some more but looks like there's maybe too much friction there. With the 50th anniversary they need to bury the hatchet (probably in Eddie's head) and just have him paint something.

[@NeilHawkins-f1l]

I’ve met Derek and he’s an eccentric chap, but has a genuine heart of gold.

[@paulkaiser8834]

The artwork sold records, created the brand, started a trend. Still have Riggs work in my house framed proudly. Would love to buy an original piece.

[@PapaKilo1975]

I saw the art before i heard the music, as i dare say a lot of us did back then. It's lovely to hear from Derek and nothing short of criminal how little he was remunerated. Powerslave was always my favourite cover because i had an interest in ancient Egypt. The only other artwork that has had remotely the same effect on me were the Zzap 64 magazine covers from the same era by Oliver Frey. These two artists single handely instilled in me a passion for drawing as a kid and yet both are virtually unknown outside their sphere of (niche) interest.

[@IanPotts-lv6os]

Amazing artist still have loads of posters etc and of course the album covers excellent stuff up the IRONS

[@motleyfan7558]

Excellent interview.

[@deussoundgarden]

Would like to see the rejected Fear Of The Dark artwork…

[@RottingChristTributeOriginal]

The interesting part is that Mob Rules album that Riggs didn't like because he says they copy Maiden...is that in fact that album was released before Iron Maiden get their musical style that resembles so much with the Mob Rules album that we can listen in later albums such as Numbers of the Beast, Powerslave...

[@dano-jafo]

Amazing artist. Lucky that he wound up with the right concept at the right time when presenting to SH. He has excellent attention to detail. Just look at the Poweslave or Cannot Play with Madness covers.

[@ldogin]

Cannot play with madness?

[@colbillington]

​@@ldogin *can't

[@lanmetal]

​@@colbillington *Can I

[@somarriba333]

As I watch this video, the You Tube recommendations on the side of the page has a thumbnail of the "28 Years Later" image of the Cillian Murphy zombie looking just like the zombie Eddie.

[@FranzAudio]

what a legend

[@steve-vx3lx]

man the twilight zone commentary was like the spinal tap square bread scene 😂

[@wnerko7484]

Totally nailed them.normal trying to be odd.im with Derrick..odd trying to be normal

[@mudcat422]

🤘🤘 How could you not like Dio era Sabbath

[@cbr9914]

i'm with derek on this one

[@PierLessThanZero]

Me too Sabbath with Dio Sounded to much like rainbow. A few good tracks. Cheers!

[@RottingChristTributeOriginal]

The interesting part is that Mob Rules album that Riggs didn't like because he says they copy Maiden...is that in fact that album was released before Iron Maiden get their musical style that resembles so much with the Mob Rules album that we can listen in later albums such as Numbers of the Beast, Powerslave...

[@studiokosmische]

for me it's because Ozzy is cool and Dio was a wally. All that fantasy claptrap and falsetto. Derek makes a smashing point.

[@jonholmes1845]

Wonderful video .

[@comicbookgeezers]

So pissed I didn't hear about this in time...I go to Hudson Ale Works all the time, great place.

[@mikaellofgren7]

Derek is a wonderful guy!

[@JamesEvans-uh7nu]

It’s the album art that’s helped maiden sell millions of

[@brettstafford3877]

'The Golden Goose is on the loose, and never out of season'. Maiden's goose that laid them golden eggs was shabbily treated and let go. He's right. Maiden now are merchandise sellers occasionally putting out music, not musicians putting out merchandise.

[@metalinsights9664]

What materials/techniques were used to paint the cover of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son?

[@AnthonyAnthony-tk4ye]

Lol I think it was Denny Wilcock who “stole” the font and created the Maiden logo

[@steve-vx3lx]

my notb album cover has so many tracing indents on it

[@CROSSofIRON-uk]

Haha bless him he's such a prat but in a nice way. I think Maiden should give him a £1 million as a thank you...seriously.

[@EgonEhomLundberg]

Derek 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@steve-vx3lx]

fucking hell the MWFTE font ! wonder who designed it originally...i thought steve did from stuff ive read before!

[@studiokosmische]

This interview has strong Marty DiBergi vibes :-)

[@ollekebolleke8671]

The music was the album cover, the album cover was the music, spend many hours lost myself in the music looking at the cover especially Piece of Mind and Powerslave discovering all those little hidden things and everytime find something new amazing belongs in a museum. After Somewhere in Time i stopped.The cover art was just as important as the music, do the math. Second most important art i have seen on albums was with Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion.

[@MIGELGLORIA]

0:29 PLEASE WHAT FOR A BAND AND SONG IS THIS???

[@TheMetalVoice]

The Metal Voice House band Song 'The Metal Voice '

[@michaelbjorvand]

Jack in the box alarm clock, Eddie.. the one request.

[@steve-vx3lx]

james hetfield purchased iron maiden purely because of the cover

[@chris101gray3]

OMG! As soon as he dissed Sabbath's greatest album Mob Rules and Ronnie James Dio, I didn't want to see any more. Had mad respect for this guy and his art since the first Maiden Album. I still love the art, but the artist...Smh. This wasn't an interview, it was a rant. Bitter man.

[@steve-vx3lx]

iron maiden as artists never pandered to peer pressure in the early days and derek didnt yet it seems they wanted him too

[@benjamincastillo8450]

Definitely mixed feelings about this interview.. I guess this is "the british way" to tell his story with Maiden

[@shad7832]

This guy reminds me of Slipknot song People=shit

[@azwris]

12:00 They're so conservative...they can't change their underwear!

[@ClaudeMarten-rm7hh]

GREAT DEREK OF FIGURATIVE ARTS AT LEVEL OF SACRE MONSTERS LIKE JACK KIRBY AND JIM STERANKO OF MARVEL COMICS 70...80 HI DEREK FROM MILANO