Iron Maiden Steve on the garage bill of the beast

Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris has recalled how their producer was so affected by strange goings-on during sessions for The Number Of The Beast that he refused to pay a garage bill which totalled £666.

He says producer Martin Birch was so spooked when a car repair bill came to £666 that he insisted on paying an extra pound.

It was just one of a series of eerie coincidences which followed the band during the recording of their iconic album, with Clive Burr and Bruce Dickinson also weighing in with their own memories from the time in the latest issue of Metal Hammer magazine.

Harris says: “One weird thing that happened was that Martin went to get his car repaired after it had been in an accident, and the bill came to £666. He was so freaked out that he insisted the garage charged him £667. It must have been the first time that garage had ever come across someone who demanded to pay more.”

Meanwhile, Iron Maiden have announced an additional date in Los Angeles after their original show at the LA Forum sold out. They’ve added a second date at the venue for April 16, 2016.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on October 17 (Saturday). The new show joins an ever-growing list of global tour stops for the metal giants in support of latest album The Book Of Souls.

They’ll travel onboard a new-and-improved Ed Force One to be piloted by frontman Bruce Dickinson.