Iron Maiden are a heavy metal group formed in Leyton, London, during 1975, by bassist and main songwriter Steve Harris. The band have released 40 L.Ps, including 16 studio albums, 13 live L.Ps, 4 EPs, and 7 compilations. Pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal, Iron Maiden broke through in the early '80s. After several changes in membership, the group went on to issue a series of albums in the UK & US which went platinum and gold, including The Number of the Beast (1982), Piece of Mind (1983), Powerslave (1984), Live After Death (1985), Somewhere in Time (1986) then Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988). Since the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith during 1999, the band's popularity has risen again, with a series of new L.Ps and tours. Their studio album, The Final Frontier (2010), topped the charts in 28 countries, receiving widespread critical acclaim. Their 16th studio L.P., The Book of Souls, was released on 4th September 2015, hitting # 1 in 24 countries. Iron Maiden are regarded as one of the most influential and successful heavy metal groups in history, having shifted over 100 million copies of their albums worldwide by 2017, despite little support from radio or TV. The band won the Ivor Novello Award for international achievement in 2002, having played over 2000 live shows throughout their career by October 2013. The group have been supported by their famous mascot, "Eddie" for 40 years, which has appeared on almost all of their record covers, as well as at their live shows.