Derek Riggs
February 13th, 2011Happy birthday, Derek Riggs!
You illustrated the covers for almost every Iron Maiden album, including the singles and EPs, except for the covers that bore photos, instead. Your lithe, sneaker-clad ghoul, Eddie the Head, is as recognizable a mascot to Metal as Ronald McDonald is to hamburgers. Since his Maiden heyday, however, Riggs has expanded to many other genres, while cooling his involvement with the band that made him/ that he made famous.
“I haven’t abandoned Metal. I am still out here, any band can contact me from this website. I will work for anyone who will pay me a decent amount of money for doing it. The thing is that nobody asks.
And the ones that do ask don’t want to pay me any money for doing it. They think I exist for the sole reason of giving out free paintings to make them rich and famous. I am one of the best in the world, back in the 1980′s my covers have sold more merchandise than Mickey Mouse. And nobody asks.”
Here is a bit of video of Riggs from the Iron Maiden documentary, 12 Wasted Years. Fast forward to 3:00: