Today we learned that life is too short, even for rock stars. Iron Maiden‘s finest drummer Clive Burr passed away yesterday on March 12th. Here is how we remember him.

When you as a kid become a fan of a band or an artist, you grant them with some sort of super powers, a sense of immortality if you like. You believe they will stay like they appear in the photos and the record sleeves forever.

Unfortunately you grow older and wiser and realize that they are only human just like you. Today we have experienced that life is sometimes too short even for rock stars. Yesterday on March 12^th former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr died in his sleep only 56 years old.

Clive had suffered from an aggressive type of multiple sclerosis for many years and was in poor health for quite some time.

He was born in East Ham London on March 8^th 1957 and played with several London based rock bands, among others Samson, the band that Bruce Dickinson was recruited to Iron Maiden from, before joining Maiden in late 1979.

Clive brought an amazing sense of groove and feeling to Iron Maiden that they´d never had before. And to some extent, haven’t had since his departure in 1982.

He had some of the swing of the old masters Bill Ward and John Bonham, but turned it up a notch and opted for a more controlled and economic approach. In many ways he was a hard edged metal drummer with a funky twist to him. Ha was always very thorough and structured, almost like he played riffs on the drums. Listen to tracks like “Running Free”, “Innocent Exile”, “22 Acacia Avenue” and “The Prisoner”. They all have an immense energy and groove to them, much thanks to Clive Burr’s role as the sticks master.

Apparently he was an easy going fellow with a huge taste for life. And from the old photos you can see that he always has a huge smile on his face. In some cases maybe the sudden and massive success got the better of him, leading to some bad decision making – like it would for most people in a situation like that.

He only got to record three albums with Iron Maiden, “Iron Maiden” (1980), “Killers” (1981) and “The Number of the Beast” (1982). On the other hand, they are three of Iron Maiden’s best albums.

May you rest in peace, Clive Burr – your legacy lives on for ever.