Powerslave: the jokes Derek Riggs hid in Eddie's pyramid
Eddie sits on a throne in front of a giant pyramid, lightning cracking over the top. Look closer at the walls, though. Somebody has been writing graffiti in ancient Egypt.
A deep blue sky, lightning crackling around the tip of a golden pyramid. At its foot, a temple of giant statues, and right in the middle, on a throne, Eddie dressed as a pharaoh, striped headdress and all. A long staircase runs down towards you, with tiny figures on the steps for scale. Everything is huge, everything is gold, and it all looks deadly serious.
It is not. Not entirely.
Graffiti in ancient Egypt
The painting is by Derek Riggs, the man who created Eddie, and he could never quite resist a joke. Hidden in the painting are messages written in mock hieroglyphs. One asks "Wot, no Guinness?" Others say "Bollocks" and "What a load of crap", and one claims that Indiana Jones was here in 1941. Somewhere in the stonework there is also a little drawing of Mickey Mouse.
Riggs even signed the place. His own logo sits right above the entrance to the pyramid, like the architect's name on a building. So the next time this poster is on your wall, you have homework.
Bahamas, then Egypt
Powerslave came out on 3 September 1984. It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, in the Bahamas, with producer Martin Birch, and mixed at Electric Ladyland in New York. For the first time Iron Maiden made two albums in a row with the same line-up: Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Nicko McBrain. The pharaoh on the sleeve matches the title song, which even names the Eye of Horus in its lyrics. The album also closes with Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which Steve Harris wrote on his own.
The world as a stage
Then came the World Slavery Tour, which started in Warsaw on 9 August 1984 and ran for almost a year. The stage show borrowed the look of the cover, with sarcophagi and a giant mummified Eddie towering over the band. When an album cover becomes a stage set, you know the painter got it right.
About the poster
This is the Powerslave sleeve printed as a 50 × 70 cm (20 × 28 in) portrait poster, from 2024. It is an original magazine insert, never hung, with no staple holes, folded three times as issued. The sheet is double-sided, with Nightwish on the back.
Browse all original Iron Maiden posters.
Quick answers
Who painted the Powerslave cover?
Derek Riggs, the artist who created Eddie and painted most of Iron Maiden's classic covers.
What is hidden in the Powerslave cover?
Jokes in mock hieroglyphs, such as "Wot, no Guinness?" and "Indiana Jones was here 1941", a small Mickey Mouse, and Derek Riggs's own logo above the pyramid entrance.
When was Powerslave released?
On 3 September 1984. It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau with producer Martin Birch.
How big is the poster?
50 × 70 cm (about 20 × 28 inches), portrait. It is a separate insert, so it has no staple holes, and it is folded three times as issued.
What is on the other side?
A Nightwish poster. The sheet is double-sided, so you choose which side goes on the wall.