Former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr dies aged 56

Former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr has died at the age of 56.

Burr had suffered from multiple sclerosis and died “peacefully in his sleep at home”, according to a statement on the band’s official site.

Iron Maiden founder and bassist Steve Harris said in the statement: “This is terribly sad news. Clive was a very old friend of all of us. He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days when we were starting out.”

Lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson said Burr was “a great guy and a man who really lived his life to the full".

The drummer joined the band in 1979 and played on their first three albums Iron Maiden (1980), Killers (1981) and their number one hit The Number of the Beast (1982), but left the band in the December of the same year.

Born in east London in 1957, Burr was a member of British metal band Samson before joining Iron Maiden

After he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001, his Maiden band mates formed the Clive Burr MS Trust Fund to help raise money for his living costs. They performed a number of concerts in his honour when he struggled to keep up payments on his house.

"Even during the darkest days of his M.S., Clive never lost his sense of humour or irreverence,” said Dickinson.