He appeared on their debut album and toured with them in support of Judas Priest and Kiss, before being replaced by Adrian Smith. He's previously cited difficult relations with mainman Steve Harris and manager Rod Smallwood for his departure.

The guitarist says one of the crunch moments came when Maiden were touring with Kiss in 1980. He recalls: "I always take a little stereo away with me. The stuff I was playing at the time was Whitesnake, the Eagles, George Benson, Steely Dan - easy-listening music, just to relax to.

"I was playing it in my hotel room and Rod heard it. He came in and started bawling and shouting. He said, 'If anyone walks past this door and heard the Eagles coming out of this room, it's going to cause trouble with the band.'

"I went, 'Don't be stupid' - but these silly little things started to niggle him. He would never give me credit for being responsible for my own actions. It went on and on and on."