Stephen Percy "Steve" Harris (born 12 March 1956) is an English musician and songwriter, known as the bassist, occasional keyboardist, backing vocalist, primary songwriter and founder of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He is the only member of Iron Maiden to have remained in the band since their inception and, along with guitarist Dave Murray, to have appeared on all of their albums.Although he had previously aspired to be a professional footballer,[1] he gained an interest in rock music in his early teens, following which he participated in two small pub bands, Gypsy's Kiss and Smiler, before forming Iron Maiden on Christmas Day 1975. Before Iron Maiden signed their contract with EMI in 1979, Harris worked as an architectural draughtsman in the East End of London until he was made redundant, at which point he undertook a job as a street sweeper.[2][3] In addition to his role as the band's bass player and backing vocalist, Harris has undertaken many other roles for the group, such as producing and co-producing their albums, directing and editing their live videos and performing studio keyboards.In 2012, it was announced that Harris would release his debut solo album, British Lion.[4]