Maiden the shade It started with a single band poster, a Christmas gift from his son. Now, nearly 12 years later, Kenny Maxymowich has amassed the largest collection of Iron Maiden memorabilia on the planet, and he's not done yet. By: David Sanderson Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, Oct. 26, 2018

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/10/2018 (2289 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Run to the hills!

Just in time for Halloween, American costume company Trick or Treat Studios has released a set of four macabre masks that bear a remarkable resemblance to Eddie, the long-time mascot of celebrated rock band Iron Maiden.

Commanding US$59.99 each, the latex disguises are based on images of Eddie as he appeared on the covers of the Grammy Award-winning British group’s The Number of the Beast, Somewhere in Time and The Final Frontier albums. Online reviews are overwhelmingly favourable, ranging from “I’m in heavy metal heaven” to “Bad Ass!!!!” But if it’s an expert’s opinion you’re after, your best bet is to drive an hour past the Perimeter and knock on the door of Kenny Maxymowich, owner of the largest, most comprehensive collection of authentic Iron Maiden memorabilia on the planet.

“They’re pretty high-quality for sure. Here, see for yourself,” Maxymowich says, inviting a visitor to examine two Eddie masks, both still in their original packaging. The masks are billed as one-size-fits-all but there’s not much point asking him if that’s the case or not. The same way the soft-spoken father of three and grandfather of one has never donned one of his more than 1,200 officially-licensed Iron Maiden T-shirts, or slipped his feet inside his ultra-rare Nike Dunks Iron Maiden high-tops, of which only 24 pairs reportedly exist, he has thus far resisted the urge to sport an Eddie mask and race down the street singing Rime of the Ancient Mariner at the top of his lungs.

Not that he doesn’t know the lyrics by heart. Although Iron Maiden has released only 16 studio albums during their 43-year-career, Maxymowich, a regular contributor to the band’s official fanzine Iron Maiden FC, owns in the neighbourhood of 1,500 Iron Maiden vinyl records, 1,800 Iron Maiden CDs and 400-plus Iron Maiden cassettes. Not to mention an eight-track or two.

“I don’t wear my tour jackets — in fact, most of the ones I own aren’t even my size — and no, you’ll never see me parading around in a concert T either. To me, Maiden is something to collect, the same way people collect hockey cards or stamps,” he says, standing in a corner of his modern, ranch-style bungalow that will soon house an exact replica of a British-style pub, stocked with — what else? — Trooper beer, Iron Maiden’s official ale. (Get this: when his bar is fully operational, he’ll be able to pour you a pint from a beer engine that once belonged to Cart & Horses, a London pub whose claim to fame is having been the first venue to feature Iron Maiden as a live act.)

He can’t recall the specific details — who he went with, what songs made up the set-list or where he sat precisely — but Maxymowich knows for certain he saw Iron Maiden live for the first time at the Winnipeg Arena in 1982, when he was 16 years old. (A quick check on Iron Maiden’s official website shows they played “Winnepeg, Minatoba” July 27, 1982 as part of their Beast on the Road tour.)

The concert was “awesome,” he says. But after completing Grade 12 at Shevchenko School in Vita in 1984, he pretty much shelved listening to Iron Maiden with any regularity for the next 20 years or so, while he concentrated on developing his Dominion City-based construction biz, DJK Builders Inc., named for his kids, son Diamond and daughters Jazzy and Kendra.

For Christmas 2007, Diamond gave him an Iron Maiden poster as a gift. That’s interesting, he thought. A few days later he went online to see what other Iron Maiden paraphernalia was available. Not expecting to spot much — he wasn’t aware they were a collectible band on par with the Beatles or Kiss — he was immediately blown away by the vast scope of what was for sale, plus how eye-catching Iron Maiden picture discs, lunch boxes, action figures and glassware are.

“There was a spare bedroom in my old house and I figured I’d buy 100 things, tops, and store everything in there,” he says. “But then my nephew passed away in 2010 and that was a very traumatic time for me. I don’t drink or do drugs so collecting was kind of my way of dealing with what I was going through. My business was doing really good, I had some spare cash, so within a few weeks I dropped a load on eBay, buying anything and everything related to the band.”

To put it mildly, he hasn’t slowed down much since then. His cache is currently housed in a custom-built, 3,000-square-foot gallery in a home he constructed from the ground up five years ago. Lining the walls and encased in a series of glass display units are close to 50,000 individual pieces. Every last one, from ticket stubs to drum skins to board games, is meticulously arranged in chronological order, beginning with grainy, black and white photographs of Iron Maiden circa 1975, the year bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris founded the band in Leyton, England.

A few steps away from his photo exhibit is a presentation wholly dedicated to Iron Maiden’s 1979 debut EP, The Soundhouse Tapes. Only 5,000 copies of the three-track, seven-inch record were released and Maxymowich owns close to 40 of them. Keep going and you’ll come across treasures as small as guitar picks and as large as, well, guitars. Mounted on one wall directly above an Iron Maiden poker table, which rests next to an Iron Maiden pinball machine, which rests next to an Iron Maiden billiards table, is a scarlet red axe, the same one Adrian Smith, who joined the band in 1980, played during their 1982 tour of Japan.

Now that he’s amassed (almost) every phone card, subway ad and cigarette lighter associated with the band, Maxymowich’s aim is to share his collection with Iron Maiden devotees via the internet. With the assistance of three other mega-fans, one in New Zealand and two fellows in Mexico City, he is currently putting the finishing touches on a website they’ve dubbed the Soundhouse Collection. Band members have already given the domain their blessing and it should be ready to launch within a few months.

“Once it’s up and running, our intent will be to try to add 100 items a month,” he says, noting one of the primary reasons for the project is to assist other collectors by teaching them how to distinguish official Iron Maiden merchandise from “the mountains of fake crap” that is floating around. “I’ll be the one buying the stuff and photographing it, and they’ll be the ones posting it on the website.”

Here’s a headscratcher: considering Maxymowich, now retired, spent four and a half months on tour with Iron Maiden in 2016 running the band’s First to the Barrier promotion (in a nutshell, he was responsible for escorting 60 fans chosen at random to the front of the stage, 30 minutes before each concert), how is it he doesn’t have a gazillion shots of himself standing next to the guys or a whack of autographed souvenirs.

“That was my dream job, for sure, and while it’s true I saw the band members every day, it didn’t interest me to bother them for autographs or photos or whatever,” he says. “I was backstage at every show and I’m sure if I had asked, they would have been more than happy to sign my stuff. Except I never would have wanted it to look like I was taking advantage of my position.”

Although he hasn’t heard anything definitively, Maxymowich says there is talk about a 2019 North American tour, with a Winnipeg date rumoured to be part of the mix. If that comes to pass, he’ll likely do the same thing he did the last time the band visited these parts in 2012; that is, invite fan club members from around the globe — people who follow the band for weeks, sometimes months on end — to his place for a look-see.

“I get that there’s nothing else like this in the world, but just because I have a roomful of stuff doesn’t make me a bigger fan than anybody else,” he says. “Sure, my kids joke around about their ‘crazy’ dad but when they say crazy they mean it in a good way. After all, my stuff is only going to go up in value, which makes it a good investment.

“But more important than money are the friendships I’ve made, thanks to my collection. Seriously, if I went to Sweden or Belarus or Australia or wherever tomorrow, I’d have a place to stay, no questions asked. That’s truly what makes this all worthwhile.”

For more information on Maxymowich’s collection, go to his page on Facebook. 

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca