Iron Maiden helps former drummer Clive Burr fight multiple sclerosis

With an almost four decade long career that boasts over 100 million albums sold worldwide, which includes 1982's iconic record "The Number of the Beast" that was voted Best British Album of the last 60 years, English heavy metal band Iron Maiden has a lot to be proud of.

Although they usually take a hushed approach when talking about their philanthropic efforts, one cause the band isn't afraid to discuss is how they are helping one of their former band members deal with the autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis (MS.)

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"We have been involved with stuff over the years," the band's bassist Steve Harris told Samaritanmag. "A lot of people make a big publicity thing out of it and we don't, so I'd rather not say."

He also said, "One of the things I can talk about because we started it off is our old drummer, Clive [Burr] has MS, so we started The Clive Burr Trust. Another friend of mine [Ralph] also has got it. He's in a wheelchair. We went to school with him, my oldest friend since I was five years old, so we helped him, but we don't normally talk too much about it."

Burr, who was the band's drummer from 1979 to 1982 and played on such albums as "Iron Maiden," "Killers" and "The Number of the Beast," has been able to avoid losing his house, receive treatment through a program in Belgium and purchase a specialized bed and computer with the help of the Trust.

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The drummer also began a concert series in 2004 called Clive Aid that assists in the raising of awareness and funds for MS and cancer programs.

"Well, I think he's actually as comfortable as can be, really," guitarist Dave Murray said in July. "He's living in England, and he has somebody looking after him full-time, so it's as well as can be in that situation."

In addition to establishing the trust in 2001, Iron Maiden, which currently consists of Harris, Murray, lead singer Bruce Dickinson, guitarists Janick Gers and Adrian Smith and drummer Nicko McBrain, also performs special gigs that benefit the trust.

"The fans know about it and they contribute to it, and every now and again we'll do a show and just donate all the money," Harris said. "When we need to top it up, we do something."

Other celebrities currently suffering from MS include Jack Osbourne, Montel Williams and American actress, singer and former Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello.

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