Released in the US on 22 March 1982 by Harvest and Capitol Records, and in the UK on 29 March 1982 by EMI Records, The Number of the Beast is the third studio album, the first with Bruce, and the last with Clive. The album received proper critical acclaim and commercial success, becoming the band's first to top the UK Albums Chart.
This album features songwriting credits for Clive Burr for the much hated track Gangland, personally I think its a great song. Steve Harris said he adopted a writing approach that suited Bruce better. Producer Martin Birch said he reckoned Paul Di'Anno wouldn't handle the more complex vocals thats Steve wanted, allowing Bruce's arrival to greatly enhance creative posibilities.
