Clive Burr, former drummer for  Iron Maiden, the British heavy metal band, died peacefully in his sleep in his London home on Tuesday.

Burr, 56, had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and had been suffering from poor heath for many years.

“This is terribly sad news. Clive was a very old friend of all of us,” Iron Maiden’s bassist Steve Harris said in a statement posted on their website. “He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days when we were starting out.”

Burr joined the band in 1979, and performed in their first three landmark albums from the early 80s, “Iron Maiden,” “Killers,” and his final album that topped the UK charts on “The Number of the Beast.”

“He was a great guy and a man who really lived his life to the full,” Bruce Dickson, lead vocalist for Iron Maiden, said in a statement posted in their website.

After his contribution to the last album, Burr left the band; a year later Iron Maiden sold a great number of albums in the United States. Since then Iron Maiden became internationally known.