Steve Harris formed the band to play in small venues, as opposed to the large arenas typically played by Iron Maiden, and as an outlet for shorter
hard rock-oriented songs in which he can experiment with different bass guitar styles. The band also includes singer Richard Taylor, guitarists David Hawkins and Grahame Leslie, and drummer Simon Dawson. Harris had first met Leslie in the early 1990s after Leslie sent him a demo tape, and Harris mentored the careers of Leslie and Taylor for several years until deciding to include them in the British Lion project. The band's tours are typically scheduled after the conclusion of Iron Maiden tours, when Harris becomes interested in playing in clubs and theaters as he did in Iron Maiden's early years. The album
British Lion, released in 2012, was marketed as a solo album by Harris with the other musicians described as his backing band. The project was then re-positioned as a self-contained band with most songs written by Harris, Taylor, and Hawkins. The band completed two European club tours in 2013 and 2014. Their second album
The Burning was released in January 2020. The album was voted Album of the Year by
Paul Stenning for
BraveWords. They then headlined their first U.S. tour in January and February of that year. In 2024, Dawson became the touring drummer for Iron Maiden following
Nicko McBrain's retirement from touring, though the latter remained an official member. In April of 2025 Harris confirmed the band had new material in the works. Then following a handful of one off appearances in previous years the band went on a full European headlining tour in August of 2025 and a U.K. tour in November and December. == Musical style ==