X Marks The Spot
F COVER STORY: 9/25/95
X Marks The Spot:
An interview with Steve Harris of IRON MAIDEN
by Michael Moses
IT may very well have been Black Sabbath who set the standard,
but it was Iron Maiden who completely shredded the envelope. In
1980, Maiden's eponymously-titled LP put them at the forefront of
the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal," and they've been the leader
of the metal pack ever since. Over the course of the past several
years, the band has managed to sell over 40,000,000 albums
worldwide despite - or maybe in spite of - constantly changing
trends. And while most bands in Maiden's position would be
content to rest on their laurels, the Maiden camp is as busy as
ever: they're about to release a new album (The X Factor) on a new
label (CMC), with yet another lead singer (Blaze Bayley, formerly
of Wolfsbane) - all the while preparing for yet another world tour.
Still, the band has their work cut out for them: Bayley replaces
longtime fan favorite Bruce Dickinson - tough shoes to fill,
especially when you consider the fact that it was with Dickinson
that Maiden enjoyed their greatest success. And then of course,
the band find themselves up against yet another new trend with
punkers, rappers and slackers currently ruling today's music scene.
Not surprisingly though, the band, and bassist/founder Steve
Harris in particular, isn't worried.
"I think it's great that there's a lot of new bands and new
music coming out," says Harris, "But I also think there's
enough space for everybody. We're just gonna keep doing what
we've always done: writing the best songs that we can, and
hopefully the fans will like it as much as we do."
If all goes according to plan, songs like "Man On The Edge,"
"Judgement Heaven" and "Edge Of Darkness" should put Maiden into
the limelight once again.
MM: You were born and raised in East London - what was that like?
SH: East London isn't exactly the most well-off area. We weren't
exactly poverty-stricken, but having said that, we weren't well
off either. My father was a truck driver and we led a fairly simple
life. But we were happy.
MM: Do you remember seeing a particular performer as a kid - one
that made you say, "Yeah, that's what I want to do?"
SH: Not one in particular, but I saw bands like The Who, Led
Zeppelin, Deep Purple, UFO, the Scorpions and early Judas Priest
all the time. It was brilliant.
MM: I know you're a big soccer fan and that you still play today.
Was there ever the thought of doing that professionally?
SH: Yeah at one time. When I was about 14, I trained with one of
my favorite clubs for about 9 months and I suppose I probably did
have a chance to do something along those lines at one point. But
at that age a lot of other things come into play; you start getting
interested in girls and doing other things, so something had to
give. I don't know, maybe I just wasn't ready for it. Maybe if it had
been a couple of years later, things would've been different. But
then I started playing guitar at around age 17, which I suppose is
quite late really. Once I discovered that, I knew it was what I
really wanted to do.
MM: You started on guitar and not bass?
SH: Well I started on acoustic guitar, but I got fed up with it. I
actually wanted to play drums originally but we didn't have the
space for a kit. So I figured the next best thing would be to play
along with a drummer.
MM: What did your parents say when you told them you wanted to
be a rock star?
SH: Well, I didn't really have those sort of aspirations. I just
wanted to play and they were really supportive. They actually used
to come down to see me play. I guess I was lucky in that respect.
MM: What kind of an effect did England's punk movement have on
the band in the early days?
SH: We couldn't get any work (in the pubs) because of them and we
were pissed about it. And to be honest with you, we hated them for
it. And most of those bands couldn't play very well either. But we
managed to hang on and we started getting a following, with
people traveling about to see us.
MM: Who came up with the idea of Eddie?
SH: I can't remember - it might've been our lighting guy. We had
this giant kabuki mask that we'd set up in back of the drums and
blood would drip out of its mouth and its eyes would light up. We
called it "Eddie The `Ead." We wanted to put on some sort of show,
rather than just getting up there and playing. So we started
making backdrops, and doing stuff with the lights and using a
smoke machine and dry ice machine and all that stuff. It was all
pretty outrageous for a band that used to play those small pubs. It
was exciting and the people were really shocked by it all.
MM: Do you remember your first tour of America?
SH: Oh yeah (laughs). Definitely. The first gig we ever did was in
Las Vegas and I remember thinking "Bloody hell, if all of America
is like this, I'll be dead in two months. It was so crazy (laughs) -
we were like kids in a candy store. We were supporting Judas
Priest at the Aladdin Theater and it was a big deal for us. The
people at that show had never heard of us before and we went up
there and got right in their faces. It was great.
MM: How did the American groupies differ from the English ones?
SH: Well, we couldn't believe it really. They were so forward - it
was just fantastic. You don't get girls coming up to you and
propositioning you like that in England...or anyplace else for that
matter.
MM: How has that scene changed over the years?
SH: Well, to be honest with you, 90% of our audience is guys
anyway. We're not like, say, Def Leppard, who get lots of women. I
remember getting up to jam with them in Portland once and I
couldn't believe how many women were there. It was just
unbelievable. But then, they are more commercial than we are.
MM: So you came back and said to Bruce, "Look, can you shake your
ass a bit more?"
SH: (Laughs) Well, I must admit it was tempting.
MM: After all these years, has there ever been a tour where it just
wasn't there - where you just had a miserable time?
MM: The only tour that was really hard work was the last one we
did with Bruce, when he announced he was leaving.
MM: Was that something that you saw coming or did it take you as
a total surprise?
SH: I was surprised at the timing, but not surprised that he wanted
to go. I would've been more prepared if it had happened during the
time of No Prayer For The Dying because that was when he had
done his first solo album. I thought he was getting restless then,
but he said he wanted to stay.
MM: What was your initial reaction when he told you he was
leaving?
SH: Well, he didn't tell me - he told Rod (Smallwood - the band's
mgr) and then Rod told me.
MM: How did you deal with it? I would imagine there was a certain
amount of resentment involved.
SH: Well, we just decided that if we were gonna carry on as a band,
that we should get on with the tour. It was all such short notice -
it was only three weeks before the tour and most of the gigs had
already been sold out. At times it was difficult because he wasn't
100% into it and obviously we knew he wouldn't be. I didn't expect
him to be passionate or look at the audience with any fire in his
eyes because obviously you can't do that once you decide to leave. I
did expect him to go out and perform and sing well, but there were
times when he just didn't bother and that really upset the rest of
us. But there was no point in arguing about it because we knew he
was going. Basically we felt that he was letting us down and he
was letting the fans down. It was really disappointing.
MM: Do you still talk to him?
SH: I saw him a few months ago, but I haven't spoken to him all
that much, no.
MM: So I guess there isn't much chance for a reunion.
SH: (Laughs) No, I don't think so.
MM: How do you think the past 20 years of playing with Maiden
have changed you personally?
SH: (Pause) Well, I don't know. (Longer pause) I've never been
comfortable with meeting people and making small talk. I've
always sort of needed someone like Nicko around to take the
pressure off me because he's always relaxed about that. I've
always been a bit shy and I find that part of the business difficult.
People see me onstage and they expect me to be the same way
offstage. (laughs) They also think I'm a lot shorter in person. But
they expect me to be this aggressive loud person and I'm really
not.
MM: Is that one of the reasons you got into this - to let that other
side of you out?
SH: Maybe subconsciously. I've never really thought about that. I
mean that is me onstage - it's not an act. It's a way for me to let
off steam. But then, I also let off steam when I'm playing football
or tennis or whatever. I'm very competitive.
MM: Speaking of which, is it true that you had an entire soccer
field built behind your house?
SH: (Laughs) Yeah, it's true. It's the same length as a (regulation)
field, but width-wise it's just a little bit on the narrow side. We
have games here from time to time.
MM: And didn't you also have separate locker rooms built in for the
opposing teams?
SH: Yeah. There were these old stables back there, but since I'm
not into horseback riding, we converted them into dressing rooms.
MM: Who else in Maiden plays on the team?
SH: Well, Janick plays sometimes. He's a really good goalkeeper,
but we can't take the risk of him hurting his fingers.
MM: So you throw Nicko in there instead?
SH: Well, Nicko used to play goal for us years ago. But one day -
about ten years ago, I think - we were playing against Rainbow in
Copenhagen and he got kicked in the back pretty hard and he doesn't
play all that much now. But we beat Rainbow and that's the main
thing (laughs).
MM: And in addition to the soccer field, the house also has a
gigantic Eddie head in the driveway...?
SH: Yeah, it's the one from Piece Of Mind. It lights up.
MM: And you also have a full studio built into the house?
SH: Yeah.
MM: So you'vbe got a house that has a full-sized soccer field, a full
studio, a gigantic Eddie head... how many rooms?
SH: I don't know, I haven't counted (laughs).
MM: So all in all, rock `n roll's been pretty good to you.
SH: I can't complain. I think it's amazing that we can go and play
gigs all around the world and meet different people. We can be
tourists and get paid for it - what a terrible job.
[This text was nicked from somewhere. I've forgotten where, sorry about that.]
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