Posted on 10/16/2012 4:12:54 AM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Iron Maiden mainman Steve Harris thinks his band may have give more years left in them but theyll be gone within ten.
His comments come just days after Rush admitted they were aware theyre likely to retire in the foreseeable future.
And Harris reveals he has doubts about whether to take his solo album British Lion on the club tour hed previously said he was thinking about.
Maiden released their fifteenth studio album, The Final Frontier, in 2010. That led to speculation the band was winding down, based on comments Harris had made years earlier saying theyd make fifteen records then split. He later admitted the album title was a play on those rumours, and said the band would continue as long as they felt able.
Asked by The Quietus if theres any reason they cant keep going for another decade, the bassist says: I dont know about ten years. I think weve certainly got another five years in us but its hard to say.
As you get older it gets doubly hard to keep yourself fit and in shape. We do work really hard on doing that. Wed be selling ourselves and everyone else short if we didnt, so we do look after ourselves.
It does get tougher I dont play football much any more, partly because Ive had so many problems with my back that I can only play the odd match here or there. Unfortunately its five years since Ive played a full season of football and thats something that I miss a lot; but I had to make a decision. I play a lot of tennis.
Harris reflects that while Maiden could once have been regarded as a band towards the heaviest end of metal, the emergence of hardcore and extreme bands have made us sound more like the Moody Blues!
British Lion has received both positive and negative reviews and Harris wants to wait until a more settled response has been received before deciding whether to brave the stage fright of club shows.
Id love to play the album live, he says. We have to wait and see what the reaction is like first though. I never take anything for granted.
I can imagine that once you step outside the Maiden comfort zone, you dont know what to expect. I still do get a little bit nervous at the beginning of Maiden tours, mainly because of the new material. Well have rehearsed, but you can rehearse until the cows come home and the first few shows will always be a little bit rusty. Once youre confident it doesnt matter so much.
I used to get more worried years ago with Maiden about whether people were going to turn up or not. Its different now. I may not expect every single show to sell out and I never take everything for granted, but you still know youre going to get a certain amount of people.
The thought pushes his mind back to Maidens earliest days. We did have gigs years ago where no one turned up Im thinking specifically of places like the Double Six in Basildon or Lafayette in Walthamstow.
At that one there were women punching each other out at the bar and we could see them clearly because there was hardly anyone else there. Just two women having a fight!
He adds: I guess theres an element of that fear with British Lion but thats also whats exciting about it.
More like the Strolling Bones!
The difference is the Rolling Stones have really boring shows (still huge crowds, but mostly older people) while Iron Maiden has what many fans and industry insiders say is the greatest rock road show in the world. Their shows in Latin America are epic - not just in size, but in energy. The Stones, on the other hand, all look like they need wheelchairs and oxygen.
The Stones *did* get started thirteen years earlier than Iron Maiden, so this many years later that difference in the respective ages is very obvious.
There are a lot of old stage props and memorabilia in the restaurant. I got into a “Paiste VS Zildjian” discussion with Nikko, and he served me some complimentary hot wings that were TOO HOT to EAT! (LOL!)
Fun Place!
One, two, three, four, give, six, seven...
The Rock in Rio DVD pretty much proves that in spades. They are like heroes down there. Live they really are a spectacle to behold.
And they SOUND good. And can PLAY their instruments.
I highly doubt there’s a lot of Brittany Spears style backing/Autotune going on. Basically they are a literal throwback to a more golden age of entertainers.
Yup! You suck! ;)
LOL!
You know, of course, that i have also hung out with Bonzo’s son Jason......
Did I mention...perhaps in passing... that you SUCK?!?!?!
;)
Those would be fun conversations to have.
PS: You suck ;)
Half of these musicians are in their 60's now, and still better that 95% of what's out there today.
Scorpions are already gone to my understanding. Most of those bands will call it a day, some will make albums but not tour, some will go on with new members. It makes you wonder if some of these bands will just continue on for hundreds of years after the last original band member is gone, like musical zombies. Journey seems to be a good pick for that maybe.
Freegards
;-)
Scorpions did announce their retirement 2 years ago and went on tour which was a huge one for them and then decided to do a covers record and enjoyed doing that so much they said “We might not be ready to call it quits...just...yet.”
Neil Schon in Journey said recently that things are very hot for them right now but he does see something coming in a few years where they would like to wrap it all up with all of the former members of Journey for a last record and tour.
Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart have all hinted in recent months that the evening with format to their tours will be coming to a close...3 hours a night is becoming too much for them and that this tour will likely be the last evening with and scale it back to 2 hours with an opener. Peart has gone on record as late as 2004 saying he didn’t want to be touring when he was 60...well...he is on tour at 60 as we speak. Lifeson said he wants to enjoy his wife, kids, and grandkids plus help out producing younger acts and artists who have requested for him to play on their record but he never made time for it.
Geddy stated a few weeks back he doesn’t want to be on stage at 70 and sees things coming to a close as far as tours go in around 5 or 6 years max. You have to think about that because they just started a tour for their new record a month ago and have dates scheduled through the fall of next year. They will then likely release another live DVD/CD package and have more time off the road and then tour for their 40th Anniversary and before you know it...we are 3 to 4 years already from today by the time that is done.
Bottom line? Go see these bands now while you can.
Aerosmith has a 2 year tour ahead of them and they too have stated they will likely fall back into doing individual projects and what not and this current tour will likely be their last long tour scaling anything in the future back to just the U.S., that travel is just wearing on their bodies.
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