Metal-Rules.com Interview with
Iron Maiden's Steve Harris (7-22-2000)
By Gueniviere
Before I get to the meat of the most recent interview I
did with Steve Harris (the first of several others was done back in early
'82), perhaps a little background is in order.
You know, it has always been said that you never really
forget your first impression. And, certainly, when it comes to
Steve Harris, that statement rings true for me. To this day--nearly 19
years after I first met him (totally by accident) when he happened to
stand in front of me at a rock club--I still have trouble thinking of
him as a "rockstar", or a heavy metal icon, though he is of
course, in his role as the founder, mastermind, and uncapitulating
general of--arguably--the most influential and successful heavy metal
band of all time. (Certainly, Iron Maiden redefined and brought new--and
lasting--life to heavy metal as the leaders of the onslaught of the
NWOBHM, and have remained vital and immensely influential in the genre
worldwide to this day.) Still, because I first met Steve at the
very beginning of the band's watershed Number of the Beast tour, I had
no idea "who" he was when we wound up having a long chat about
music we liked. (He didn't ever make it clear that he was "in"
Iron Maiden, and I didn't know any of the names of the members of the
band or what they looked like up close at the time.) All I
knew was that this was a pretty interesting person who was a big music
fan with diverse tastes, and liked to discuss and analyze it--just like
me.
So, now--and ever since then--in my mind, when we talk,
I always like to think of him as just that same "regular"
guy--the Steve I first talked to back then. And, really, he is.
Which is not to say that he's just like any other guy you might run into
on the street. An obviously intelligent, thoughtful and sensitive
person, yet also a unmistakably strong personality (if often
soft-spoken), Steve is the kind of guy that you would be glad to
know even if he had never formed Iron Maiden and had, instead, remained
in his original job as an architectural draftsman back on the East End
of London. (Though a person with his kind of gumption and natural
leadership traits certainly would have moved up the ladder in whatever
vocation he was in.) Also funny, considerate, and
down-to-earth--always---its no wonder that he and the rest of the band
attract fans that have similar qualities. But, ultimately, that
other Steve Harris, the one that is revered--almost worshipped--by
every bonafide heavy metal fan I've ever talked to, still always seems
like someone else to me. And I don't think he'd want it any other
way.
In any event, the following interview (sans chit-chat)
via phone from Steve's hotel room in Spain, just before the end of the
current tour in Europe, is somewhat (frustratingly) abbreviated because
the band's interview schedule got all messed up that night.
(The Sony call center in the US had the wrong hotel number!) Steve
called me himself just before the interview was scheduled, urgently
asking me to contact Sony to see if I could help get the matter
straightened out. (More Stateside interviews before mine had
already been missed, and the band had a gig to play in a couple of
hours!) Finally, after some initial conversation where we tried to
make sure the whole interview mishap was under control, I got to the
heart of the matter (yet also tried to keep it brief out of
consideration to others waiting their turn).
So, did you just get into the hotel room?
STEVE: "No, I've actually been here since this
afternoon--I was the first one here. Bruce and Nicko got here
about an hour ago, and Dave, Adrian, and Janick--they're still on there
way here, so they're probably going to have to go straight to the
show."
You were all coming from different places to Spain?
STEVE: "Well, what it is is that we were all flying
in from London--and there's like four different London airports--and we
all live near a different airport!" (laughs)
And didn't you just have some dates that were cancelled
(due to Janick Gers' injuries in Mannheim, Germany). . .?
STEVE: "Well, we've resumed and played three more
shows since Janick, you know, fell off the stage. But we actually
did lose three shows, yeah. But that's been almost a week
ago."
So you've been going home in between when you have a day
off?
STEVE: "Yeah. We just played in San Sebastion and
Madrid, then we had two days off, so we went home. And we've got
tonight and tomorrow night, and then that's it for the European tour.
We've got like, six days off before we go to Canada."
So, how're ya doing now--how're you feeling…?!
STEVE: "I'm okay, Yeah!"
You had that unexpected break, though, so you've
probably had time to recharge your batteries.
STEVE: "Yeah, I must admit, in a weird sort of way,
it was a blessing. . .from a selfish point of view. But obviously,
it was bad news for Jan--he got really badly hurt. And also,
obviously, we lost three shows. . .I don't know whether we're going to
be able to reschedule them for November, because the tour carries on
until mid-November now."
Yeah, you don't have enough of a break to fit them back
in right now.
STEVE: "No, it's not possible to do
that…So, the only chance is to do 'em at the end, but whether we'll do
that or not, I don't know. . ."
And those were pretty big shows. . .
STEVE: "Well, all three of 'em--we were headlining
festivals. So, the thing is, all of the places we were playing,
they were all strong enough markets for us to headline on our own
without anybody else anyway, so maybe we'll just go back and do them on
our own anyway. . . In Greece, for example, the album was #1 there--the
last three albums have been #1 there--so we could play there on our own
anyway. And also in Sofia, Bulgaria, it was the similar kind of
thing. The album has been top 5 in Germany, also, so I don't see a
problem in going back and doin' 'em on our own. . ."
'Cause they must have been pretty disappointed, I'm
sure. . .
STEVE: "Yeah (softly), I'm sure, yeah. . . .
."
(Interruption from Sony call center--are they listening
in?--to get the Dave/Adrian/Janick interview schedule sorted out.)
Well, I guess that's taken care of! (laughs)
Well, where were we? (laughs)
STEVE: "Oh, we were talking about the shows. . .So,
I mean, we've been on the road since the 2nd of June, and the tour's
been fantastic---I mean, it's been like a summer festival tour.
Obviously, the festivals have been on the weekends, and during the week
we've been doing indoor arenas with just us and one or two other bands.
It's been kind of a mix of shows, really."
Didn't you also play at Roskilde. . .?
STEVE: "Yeah, we actually played there the
night before it happened. . . and there were no problems when we were
there the night before. . . I mean, we've played Roskilde before--we
played there a few years ago--and it's a very well organized
festival--it's like over 70,000 people. But it's been like a
traditional summer festival for years, like a Reading festival, or
something. So, it's kind of strange, really, you know. . ."
You've never really had anything like that happen, but
does it kind of worry you sometimes…?
STEVE: "Well, we've been touring for 20 years, as
you know, and we've never really had any problems like that. . .So, I
don't know. . .maybe we've been lucky, but at the end of the day, it's
obviously just a terrible thing…I guess it could have been caused by a
lot more bad weather overnight, a lot more rain and stuff.. . I don't
really know exactly what happened, to be honest, but it's just a
tragedy, you know. . "
Well, it did look weather-related, so it could happen to
almost anyone I guess . . .
STEVE: "Well, the weather has been bad in Europe
this year. At all of the festivals we've been doing, most of them
have been in pretty shitty weather, really . . ."
But has it still been pretty exciting?
STEVE: "Oh, Yeah! Yeah! The tour's going
really well. You know, European fans are used to a bit of rain!
(laughs) It's not gonna put them off, you know. They're not
going to leave a festival because of that! But you know, we've
done many festivals in the past where it's been crap weather as well.
So, it's nothing new, and they just get on with it and enjoy it, you
know. When we played the Dynamo Festival--it was the second show
on the tour, actually--it was absolutely pissing down throughout the
show, but the fans didn't leave, and they were fantastic!"
Well, we don't have too much time to go into all the
detail I would like right now, so I'll just get to the point--which
songs are you playing live off the new record?
STEVE: "Well, we're doing quite a lot of the new
stuff. We're doing "Brave New World," obviously,
"Wicker Man," "Ghost of the Navigator," "Blood
Brothers," "The Mercenary," and "Dream of
Mirrors." Basically, the set is a couple of hours, and 'alf
of it is the old stuff, and 'alf of it is new--or later--stuff, which
might upset a few people over there . . . but so be it!
(laughs)
STEVE: "I mean, I think in the States--more than
anywhere else--people tend to want to hear more of the old stuff,
because they maybe haven't kept up with what's been goin' on, really,
with some of the later years of the band. I'm not saying that's
everybody--because obviously we've got a lot of hard core fans that have
kept up with everything. But I still think there's quite a lot of
people who haven't kept up with it . . .But then they should have done,
shouldn't they?"
(more laughs)
What you're saying is true, but my feeling is that
they're just gonna be happy with whatever you play!
STEVE: "Well, hopefully, yeah. . .but we'll
see!"
We don't have time to go into detail on each of the
songs on the album right now, but I must say my favorite is definitely
"Blood Brothers."
STEVE: "Most Maiden albums are like that in the
sense that everybody seems to have a different favorite on each album,
so that's a good sign. But that song has been singled out quite a
few times by various people. . .But its healthy because, as I said,
everyone seems to have a different favorite."
I think that may be because, although you obviously have
a definite style and sound, there's a lot of variations on that on all
your records, and some people tend to like certain things more than
others. . . For example, some people like the fast, driving ones. . .
STEVE: "Exactly, yeah. I mean, I know some
people who sort of like 'Mercenary' and 'Fallen Angel,' and other people
prefer stuff like 'Blood Brothers' and 'Dream of Mirrors'. . .and things
like that--the more technical ones…"
It's not the first time, of course, that you've done
songs that have the epic themes, or the soundtrack feel to them. . ..
You've been doing that for quite a long while. Still, "Blood
Brothers" is another one that especially sounds like something from
a movie--in fact, I could envision a movie made from the lyrics and the
mood of that one song alone. . .
STEVE: "Yeah. . . "
You must have thought about doing something like that?
STEVE: "Well a couple of people have mentioned
things like that. . .I mean stuff like "The Sign of the Cross"
and "The Clansman" from the last couple of albums. Also
people have mentioned that it could be film themes, and that kind of
stuff. But I mean. . . As you know, the way I write. . . is
kind of influenced by film themes and stuff like that, which I love
anyway. But we haven't really been approached to do anything like
that. . .So, I don't know, it's weird! The only one that was
actually written for a film is "Bring Your Daughter;" you
know. That was written for Nightmare on Elm Street, I think.
But that's the only one that was actually written for a purpose. .
."
I've seen a lot of movies where your music would have
fit in really good. I mean, I know you're obviously the creative
type. . . have you ever thought about doing some kind of writing outside
music, or having a script done from a song?
STEVE: "Well, it's a time thing, really.
Because we write the songs--or whatever--for the albums, and we don't
really write to order, so it's kind of difficult. . . 'Cause
usually the film will want an exclusive track, or a track that hasn't
been out yet, so timing-wise it's maybe difficult for that kind of
thing. . ."
Yeah, because you've been busy enough as it is--you've
got your hands about as full as they can get right now!
STEVE: "Exactly, yeah!"
(laughs)
I wanted to clarify something about the credits on the
songs. . . I know Bruce wrote the lyrics on '"Ghost of the
Navigator" and "Out of the Silent Planet" . . .
STEVE: "Yeah. . "
But who wrote the lyrics on "Brave New World"
and "Wicker Man?"
STEVE: "Bruce did, but . . .well (softly). .
.I kind of. . . I wrote the choruses first . . .and he sort of based
them around that. . . I mean, I wrote. . .whatever. . .Well--you
know."
An you probably wrote the lyrics for all the others. . .
STEVE: "Yeah, I wrote all the others, yeah."
Some people have been calling the album
"progressive metal." You've heard that, I'm sure.
STEVE: "It is sort of '70's progressive influenced,
as was Seventh Son and, also, X Factor as well. I think it's
probably got more in common with those two albums than any of the other
Maiden albums, really. But I think musically, it's an extension or
a progression from the last two, definitely."
I didn't know whether you really cared what kind of
label they put on it.
STEVE: "I don't, really. . . But I think it's
fair to say there is a '70's
progressive influence, without a doubt, yeah. But a fair few songs
over the years have been anyway."
Well, yeah. . .I guess it would only be somebody who
hasn't tuned in for the last fifteen years that would think to the
contrary . . .
STEVE: "Yeah, that's right! . . . (pause). . . But
there are a lot of people in the States who haven't tuned into it for
the last fifteen years, I'm sure of that. When we went over
there for Ed Hunter thing . . . there were lots of people . . . and all
they were talking about was Piece of Mind and Powerslave, and a lot of
them didn't even know the stuff from even Fear of the Dark, or Seventh
Son, or whatever . . ."
I think that may have to do with a lot of different
factors. But you know, they are playing the video for Wicker Man
on VH1 now . . .Do you have any others?
STEVE: "No, not at the moment."
Are you planning on doing any others?
STEVE: "We probably will do another one, but I'm
not sure which one yet."
Well, anyway, there was a period there when. . .Well,
you still never get much radio play, really, even on some of the harder
stations--so basically it's a problem with exposure, really.
And, as you know, we don't have as many music papers and things like
that. . .
STEVE: "It's about time we started to get a fair
bit of help, isn't it, really?
(laughs)
Well, Yeah!
STEVE: "I think we deserve a bit by now…"
Well, there certainly should be some RESPECT for the
amount of time you've been around and going strong, and the major
influence you've been! . . . But I think more people would have tuned in
here over these past several albums if it had been available to them.
I mean, okay, if you're not hearing it on the radio, or the TV, and
you're not seeing it in the music magazines, it's hard for most people
to know its even out there, you know.
STEVE: "Yeah. . ."
But this one is getting more of a buzz about it, of
course. I mean, you're probably doing more media, aren't you?
[It should be noted that the band was only just beginning to do US press
at this time, since they were still doing European press up until this
time--so the amount of media demand in North America was still unknown
to Steve when we spoke.]
STEVE: "Well, I suppose, yeah, probably a little
bit more. Well, I mean, you know what it's like in Europe. . .You
know, it's been pretty par for the course to do all that kind of
stuff anyway. Even when Bruce wasn't in the band--you know--we
were still doing very well. But--yeah--with him back in the band,
it has definitely gotten stronger. And I think in some other
parts, it does make it stronger, without a doubt."
Well, I know I've already been seeing more in the media
here--even appearances on TV, interviews, news clips, or whatever--that
I hadn't been seeing for the last 10 years or so.
STEVE: "Well, that could possibly be down to
the fact that we're now signed to a company who really believe in us.
We've had problems in the past where we've signed to a company [in the
US] where shortly after we got signed to them, the people who signed us
immediately left or got sacked, or whatever, then they bring in new
people who don't really give a shit about you. Whereas we're with
Sony now, we've got people who really believe in us and who are really
behind us--and it makes a big difference! As you know, in
the rest of the world we don't really have that problem, because we've
been with EMI since day one, and they totally believed in us anyway. . .
And in Canada, we've been with Capitol the whole time. . . so it's only
been in the States, really, where we've had a major problem with that
kind of thing."
Well, you're right, if people are really behind you,
they are going to go that extra mile, there's no doubt! But
another thing is that--sociologically speaking--people in the States are
often totally dependent--and their tastes are shaped by--the media . . .
too much! I don't think the radio and TV have ever been quite as
influential on the metal scene in Europe and other places as it is here.
. .That's just my opinion, of course!
(laughs)
STEVE: "Well, yeah, that's probably true,
yeah…"
So, to skip around, you did the production with Kevin
Shirley. . .and the production is really good in my
opinion….really a clear sound.
STEVE: "Yeah, it was really good. He
was great to work with, you know. . . Totally the right choice. We
just had a gut feeling about him, even before we met him. Then,
when we met him and worked with him, he just proved us right,
basically."
Were you actually shopping for producers at the time
when you got him?
STEVE: "Well, he was the guy I wanted to work
with, just from other stuff he'd done, you know. So, basically, as
I say, I think its proved right, really. When you always go by
your gut instincts, you're very rarely wrong, you know."
Yeah, you are always better off going with your gut
instincts. And it does sound great. . . But of course I'm always
listening to it with the headphones on!
(laughs)
But it is the kind of album that you have to listen to
quite a few times to really appreciate, 'cause you can't take it in all
at once, you know...
STEVE: "Yeah, I think most of our albums are
like that anyway, though some more than others. But yeah, I think
you have to listen to them quite a few times. . ."
So, what records are you listening to now?
STEVE: "To be honest with you, I haven't had
time to listen to hardly anything!"
Yeah, I kinda figured you were going to say that!
(laughs)
STEVE: "I really liked the last Type O
Negative album. . . but there's not very many albums I've really been
listening to in their entirety, to be honest. Just odd songs here
and there. I mean, I really haven't had much time. . . because I
don't listen to stuff when we're recording, and then we've been on the
road solid since, and it's been quite a heavy schedule. . .so I haven't
listened to much, really. You know, the radio's total crap over
here!"
(laughs)
I do know what that's like; its weird when you really
love music but you don't have much time to listen because of other
things you have to totally concentrate on at certain times.
[Although, in Steve's case, he's involved with his own music on a daily
basis!]
STEVE: "Exactly, that's right. I mean,
I bought a couple of albums . . .I bought The Ladder by Yes--like months
ago--but I still haven't played it!"
Really!!?
(laughs)
STEVE: "I just haven't got around to
listening to it yet! (laughs) I mean, I will do. . . But also, it
means carrying more gear around with you. . .That's one reason why, as
well. . .half the time. Because we've been traveling with Bruce. .
.and you tend to have to travel light a lot at the moment, so that's one
of the things that's had to go!"
Oh, so you've jettisoned the CDs, have you?!!
(laughs)
So, how do you like flying with Bruce anyway? I
was kind of surprised to see that you were doing that because I remember
from years ago that you had a thing about heights, and didn't care for
flying, either!
STEVE: "Yeah, I wasn't mad about flying. . .
I'm still not a mad lover of it, but I must say I appreciate it a lot
more now after flying with him. I'm not as worried about it as I
used to be."
Well, do take care!
~END~
©2000 Metal Rules!!