We caught up with Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris a few weeks ago on the eve of British Lion’s and Iron Maiden’s tour of Australia and New Zealand, with Maiden reigniting the next leg of the ‘Future Past’ Tour in Perth Western Australia. We caught up with Steve again in person in the depths of Perth’s Magnet House to chat some more about the tour and the early days of Maiden. Don’t miss either show!
Mark: Perth and Australia has been gearing up for so many days now Steve and here we are on night one before the first British lion show of the tour. The anticipation is huge! As I mentioned last time we spoke we had a beer launch in the lead up to this first show that was packed out, and when we caught up at the football and I gave you that comic it got me thinking about the whole merchandising side to the band. Eddie of course has become an icon, and Maiden seems to choose its partnerships wisely unlike some other bands who throw their name on anything – Maiden always seems to look at quality?
Steve: Well we try to keep everything quality – the artwork, the show, everything – the music though is the most important thing of all and everything is then derived from the music. The show isn’t just a show for shows sake, it has to tie in with the songs, and all the artwork is tied in as well. Sometimes it might be a loose tie-in but it all has to be connected.
Mark: So how much do you get involved Steve?
Steve: Oh I get very involved. The last couple of albums the artwork took quite a while to get where I wanted it to be. It’s difficult explaining the concepts – I always think I’m talking pretty much common sense, or whatever when I’m talking to an artist. So I give them the concept and if it’s not quite there I’ll explain it. I’ll ask them to change one little thing, and they’ll change that but then change ten other things as well! (Laughs) So I’ll say “Well I didn’t ask you to change them” and you go backwards and forwards, and you get there in the end, but it’s not easy to get the ideas across sometimes. I’ve done artwork myself on a lesser level so sometimes its just a communication thing.
Mark: It’s always been something that the fans love with each new album and new Eddie and it all spills over wonderfully into the merchandise. One of the things we talked about a few weeks ago was the 50th Anniversary being just around the corner and picturing that day in 1975 when it all began. Can you take us there?
Steve: Well the band wasn’t formed on Christmas day as such, it was just around the Christmas period where the name was settled. It was a few months before that really when we got the band together, but people think of it as that, and some think of it was 1976, there’s all these things. There seems to be a market for it these days everyone wants to know one thing more than the next person. So you get all of this information out there and all the experts claiming “it’s not this it’s that,” But I always think how can you know that? How can you come out and say all these things and be such an authority on things? I find the desire to know a bit bizarre really, it’s just a little odd.
Mark: It must be hard reading some of the misinformation out there especially these days?
Steve: Well I don’t read it all, most of the time I try to avoid it. I’m not really online, I don’t do Instagram and all that kind of stuff, I don’t do Facebook. And that’s another thing I am aware that there are a few people out there answering things as if they were me. I have been alerted to it. But it ain’t me ‘cos I don’t do that stuff.
Mark: Did you ever get involved online Steve?
Steve: A long, long while ago when the internet first started and there were forums. The very first forum they ever did for Maiden I actually went on there and spend half an hour just trying to say it actually was me! But everyone was arguing with me and telling me it wasn’t, so I said “OK then it’s not me then” and buggered off! (Laughs)
Mark: (Laughs)
Steve: So that was that! I never really went back since, I never really got into all the other internet platforms, there’s just not the time, like I was telling you before Mark, I’ve got so much I love doing. The internet is all just conjecture and people’s opinions and that’s fine, but back in the day if people wanted to debate about something down the pub that was great, but now people want to debate about it around the world on the internet that’s fine, but I just don’t have the time to get involved in all that.
Mark: There’s certainly a lot better things to be doing. You seem to be as busy today as you’ve ever been?
Steve: Yeah, I’m pretty busy. I suppose a lot of it I’ve made a rod for my own back doing two bands. But I love it. Like I’ve told people before: British Lion gets me match fit for Maiden, that’s how it works. So, it’s not like I do British Lion and I’m knackered for Maiden! It’s completely the other way around. It’s the same thing if I play football, sometimes I play on the day of a Maiden show, around midday or something like that. It’s like if we have two shows in a city and the gear is all set up, it means that some of our working personnel can take a few hours away from it on a second show day. We actually do that quite often. People say, “how can you play football then go on to do a gig?” But it’s actually better ‘cos it gets the blood flowing, it’s better than sitting about in the hotel doing nothing!
Mark: It was great to watch you play the other night, two great feet and some great passes,
Steve: Yeah, you know, I just love playing. At the end of the day when I can still physically do it, I have to do it.
Mark: I think you’re right Steve – continue to do the things you love as long as you can is something I live by.
Steve: You have to, you only get one go!
Mark: Many bands of a certain age have farewell tours, some have many, but it’s not something I as a fan can see Maiden doing – there will be a final tour but I like to think it won’t be announced as such?
Steve: Well it’s never something we’ve really ever wanted to say “This is a farewell tour” so I don’t think we’ll ever say that. Some of these bands are on Final Tour Part Ten! It’s crazy, but I’m not knocking them because its up to then what they do, I just don’t think I’d ever want to do that. But we’ll see anyway.
Mark: We will! Thank you so much for starting this tour in Perth, you did promise to come back when covid claimed the last tour. Now here we are on the eve of the Australian leg of the ‘Future Past Tour’.
Steve: Yeah it’s a shame that we couldn’t do the tour that we were originally meant to come here with, but it is what it is. Things have moved on and we’re back with the new Tour. At least we’re here Mark, that’s the main thing.
Mark: So everyone’s here now?
Steve: Yeah, everyone’s here. At least I hope they are! (Laughs)
Mark: (Laughs) Some of you have been here a while acclimatising?
Steve: Yeah, I’ve been here a couple of weeks now. You see the thing is we’ve all learnt from the past that going this way around the world is a nightmare! Going the other way around the body seems to adjust fairly easy, but this way is a nightmare so we thought we’d come in and acclimatise a little bit better this time.
Mark: And it’s the start of a big leg, you have Australian, then a stop in New Zealand before Japan and then back over to the U.S. It’s a substantial tour again!
Steve: Yeah, we’re not going to get back to Blighty till just before Christmas. We’re really looking forward to it.
Mark: Hopefully you’ll get a few more football games in?
Steve: I hope so, I’m trying to get a few organised at the moment.
Mark: We talked a bit last time about the olden days and some of the stories that are either part told or don’t get talked about often. One of the things everyone has been asking about as the anniversary nears is what was that first gig like as Maiden?
Steve: Well there was two – the St. Nicks Hall in Poplar and the Aberfeldy. (Laughs) Well it wasn’t great!
Mark: (Laughs)
Steve: It was alright! It was a really ambient room, but you know it was just one of those first off things. We got better! I played also a similar hall the Aberfeldy with Gypsy’s Kiss as well. That was the one where we only did three or four songs, and everyone was really nervous. I was so nervous I started the intro to one song and cocked it up, and the singer thought I was tuning up or something – it was chaos! (Laughs)
Mark: A lot of people around the world will tell you that Maiden are one of the, if not the Greatest British Rock bands of all time. What did you dream of for the band back in 1975?
Steve: Well, we didn’t really dream of anything other than wanting to make an album and going to play some gigs with it. That’s all. There were no thoughts of world domination or anything like that, nothing remotely like that: not at that time. Then when it all starts happening you think “Well it’s all opening up here, we have to take the opportunity” But even then, you don’t really know if it’s gonna last. But in the early days I was level-headed enough to make sure I had a backup if I had to go back to being a draftsman. So, I made sure I had qualifications to a certain degree just so that I could go back if it didn’t work. Why wouldn’t you – there are no guarantees.
Mark: I think you’re safe now though Steve?
Steve: (Laughs) Yeah, I think so! But every band goes through that and there are points where you think “Is it going to go one way or the other?” You just don’t know do you?
Mark: I can imagine there must have been moments like that over the first few years.
Steve: I think a big part of it was that we got a solid three album deal with EMI that meant that they had to commit themselves to three albums, it wasn’t like one album then options. And the options are always on the side of the record company not the bands. So that was a big commitment from them, but even then, you don’t know really if you’re going to make a real career out of it. I guess you have to plough the money back in and take a chance, it’s like starting any business off as such if you like to look at it that way. You have to invest in it. So I didn’t take any publishing out and I didn’t take any management commission for quite some time. I ploughed it all back in and took a chance on it. And we went out and toured our arses off in the hope that it was going to work, and lucky enough it did. But so many bad do exactly the same and fall by the wayside. It’s not easy starting out.
Mark: I remember those early days, we used to get one of the teachers at school to drive the minibus down to Leicester and places like that
Steve: De Montfort Hall, yeah. I remember that.
Mark: They were fantastic days, we had such great times and in those pre-internet days there was such a huge connection to the music. And that connection is still there all these years later.
Steve: My son’s going through a similar thing now. They’re playing at a few hundred seaters in the UK now, building things up. And they’re at the stage where they don’t know if it’s going to really take off to get to that next stage. And I remember that feeling very well. Not knowing if it’s going to do it or not. I mean they’re a great band and I think they’ve got what it takes, they really have. But there’s no guarantees, you just have to keep working your arse off, and I suppose hope for the best in a lot of ways.
Mark: Do you think it’s harder these days Steve?
Steve: I think it is harder Mark, yeah. Things have changed, albums people obviously just download them for free now mostly so that income is almost gone. That and there’s so many bands out there.
Mark: There’s so much noise out there too. And because it’s all opened up and everything is so accessible I find myself discovering bands from 5 years ago that were great but who have already split. It’s weird time, at least pre-internet to some degree a lot of that discovery was easier.
Steve: Yeah, it’s very difficult, but I think the hardest time is probably now.
Mark: Can you remember the first song you ever wrote Steve?
Steve: The first song I ever wrote? Well, I wrote ‘Endless Pit’ but I wrote stuff before that – I wrote bits and pieces. I had stuff that when I was in Smiler and even when I was in Gypsy’s Kiss, so the riff that became ‘Innocent Exile’ was the riff that was ‘Endless Pit’. So I didn’t write complete songs back then, but when I was in Smiler I did: I wrote ‘Innocent Exile’ and ‘Burning Ambition’ so they were really my first full-blown songs.
Mark: It’s great that with British Lion you get to go back and play some of those same venues that you did on the early days of Maiden, we talked last time about going back to the Cart & Horses and places like that…
Steve: It’s amazing. Obviously its different now as you play in the basement but there’s still that vibe there. I really enjoy it. Obviously, we’ve played there a few times not but every time it’s been fantastic.
Mark: It’s become such a rich part of the history, Australian friends always make that part of their pilgrimage when they visit the U.K. One of the things I saw recently was that you caught up with Paul (Di’Anno) late last year, and Tony is with you tonight, Maiden’s first keyboardist. There seem to be these wonderful connections lighting up again recently?
Steve: Yeah. And obviously Airforce supported British Lion with Doug Sampson on drums (Maiden’s drummer 1978-79) so there’s still those connections. I still have connections with quite a few people from back in the day, and most of them I kept in touch with. There’s been quite a few people in Iron Maiden over the years, and I haven’t kept in touch with all of them, but a good few.
Mark: How do you keep so grounded Steve? I’m so appreciative that you invited me down today for a chat after our interview the other week. You come across as exactly what I’d hoped – a really down to earth bloke, well connected to his roots who I could chat to down the pub all day?
Steve: That’s who I am. For me this is the best time really, I get to the venue early when we soundcheck for British Lion and then I’m just hanging around and I enjoyed our chat so why not? With Maiden we don’t really do soundchecks the crew do them, we just turn up and do what we do. We’re not hanging about like we are now. So it’s great to relax before it all kicks off.
Mark: Thank you so much for your time Steve. I do hope one day you get the time to write that book about the early days, I know a lot of people would love to hear those stories.
Steve: Yeah, the thing is in those very early days before we were signed and all that, when somethings happening for the first time it’s exciting, it’s still exciting for me today seeing the guys (British Lion) coming to Australia for the first time. The first time it all happened is always a fantastic experience, because like I said, you don’t know what’s gonna happen next. It’s just that element of, no surprise necessarily, but just that wonderful energy that’s in the air. I’ve been to places many, many times, it doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy them, but the first time you do something – I love that experience of the unknown. It gives it that edge.
Mark: Like I said before Steve, I think I’m as excited to see British Lion’s first show on Australian soil tonight as I am to see Maiden on Sunday.
Steve: Well I’ve never played here before so it’s good for me, and for them to come into a country they’ve never been to before is fantastic anyway. And I get to play some venues around the world that Maiden bypassed. Even places in Europe because we played with Kiss and leapfrogged some of those medium sized venues. So there’s been a heap of famous venues throughout Europe that it was really nice to play for the first time with British Lion.
Mark: It is a nice little venue here and I’ve seen some great bands play over the years from New York Dolls with Earl Slick to bands like Thunder and Black Stone Cherry. It’s a nice room with a great sound. I don’t think were quite sold out tonight but there should be a good crowd.
Steve: Well the first time you come to a place you don’t know what you’re worth. I’m not sure what’s been sold but I hope a few people will come out and check us out. Hopefully word gets out, but it’s difficult. People might think my name would sell it but its not like that. It’s a whole different thing.
Mark: It’s a strange city, so many people just turn up on the night!
Steve: I hope so! (Laugh) The more the merrier. I do think that if people don’t come along they’ll be disappointed when they find out from the people that have been here. I shouldn’t say that should I! (Laughs) But I guarantee it is going to be good.
Mark: It will be fantastic, it will be a great night for all. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us Steve and all the best for the tour.
Steve: I love coming to Australia it’s always great to be here and great to catch up in person.
Many thanks to Steve for taking the time to talk to The Rockpit and also to Iron Maiden’s and British Lion’s wonderful management team for making it happen. Catch both bands whilst tickets last!