Iron Maiden at 50: An Ironclad Legacy [Episode 323]

As Iron Maiden marks 50 years of sonic excellence, their legacy in the world of metal music remains unmatched. Join the conversation with author Daniel Bukszpan about their relentless dedication to their craft and the unwavering support of their legion of fans.

Purchase a copy of Iron Maiden at 50

Visit Daniel Bukszpan's website

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's a deep dive into fifty years of Iron Maiden
with author Daniel bucks Band. That's next. I'm booked on rock.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
We're totally bummed rock and roll. I mean got to
leave you.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
You're reading Little Hands says it's time to rock and roll.
Band Rode up, I totally booked. Welcome back to book
don Rock the podcast for those about to read and rock.
I'm Eric Sanitch. Daniel Buckspan is back on the podcast,
this time to talk about his latest book titled Iron

(00:34):
Maiden at fifty. Daniel, welcome back to the podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Another fantastic retrospective milestone celebration book put together by our
friends at Motorbooks. An epic tribute. Tell us about what's
in the book, how it's packaged by Motor Books. This
is a must have for fans of Iron Maiden. More
than just a great read.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
It's my loving tribute to the baddest band in the UK.
And you know the band that I really consider. You know,
they kind of really created you know, what I feel
is the archetype for heavy metal. Like when you talk
about heavy metal, it's those guys. Obviously there's Judas Priest
and Metallica and all that, But to me, the template

(01:20):
for it really came from those guys. And this takes
the whole story from you know, Steve Harris Lowly Street
Sweeper deciding to name a band someday Iron Maiden on
Christmas Day in nineteen seventy five, right up to now.
And what's different about this at fifty book as opposed

(01:44):
to some of the other ones is these guys are
on tour this minute and never stopped, never took a break,
They had no sabbatical, nothing. It was just constant activity
the entire fifty years, which you cannot say that about
a lot of bands.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Yeah, fifty years in counting, and who better to do
a celebration book like this in motor books. Plenty of
photos in here, not just a timeline of the band.
I mean we got some other sidebars in there as well.
Oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
I talked about the Iron Maiden gallop, which is you know,
I would say, the prime that and like, you know,
the harmonized lead guitars. I would say, probably, you know,
those are like the primary musical motifs that they use
most of the time. I did one about the creation
of Eddie, the longest surfing mascot in history. I think

(02:37):
one about their third singer, Blaize Bailey's heart attack, after
which he immediately just ran back on stage the second
he was able to oh ed force one the plane.
That Yeah, just so happens that their singer, Bruce Dickinson, who's,
you know, one of the greatest living singers you know,

(02:58):
is also a licensed commercial airline pilot who flies them
around the world, which is why they can hit every
continent at you know, relative low cost. Yeah, there's a
lot in there. And as we were putting the finishing
touches on it, Paul Diano, the original singer, passed away,

(03:18):
and Nicko McBrain had to step down as their touring
drummer because he had a stroke that really compromised his
mobility on his right side, so he can't he could
not do the Trooper Phil, which I've said is like
Linda Ronstadt not being able to sing. That's just like

(03:40):
horrible tragic. Although I understands he is still playing and
you know, still doing his thing and still running rock
and roll ribs, the greatest rib place in Florida, so
he's he keeps it going. But I will say, I
feel very bad for him that he can't be up
there right now. I'm sure it's very upsetting to him

(04:03):
be on tour with those guys.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Iron't Maiden for you? You say that experience of becoming
a fan was less immediate infatuation than a slow subduction.
How did you become a fan?

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Well, I mean, for my experience, I think is pretty typical.
You know, I'm gen X, so I saw them on
MTV like a lot of people, and at first it
was like, Wow, geez, what's what's the what's the story
with these guys? Yikes? But I think you know, their
their realness and their authenticity and the fact that they

(04:39):
were just absolutely unapologetic and everything that they did. I mean,
even in the time when I wasn't listening to them,
you could tell that about them, that this was the
real thing. And you know, finally, by like the late eighties,
I finally like gravitated more towards there. You know, Seventh
Son was the first rac there's that I bought as

(05:02):
you know, as it came out, you know, as I
was a fan because I was late to the party
to all the earlier stuff. But you know, I mean,
it's like if you can, you cannot deny some of
those songs, And even if you know they're maybe not
your thing or whatever, there's you know, really accessible stuff,

(05:25):
you know like Run to the Hills and the Trooper,
and you know that it gives a lot of people
an entry point. And for me that it was it
was easy to come in and decide, oh, I'm at
home here. As soon as that happened.

Speaker 1 (05:41):
Let's go back to the beginning. Christmas Day, nineteen seventy five,
to be exact. Chapter one is titled Merry Christmas, mister Harris,
Bye by Football, Hello Prague. How does Iron Maiden come
to be?

Speaker 2 (05:52):
I was taken to task for this already in one review,
But it was it was his idea that he wanted
to have this band iron that he had on that day.
It was not formed on that day, so to that person,
I said that, but that was the day that he
was like, I saw this movie The Man in the
Iron Mask. They had this thing in it called an

(06:15):
Iron Maiden. That is a cool ass name for a band,
and I am calling my band that. Then it takes
some time to actually get the band together, but you know,
he had the idea right off the Bat and you know,
and he designed the logo right off the bat and
you know, he was not even twenty at the time

(06:37):
when he thought of those things, and you know, had
those ideas which were still today, they're still going. You know,
the Eddie mascot was from the early days. You know,
they had all these ideas early on that have just
lasted the whole time, and that's that's really unusual.

Speaker 1 (06:56):
The debut single, Running Free was released on Feburary eighth, Tanadian.
That's notably because it's the first appearance of the band's mascot, Eddie.
Let's talk about him some more. What is the origin
story there?

Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yeah, a friend of their lights guy, the guy who
did lights at their shows. In fact, they even called
him Dave Lights Beasley, you know with the scare quotes.
I think it was a friend of his. They just
it was a paper machine mask that they molded on
his face and that was just behind them on stage

(07:30):
when they would play these little clubs, and at the
end for the big finale, it would like vomit blood,
usually on the back of their drummer, who was not
happy about that. But you know, show business, you know,
the show must go on. And it just got more,

(07:50):
It got bigger as it went on. But you know,
when they really put in you know, I think when
they like really put in an identity to it was
when Derrick Riggs designed the rawing that they picked and
that just became Eddie and it was perfect, you know,
in the book at their manager, Rod Smallwood, you know,

(08:12):
came in with all these drawings that Derek Riggs had
done and said, what, you know, which one of these
do you like for the cover? And they all pointed
at the same one and that was the picture, the
picture of Eddie, and they were right on target with that,
and it's just gotten bigger and crazier as the years
have gone on. But it just started on some guy's face.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
You're right. Quote. Some bands take a couple of albums
to hit their stride. Iron Maiden's self titled debut had
no such issues, released April eleventh, nineteen eighty Running Free
and Sanctuary the singles pretty different lineup than the one
music fans know or the casual Maiden fan may know.
Tell us about the album. Who's in the lineup and
why you're a fan of it.

Speaker 2 (08:56):
The original singer Paul Deiano, he's he does the vocals
and their lead guitar player on that was Dennis Stratton,
who was a little bit older than the other guys
in the band and not like one hundred percent metal
as they were, but he was just a very good
guitar player, really good musician, and for him, he was

(09:19):
really into, you know, sort of the challenge of it
because it was not really his thing, but he said,
you know, their their sound was very unique. They had
their own edge, and I respected that, and so he
was really approaching it in that way. Unfortunately, apparently he
listened to stuff like Steelee Dan and the Eagles in

(09:40):
his off hours, and the and their manager like that
became this problem between him and the and their manager
and Steve Harris, and he was asked to leave, which
seems a little weird to me. But to me, he's like,
when I listened to that record, to the debut, like,
I can't say anything bad about that record at all.

(10:01):
I think it's perfect from start to finish. All the
playing is top notch. Everything is just completely on point.
And you know, I mean, to me, the thing that
people listening to Iron Maiden today would be most surprised
by is just how like raw and savage that first
record is, you know, because we think of them now

(10:22):
they're a lot more grandiose, I guess in what they do.
But at the time they were like that was the
sound of a band who would cut you. You know,
if you ran into them in an alley, they would
cut you. And Paul Deiano even carried a blade around
with him, you know. So you know, they had just

(10:43):
this real thuggish kind of energy that I think really
worked for them in the early days. And did I
mention all the songs are great on that first record,
I skip nothing.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
Ever, well, do they revisit those songs?

Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yeah? They still do Running Free. The song Iron Maiden
is on their or so you know they do that
all the time. They I mean, they do everything from
their entire catalog. There really isn't There is no period
really that they downplay.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
Okay, so it's not a Seemi Higgar. I'm not going
to sing the Dave stuff unless I absolutely have to know.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
Every Bruce Dickenson saying all you know, not all the material,
but the material from both singers who were in the band.
When he wasn't in it, he had no attitude about
it whatsoever. Uh, you know, and I think Steve Harris
sees the whole thing is kind of a continuum that
we are Iron Maiden, this is what we've done. Some

(11:39):
people maybe have come and gone, but Eddie is forever,
and as long as you know, Eddie is there forever,
so are all these songs. At least to me, that's
kind of how I look at it. It's it's been
a you know, it's it's been a consistent thing, regardless
of whether you know one person has been in or
out of it. But that, yeah, they still do all

(12:01):
the old stuff, they do the new stuff.

Speaker 1 (12:04):
Deanna was on another album. It's not like they got
they removed him right away. He was on Killers and
also A Live plus One. Yeah, a Live plus One
was a live album, so that came before the second album.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
So Killers, I would say the same thing also about
the debut. It is excellent from start to finish. Those
are the only two Iron Maiden albums where I don't
skip any songs when I listened to them. I've listened
to the whole thing start to finish, and it's like
that Killers has a little bit of an edge on

(12:37):
the debut for me because of a couple of the songs.
But that is just like raw, savage stuff. And you know,
I think people who discovered them when the music was
a little more slick, if they go back and listen
to that stuff, they'll be very surprised by it.

Speaker 1 (12:53):
Chapter ten is titled did He Try Tea with Honey
and Lemon? Made in parts of Diano? The title is
a hint as to led to Diano's departure if you
talk about that, how he was relieved by the band's
decision to let him go, which is interesting, and what
he went on to do in the years after made
he was.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
Not taking care of himself on the road.

Speaker 1 (13:12):
You know.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
I mean, when you're singing, you really have to take
care of your voice or you it will go you know.
I mean even singers who do take care of their voice,
it goes out on them. Sometimes it just happens. But
you know, he was a young man and liked a
young man's pursuits. Uh, and it was not good for him,
and uh, you know, like that that got to be

(13:35):
an issue, but more for him. What he said was,
you know, the thing, this thing is just going to
get bigger and bigger. And I just don't know if
that's what I want. Uh, and when you know he's decided, okay,
we're going to part ways now. He was actually kind
of relieved by that, like you said, because now he
didn't have you know, that the band that they became

(13:59):
this like stadium packing entity. Uh you know, I mean
he had no way of seeing that they would become that.
But certainly seeing like you're going to be on tour
for the next two years, that does give some people pause,
you know, even people who are really committed. And you know,
because I'm sure I know he was committed, and uh,
you know he was there during you know, the early

(14:21):
days of the band when it's the hardest. Uh. But
you know, you after a while it just became not uh,
not right for him and not right for them, I
think is the best way to say it.

Speaker 1 (14:33):
And then he went on to a solo career. Did
he put out a lot of studio albums?

Speaker 2 (14:37):
Yeah, uh he had. He did one band called Gagamugog
and another one called battle Zone, and he also toured
under Just Diano and just under Paul Diano. Uh, and
you could not stop him.

Speaker 1 (14:53):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (14:53):
He performed in a wheelchair for a while as his
health was really failing. Towards the end. You know, so
the guy was a lifer, totally dedicated, but you know,
the Maiden, the Maiden plan is not for everybody. But
you know, I know, I'm pretty sure he was happy
with what he was doing, even at a smaller scale

(15:15):
after that. And as far as money is concerned, he said,
those guys always took care of me. They did right
by me. I'm good.

Speaker 1 (15:23):
Okay. I was going to ask you, how are things
between him and the band after he left? Did they
maintain any kind of relationship?

Speaker 2 (15:31):
Yeah? And at the end, actually they they he got
really sick with a bunch of things, and towards the end,
Maiden paid all his medical expenses. Oh wow, which is
I mean, that's pretty solid. You know, when their original drummer,
Clive Burr, he got multiple sclerosis and he couldn't play anymore.

(15:53):
But they, you know, they helped sort of customize his
house in his car because he was wheelchair bound at
that point, and they helped them with all those expenses,
and you know, they they really did the right thing.

Speaker 1 (16:06):
That is so cool.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
Yeah. You know, everyone who was ever in the band
is you know, still has a connection to the band,
and you don't hear you know, Dennis Stratton from the
first record, or you know Blaize Bailey who sang from
them later. You just don't hear them going like those guys,
they're awful. You never get in the same room with them.
Those are terrible people, you know. I mean that when

(16:32):
they had to leave for one reason or another, they
were not happy about it, obviously, you know they were
upset by that. But they always stayed in touch with
them and always had a good relationship. You know, to
this day it's still a good relationship.

Speaker 1 (16:48):
That's a great story to hear, especially in that business
that you don't hear those stories often.

Speaker 2 (16:53):
They have. Most of what I know about them, they've
conducted themselves the right way and done the right thing
most of the time. No one back to a thousand,
as we all know when I from what I know,
they've really tried to be above board and how they
treat people.

Speaker 1 (17:11):
Booked on rock Podcasts We'll be back after this Bam.

Speaker 2 (17:15):
The Future rock and.

Speaker 1 (17:17):
Roll Iron Maiden at fifty is the book. The author
is Daniel bucks Band. Chapter eleven, titled The Air Raid Siren,
Bruce Dickinson joins, How does Bruce, once known as Bruce Bruce.
Bruce Bruce while in a band Samson, how does he
end up joining Iron Maiden? And speaking of nicknames, what's
behind that title the air Raid Siren.

Speaker 2 (17:39):
He was Bruce Bruce in a band called Samson, who
were a heavy metal band, you know, at the same
time as Iron Maiden. And when Iron Maiden were first
coming up, they opened for Samson. But then like Samson's
label had some problems and they eventually shut down, and
eventually Samson was opening for Iron Maiden, and I think

(18:00):
they did Redding Festival and it was clear that, you know,
Samson was over after Redding Festival, but Paul Diiano was
still an Iron Maiden and Rod Small, with their manager,
had a talk with Bruce Dickenson saying, this is what
we're playing, you know, And it was kind of a

(18:22):
kind of behind the scenes sort of thing that you know,
not great probably for everybody, but yeah, they he auditioned,
you know, he auditioned for for them. They sang, he
did four songs with them. He was in the band immediately,
and oh and he his nickname is the air Raid Siren.

(18:46):
And when I first heard that, I was like, that's great,
that's fantastic, what a great name for him. And then
it turned out I found out it was a fan
wrote in who really liked Paul Diano. And this fan
was very angry because he was like, you got this
new guy and he sings all my all my favorite

(19:08):
Iron Maiden songs. It makes them sound like an air
raid siren. But you know, they they, you know, they
took the He took it and was like thank you, and.

Speaker 1 (19:20):
Took a negative and a negative and turned it into a positive.

Speaker 2 (19:24):
Yeah. Yeah, it's you know, it's like if you know
when someone calls you, you know, the you know, the
biggest jerk in the universe, and you're like, thank you,
thank you exactly.

Speaker 1 (19:33):
Speaking speaking of that, then you know it's funny. You know.
I had you on to talk about Ozzie's book, Ozzie.
Was it Ozzie at seventy five?

Speaker 2 (19:42):
Yeah, And I put up a.

Speaker 1 (19:44):
Highlight clip of when you were telling the story about
the doves, you know, Ozzie biting the head off the dove,
and some somebody commented they were not happy with me
that I was. I was laughing at the craziness of Ozzie.
I wasn't laughing at biting the head off of an animal.
That's not funny. And boy, she was just like, do

(20:06):
you think that's funny, Eric, you're a jerk or something
like that. I said, oh my god. You know I
usually I don't respond. I go, oh my god, come on,
please are we let let's just let's just make sure
we're clear of this. I'm not laughing. The idea of
biting a head off of an animal is not fun.

Speaker 2 (20:21):
You're not. But everyone on the internet has something to say,
and if I may, you should have responded with thank you.
I hope it was painful.

Speaker 1 (20:32):
I should have taken it. Yes, I should have taken
the Bruce Dickinson approach on that one. Oh my god,
that just you reminded me of that when you mentioned that.
So Dickinson, the results are immediate with him in the band.
Nineteen eighty two's Number of the Beast was their first
UK number one and it features two songs that are
forever part of Iron Maiden history, which are Run to
the Hills and the Number of the Beast. And everything

(20:54):
seemed to fall in place with Bruce and the band,
and not just vocally, because you talk about how producer
Martin Birch really push him to sing higher and harder,
and he did. But also Steve Harris now can write
music that he wanted to write all along. Now he's
able to.

Speaker 2 (21:10):
Yeah, I don't know if people really knew quite what
Harris had in mind, you know, when when he was thinking,
you know, maybe this Paul Deiano guy that we have
has some as good as he is, he has some limitations.
I don't know that he was necessarily thinking, I want
that guy from Samson called Bruce Bruce, but you know,

(21:32):
I'm sure he was thinking, like, you know, maybe the
next guy could have, you know, a bigger range or
something like that, you know, and it just so happens that,
you know, Bruce Dickinson is one of the greatest heavy
metal singers in the world, you know, and if everybody
wants the greatest heavy metal singer in the world for
their band, but he, like, he actually got it. So

(21:52):
I don't know how much they understood his capability when
they first got him, or if that was something that
they sort of figured out once they were in the
studio with him and everything. But you know, when you
listen to Hallow be Thy Name, you know, the last
song on Number of the Beast no offense to Paul Deianno,
the late great Paul Deianno, whom we love. He didn't

(22:14):
have the range for it. I mean, the vocal range.
It wasn't possible. There's you know, he goes to Bruce Dickinson,
goes to very high in some parts of it and
pretty low in other parts of it. And their performance
in nineteen eighty two at Hammersmith of that song, which

(22:35):
is all over MTV, very easy to find, I highly
recommend it. His vocal on that is just amazing. And
there's no part of the song that where you feel like, Okay,
he's just kind of winging it here, or okay he's
just kind of phoning it in here, or like every
part of it he's absolutely on point. And that's just

(22:57):
something about him that I found, you know, through route
all of Iron Maiden's records, is there's just no part
of it where he does the easy thing. And so
you know, every time we listen we listen to them, it's,
you know, we're kind of taken into this sort of
unexpected place that's a little bit beyond what we can

(23:17):
imagine and certainly beyond what we're capable of doing ourselves.

Speaker 1 (23:22):
And so that helps Steve Harris songwriting wise, you could
write some pieces of music now that he couldn't before
because of the vocal range.

Speaker 2 (23:30):
Yeah, and also just because of you know, Dickinson also
was a good songwriter.

Speaker 1 (23:36):
That's what I was going to ask you. Yeah, how
much does he contribute to this songwriting?

Speaker 2 (23:39):
He contributed a lot. And the guitar player who replaced
the guitar player on the first record, Adrian Smith. He
and Dickenson ended up like kind of pairing up a
little bit and writing songs together, and a lot of
them I think are some of Maiden's best songs, like
two Minutes to Midnight, which no Maiden or can happen

(24:02):
without it, you know that, you know what I mean.
That's that's just top flight Maiden right there. An excellent
example of them at their best. So Dickens said he
really had a lot to offer, you know, and again
it's you know, Paul Deianno wrote lyrics too, He wrote
music too, but it was just different with Brups. It
was just a different thing entirely, and that's that's really

(24:24):
the distinction.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
Clive Burr is on Number of the Beast. He plays
drums on that album, but soon we would see the
arrival of another beloved member of Maiden, Nico McBrain, the
decision to remove Burr. He's partying too hard too.

Speaker 2 (24:37):
That is what he was told. He denied that, you
know the way he told it, that he had to
leave the band to go back home because they were
on tour in America and he had to go back
home because his father died. And so Nico, who they
knew already from this other band called Trust, was going

(24:58):
to sit in for sit in for Clive while they
did their tour dates. But when he came back, they
decided they just they wanted to keep Nicko. And the
whole thing sounds a little like we don't really know
what the whole story was there, you know, because you
know Steve Harris as one thing, Clive bur says another thing,

(25:22):
and you just kind of get the feeling the truth
is somewhere in the middle. But again, these guys, I
really have to kind of hand it to them. They
don't get out there and just like talk a lot
of shit about each other and said, you know, there's
no feuding in the press or you know, they don't
do that. They're here and there, But for the most part.

(25:45):
They don't do that even when they're out of the band,
you know. Clive bur said, obviously, who wasn't happy about it,
and he thought it was a very unfortunate thing. But
he just went on to his next band and got
on with it and played until he couldn't anymore.

Speaker 1 (26:02):
First album with Niko is eighty three's Peace of Mind,
featuring Flight of Vicarus and The Trooper, two more iconic
Maiden songs, and the final track on the album is
Interesting to Tame a Land. If they were up to
the band, they would have called it Dune with different lyrics.
You cover this topic in chapter fourteen, which is titled Revelations.
Frankie Herbert hates Iron Maiden.

Speaker 2 (26:23):
Yes, he said so, you know, while he had his
assistant say so, you know, because they wanted to do
this song about the book Doune. There's all these lyrics
in it that are just come directly. I don't know
if you've read the book, but it's it's direct.

Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yeah, I had the book. It's been locked out. The
movie came out around that time, right with Sting.

Speaker 2 (26:45):
The movie came out in eighty four. Yeah, so Peace
of Mind was a year earlier and I must give
Steve Harris credit because a lot of the songs that
he's written are based on the book, but not the
adaptation of the book. So he actually reads. He's a reader,
not a lot of readers in this genre, I got

(27:06):
to say, but no, he They wanted to call it Dune.
They sent a letter to Frank Herbert's office, may we
call it done? And basically the guys like, absolutely not.
I don't like rock music. I don't like heavy rock music,
and I especially don't like heavy rock bands like Iron Maiden. Again,

(27:26):
this is through his assistant.

Speaker 1 (27:28):
So I'm hearing the Steve Martin will excuse me.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
Yeah, yeah, pretty much. So they had to call it
to Tame a Land Wow, which is fine. Uh, And
I don't I don't think it would have done anything
to sales of you know, copies of Done One Way
or whatever they had called it. But yeah, it was
that was That was sad. That was sad. They just
they just wanted to do a nice tribute to the guy,

(27:54):
and he went very sad.

Speaker 1 (27:56):
Book on Rock podcast will be back after this.

Speaker 2 (27:59):
Now might be a dandytown for that.

Speaker 1 (28:01):
Recess Maiden's run continues with nineteen eighty four's power sleeve
that features two Minutes to Midnight and mentioned that one
ace is High. That is followed by nineteen eighty six
is Somewhere in Time, features Wasted Years and Stranger in
a Strange Land. The title of chapter seventeen is It's
no Turbo Maiden gets a lunch break now. The titles

(28:23):
refern to Judas priest controversial album from the same year
which I didn't even realize, which is Turbo, which that
had notable change commercial glam metal sound synthesizers in it.
For the first time on Somewhere in Time, Maiden incorporates
guitar synthesizers, so first for them as well. And it's,
you say, the most slickly produced and ornately arranged thing

(28:44):
the band had ever done. What response did the album
get from fans and critics? And how did afair compared
to Priest Turbo.

Speaker 2 (28:51):
Priest Turbo is hated to this day. But a lot
of that, I must be blunt with you, is because
the songs are all terrible. Uh, it's not just the arrangement.
The arrangement that that's a problem, and all the synthesizers
were a problem, but the songs are awful. If the
songs had been good, maybe this would be a different discussion.

(29:13):
All the songs on Somewhere in Time are good. That's
that's really the difference. And also it wasn't as like
drenched in synthesizers as Turbo was Turbo. The title just
should have been we're using a lot of synthesizers on
this one.

Speaker 1 (29:30):
You know, uh yeah, that would have been funny for
the album title.

Speaker 2 (29:35):
I mean, that's how everyone talks about it. So maybe,
you know, with Somewhere in Time, I mean, it's still
sounded like Iron Maiden. It's still the songwriting, it still
sounded like them, and the you know, the keyboards are there,
but they're not like, you know, super obnoxious, like you know,
who the hell are these guys all of a sudden.

(29:56):
I do remember people complaining about it.

Speaker 1 (29:58):
Anyway, though, another eight sidebar on the book, and you
talk about this at the beginning, and I find this fascinating,
the band's hallmark galloping rhythm sound. You really get into
this in the history of it started on the song Killers,
and then again on the songs The Trooper and Run
to the Hills. You're right. Quote though Maiden gets a
lot of credit for this musical motif. They did not

(30:20):
invent it, not by a long shot. This goes all
the way back to the nineteenth century.

Speaker 2 (30:26):
The William tell overture, which a lot of people will
call the Lone Ranger song. It has that sort of
it basically has that rhythm to it and that sort
of get you know. I don't know if that's the
first time it ever appears in Western music, but it's
the earliest famous example. And you know, in music theory

(30:48):
it's two sixteenth notes and an eighth note for those
of you listening at home who have studied music theory,
but it does. It's that like and you only find
it in the William Telloverture and heavy metal. Uh it's
and it's such a like identifiably heavy metal thing. You

(31:10):
do not see it in other genres ever, except in
no more words by the band Berlin other than that, Wow,
I've never heard it. And I remember hearing that and
being like, wow, they're doing the galloping their sound.

Speaker 1 (31:29):
What's that Steve Harris had said, He's like, that's cool
that we're associated with that, but we're more than just that.

Speaker 2 (31:35):
Yeah, but that's that's a pretty big deal.

Speaker 1 (31:39):
I still it's cool man love it.

Speaker 2 (31:41):
It's really the thing they're known for, you know. And
they didn't do it first, that you know, and certainly
a lot of bands that were influenced by them really
ran with it and did different things with it that
were really interesting. But people just respond to the gallop
all the time. New listeners, they just immediate we respond
to that, and it's just a very strong motif, you know,

(32:04):
it's hard not to react to it.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
Chapter eighteen is titled seventh Son of a Seventh Son
America disappoints Steve Harris. You lead this with quote too
many longtime fans In nineteen eighty eight, Seventh Son of
a Seventh Son is the best album Iron May never recorded.
Can I Play with Madness? The Evil that Men Do?
And the Clairvoyant all from this one when platinum, But
Harris felt it could have done better. What was his

(32:27):
frustration with the US fans? And was he right?

Speaker 2 (32:30):
It was not quite as popular in the US as
it was in the UK. And he I think wanted
also that it was going to be even bigger than
somewhere in time. But unfortunately, right around then things were,
you know, things were starting to change in the US
in terms of metal and you know, stuff like Metallica

(32:52):
and Slayer and stuff like that was you know, nineteen
eighty eight when Seventh Son came out. That's the same
year as Injustice for All by Metallica, South of Heaven
by Slayer, State of Euphoria by Anthrax. I mean that
was that was really a moment of you know, thrash
metal coming in metal Fancer. We're still into Maiden and

(33:14):
I still bought that record, but you know, here comes
the new pretty girl, you know, the younger, sexier you know, uh,
you know, I mean it they got through it because
Maiden gets through everything. But I mean I remember at
the time, it was if you were into metal most

(33:36):
of the time you're you were definitely talking about Metallica
or Slayer or something like that, and you know, more
classic stuff. Uh, you know, Judas Priest Iron Maiden Doo
was starting. I wouldn't say to decline, but people were
into the new thing. Is probably more accurate to say.

Speaker 1 (33:56):
I'm assuming time has been kind to Seventh Son of
a Seventh Son here in the States.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
Oh well, I mean, first of all, like I said,
there are some Maiden fans who absolutely swear by that record,
and they're like that that's the one that's their best record.
That's it, and you cannot you cannot tell them otherwise
they will fight you, you know. But yeah, no, I
mean it's you know now, you know, everyone is like,
oh yeah, I loved that record. That was great. I

(34:22):
loved it right when it came out, you know. But
it's really solid. It's great all the way through. Can
I Play with Madness is probably my least favorite song
on it, but it's still really strong record. It's got
great stuff on it. And you know, if you like concepts,
it's united. It's unified, and it's great stuff on it.

Speaker 1 (34:41):
Chapter twenty titled agonizing a member of the classic lineup
moves on another quote from you here. Iron Maiden's classic
nineteen eighties lineup ended in December nineteen eighty eight after
a tour ending performance at Hammersmith Odeon in the band's
hometown of London. No one knew yet, but the lineup
was about to fracture. So let's talk about the de
archer of Adrian Smith. In nineteen eighty nine.

Speaker 2 (35:03):
He felt that, you know, the direction that the band
was going in creatively, where it was progressive and there
were synthesizers and these epics, you know, was really the
way to go. And as they were starting to talk
about the next record that they would do, Steve Harris
was talking about that he wanted to really, you know,

(35:23):
strip it down. This may have been kind of a
reaction to what was going on in the US with
thrash metal. Possibly that's a theory of mine. I don't
know if that's the case or not. But he was like,
we're going to strip everything down, and the stage sets
are going to be small, We're going to take it

(35:44):
way down. And Adrian Smith didn't want any part of that.
He said that he thought the direction that they were
already on was great and he really loved it and
he couldn't see any reason to deviate from that at
that point. So he left and he took a lot
of good songwriting with him. Unfortunately, and to me, the

(36:07):
results on the next album, the Strip Down one, you
can tell that they lost a very important part of
the picture when they lost him, because No Prayer for
the Dying, in my opinion, is the absolute worst record
they ever made. There is nothing good on it. And

(36:28):
I can completely understand if someone told me Adrian Smith
bought that record, took it home, put it on, and went, oh,
thank god, I left it just the right time. I
would believe them that bad.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
What about Fear of the Dark that came in ninety three.

Speaker 2 (36:43):
Fear of the Dark, I feel is marginally better because
instead of having no good songs, it has two good songs.
One of them is the title track, which they still play.
But I feel like at that point they were kind
of pulling in different directions and like maybe just not
you know, I mean, they like I said, they like

(37:05):
I said, they never phoned it in. They were never like,
let's just throw something out there and we don't care.
But you can still care and put a lot of
effort into something and it doesn't get across for whatever reason.
And you know, on the rare occasions when I ever
listen to those records, it's it just always feels like
something's not right here. It's very much like Black Sabi's

(37:29):
thirteen album, where when I listen to that, I'm sort
of like, well, there's nothing, there's nothing wrong with it.
I hear all the things I'm supposed to hear, like
all the you know, all the maiden things you expect
to hear are on no prayer for the dying and
Fear of the Dark. But it's like it's just there's

(37:50):
something beyond that that's not there and you and you
notice it, you miss it. I can't say what it is,
but something is not right. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
Yeah. Well, and Bruce Dickinson, he wouldn't be there much longer.
He leaves after Fear of the Dark. This was a
risk that he was taking. He knew it was a risk,
but he still did it. What was his reason and
how did his bandmates respond?

Speaker 2 (38:13):
There had been a couple of moments up up until
then when he felt like Iron Maiden should do this,
and like on Somewhere in Time he submitted a bunch
of acoustic songs which you know, would not have fit
in and were, in my opinion, rightly rejected. So he
doesn't have any songs on that album at all. But

(38:34):
I think for him that was a little bit that
that was a little bit alienating to him, and I
think he was just, you know, after Seventh Son, I
think he was starting to feel like it was getting
to be a bit a bit of a job at
that point as opposed to a passion.

Speaker 1 (38:53):
And maybe that's part of what you're hearing in those
two albums, that's something missing along with obviously Adrian not
being there.

Speaker 2 (39:01):
Yeah maybe. I mean, you know, he had been doing it.
At that point. He'd been with the band for ten years.
For a young person, that's a very long time to
be you know, that probably feels like forever. He had
problems just with the touring schedule even before then, during
Life After Death, and you know, I think he had

(39:23):
just the very understandable desire to see what he could
do on his own. The big hit single from No
Prayer for the Dying bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter.
He originally wrote that as a solo thing that he
was going to put on a movie soundtrack. Iron Maiden
ended up appropriating it, but I think he kind of

(39:44):
got a taste of it, and then when he did
his own solo stuff before leaving Iron Maiden, I think
it just sort of fell to him like again, oh,
here's the pretty new girlfriend, and let's see we can
do here, you know again. And I'm not and I'm
not like trying to give them a hard time or anything.

(40:06):
I think, you know, those are all very understandable, uh
feelings and impulses, But you know, we all, we all
sometimes get distracted by you know, who's who's that, Who's
that lady? You know.

Speaker 1 (40:20):
Yeah, Well, his bandmate seem to be supportive of it.
But I think it's in the book where they talk
about they maybe it was Steve Harrison's saying, Okay, we'll
let you finish out the tour here, but he kind
of regrets that.

Speaker 2 (40:31):
Well, the band, the band felt like it again that
you know, at the end and that last leg of
that tour before he left. Uh, they were you know,
and again I was not there. I don't know to
what degree this is true, but they were saying that
like he would really only make an effort if they
were in like Paris or London or you know, some

(40:53):
major city. But you know, if they were in Iowa City, Uh,
he would maybe not try. Is hard. Uh and that
really bothered them. Uh yeah, he Bruce Dickinson's take is different, Uh,
you know where he said just that everyone knew he
was leaving, so the vibe you know, coming from the

(41:14):
audience was a little weird and was hard for him
to work with.

Speaker 1 (41:18):
You know.

Speaker 2 (41:19):
Again, this is probably one of those things where the
truth is somewhere in the middle. Again, but Nico himself said,
by the end of that tour, we could not wait
to get rid of him. So you know, but I
must say, also as a former musician myself, when you

(41:39):
go on tour with other musicians, if it goes on
for a really long time, you will start to hate
them and they will start to hate you. So again, inevitable. Yeah, yeah,
it's just too long with the same people and in
a in a bus and it's it's gonna there will
be problems.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
Book On podcast will be back after.

Speaker 2 (42:00):
This short pause. Hold your breast for the Dynamic duo.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
They recorded two albums with Blaze Bailey ninety five's The
X Factor ninety eighth Virtual eleven. You say the band
wanted to go in a new direction, and while Bailey's
tenure with the group has remained polarizing, they got the
change they wanted. So what's your opinion of those two
albums and the Blaze Bailey era.

Speaker 2 (42:25):
I'm actually a huge fan of both records. I really
think they're good. Virtual Leafin Has Future Real and The Klansmen,
which are both like bangers, just absolute bangers. They still
play them too.

Speaker 1 (42:44):
Dickinson sings those Yeah, yeah, that's cool.

Speaker 2 (42:47):
Yeah, and as all the comments sections say, he is better,
he is better than Blaze. But no, I like Blaize.
I think he's a good singer. I thought he was.
Really he was good on those records. There's you know,
live video out there of him fronting Maiden. You know,
you sit there watching and it's like, this is different.

(43:08):
And that's probably what the problem was was like a
lot of people just could not accept how different it was.
His voice is very different from Bruce's. He's not that
kind of like operatic singer at all. He said so himself,
you know what I mean. You know what that unfortunately
turns into among fans who are talking is he sucks,

(43:33):
which is not which is not true. He's gotten a
really bad rap over the years, and there are people
who still just will never get on board with that
period that he was in. But I think those two
records are actually the two best records made and did
in the nineties.

Speaker 1 (43:50):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (43:51):
I think that there's a lot to them. The X
Factor has really great stuff on it and like you know, again,
none of it is fund none of it is half assed. Uh,
you kind of get the feeling almost that, like you know,
Steve Harris is I think his father had died and
he was getting divorced while that record was being made,

(44:14):
and Bruce had left the band. There was just a
lot of turmoil and I feel like he just challenged,
he challenged channeled it really well.

Speaker 1 (44:22):
Nineties it was crazy with with just that whole with
the grunge era, the bands changing singers, Motley Crue without
Vince Neil and John Krobbie steps in and of course
the Sharon with Van Halen, and it was just all
these bands were Ripper Owens with Judas Priest.

Speaker 2 (44:39):
Yeah, I mean all of those guys. I feel really
bad for all of them because, you know, they stepped
into the breach at a time when metal was like
absolutely unhip. Nobody was anymore right, but they were. You know,
they got those bands through that time when it seemed like,
you know, maybe this it forever, Maybe you know, we're done,

(45:02):
maybe it's over.

Speaker 1 (45:03):
What kind of venues did they play with with Blaize Bailey.

Speaker 2 (45:06):
They the venues got a lot smaller in the UK
and the US, uh in the rest of Europe and
South America, they were playing stadiums and like beating attendance
records and really, yeah, but you know, you need you
need to be popular in the US and the UK though,
that's the thing and you and Blaze himself said that

(45:30):
he knew it was really hard for the other guys,
you know, who had paid their dues already and who
had like really been to the top of the mountain
to now kind of get this demotion, uh to small
clubs and that you know, it was the same for
you know, Sabbath went through the same thing too with
Tony Martin. Uh, you know, it was it was just
a really hard time. Uh Doo was playing clubs. Doo

(45:54):
opened for Maiden at one point during that period, which
you know, Blaize Bailly himself was like, I'm opening for
you know, God is opening for us. God should not
be opening for me in.

Speaker 1 (46:06):
The twilight Zone. Is this really happening?

Speaker 2 (46:09):
Yeah, I mean it was a really I remember it
very well. It was just a really rough time for
Nettle generally. But to you know, to Maiden's credit, they
still do those songs. They acknowledge that period, they're proud
of that period. Judas Priest will never play a Ripper
Owen song ever when they step on stage, you know,

(46:33):
but you know, in Maiden's case, they're proud of what
they did, and they're proud of everything that was under
the Eddie banner.

Speaker 1 (46:40):
So you know, it's part of the complete body of
work that is Iron Made.

Speaker 2 (46:44):
Absolutely, Yeah, and I encourage people to go back and
listen to those records and try not to imagine Bruce
Dickinson singing them, try to accept them for what they are.
Those are good records, except for on Virtual eleven, there's
a song called The Angel and the Gambler, which is

(47:05):
the worst song Iron Maiden ever worked. Okay, so just
skip that one. But everything else, everything else, Yeah, the
other seventeen songs are great.

Speaker 1 (47:14):
Yeah, listen with an open mind. So Adrian Smith rejoins
in nineteen ninety nine, and so did Bruce Dickinson, and
I remember this well. This made a lot of headlines
among the classic rock fan base, you know, on the websites.
The media was loving this because this was a period
where we had the Kiss reunion, and reunions were a thing.

(47:35):
Two thousand's Brave New World was released with Bruce and
Adrian back. Aujanet Gerz, who replaced Adrian in nineteen ninety remained,
which is interesting, very in line with just what you're
saying about Iron Maid and it's like, worries, man, we're
not going to replace you or we're not going to
remove you and have the other guy come back. Just
stick around.

Speaker 2 (47:56):
Well they, I mean they really didn't. Adrian Smith himself
said like, if it had been that they had me
back and we're back to like just the you know,
the Peace of Mind line up again, the five of us,
there would have been too much baggage. But because there's
this sixth guy, it's a it's a different band and
so there is no baggage. And you know, the sound

(48:19):
is different. The way they behave on stage is different,
you know, and you know, having three guitar players, they
can do all kinds of you know, craziness now. So
it is it is different, and you know the music
is more progressive too than what they were doing in
the eighties. And some of that progressive sound I do

(48:43):
feel started with Blaze because that's that's when the song
started to get more epic and eleven minutes long, although
they had done long songs already, but they really kind
of took that and ran with it. When those guys came.

Speaker 1 (48:57):
Back, the Wackerman out of the Silent Planet. Those are
the singles, A number thirty nine album on Billboard, number
seven in the UK. The reunion tour big success. I
saw them on that tour. I think they were on
Were they on Ozfest?

Speaker 2 (49:11):
They were on oz Fest in two thousand and five
and there was an incident, okay, but yeah, supposedly there
was this whole thing where Sharon Osbourne was throwing exit them. Yeah,
they were playing, yeah, fine, whatever. What I would really

(49:34):
like to say though, about the Ozzie camp and the
Iron Maiden camp, is that when Ozzie passed away, Maiden
put out a very nice statement saying, like, you know,
this guy, you know, none of us would even be
here without him. He is, you know, fundamental to this
music that we make and that we love and we

(49:54):
make our living off of. And then after that they go,
our condolence are sinceris condolence is to Sharon and the
entire Osborne family. So they did it exactly right as
I saw it, and you know, they said nothing about
whatever may have happened in the past or whatever. They
were totally classy about it, and that to me says

(50:17):
a lot about it who they are as people.

Speaker 1 (50:20):
Yeah, booked on Rock podcasts will be back after this.
Find the booked on Rock website at booked on rock
dot com. There you can find all the back episodes
of the show, the latest episode in video and audio,
links to all of the platforms where you can listen
to the podcast, plus all the social media platforms were

(50:41):
on Blue Sky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and x. Also check
out the Booked on Rock blog. Find your local independent bookstore,
find out all the latest hot rock book releases, and
before you go, check out the Booked on Rock online store.
Pick up some booked on Rock merch. It's all at
booked on rock dot com. The legacy of Iron Maiden

(51:02):
Following that successful comeback album and tour, it just gets
bigger and bigger and bigger the tours expand. In twenty fifteen,
the Book of Soul's album hit number one, number four
in the US, number one I think in the UK.
Is that I think I have that right, the Book
of Souls. It's one UK four in the US, I think.

Speaker 2 (51:25):
But they had hit number one with the album forty
three countries. Yeah, I mean they were yeah. Final Frontier,
the one they put out in twenty ten, the one
before Book of souls. Okay, I think that that went
that was the first one to go top ten in
the US. I think, Sorry, I'm getting all my different
Billboard charts mixed up here, but yeah, I mean they

(51:48):
were a stadium band and selling in stadium band quantities
at that point, you know. And it's funny because to
a lot of people made in as an eighties metal band,
but they have never been bigger than they are now
and last twenty years. I mean, they're one hundred times
bigger than they ever were, you know, and mostly you know,

(52:10):
a lot of it is because they can fly around
on their own jet so they can play places like
India and Saudi Arabia, New Zealand that most bands just
skip those places because they're too expensive to get to it.

Speaker 1 (52:24):
It's not worth it for most cost effective.

Speaker 2 (52:26):
Yeah, yeah, for them, it's cost effective. And you know,
they did other things. You know. This again, this kind
of resides in rumor land, but I put it in
the book. Anyway. Supposedly they were following a bit Torrent
traffic and seeing where the places were where the most

(52:50):
illegal downloading of Iron Maiden music was happening, and they
said to themselves, let's tour in those places. Brilliant if
it if it's true that happened allegedly, right, I remember.

Speaker 1 (53:04):
That in the early two thousands, bit Torrent yeah yeah,
now sharing.

Speaker 2 (53:08):
Yeah yeah, and Gene Simmons said we're going to sue
all of those people who download Kiss albums, and Iron
Maiden said, we're going to tour where all those people
are instead. And so they have a huge following in
South America and Eastern Europe, you know, and all these
places where it's hard they don't you know, you don't

(53:32):
have a record store around the corner. It was not
as easy and a lot of these places to get
their music. But you know, even in the nineteen eighties
when they played in Poland when it was still a
communist country, and you know, getting one of their records
was just completely out of reach. People would smuggle them in.

(53:56):
So people are willing to break the law to hear
Iron Maiden music. Yeah, and Iron Maiden are like, let's
exploit that as opposed to let's punish them.

Speaker 1 (54:05):
Right, Why why swim against the tide? Swim with it, roll.

Speaker 2 (54:10):
With it one hundred and uh. They did the right thing,
and my opinion it paid off for them.

Speaker 1 (54:16):
Yeah, Senjitsu in twenty twenty one. Another one that was
studio album number seventeen, number one in several countries, number
three in the US. Going back to your introduction, you
say it feels weird to be writing a retrospective book
about Iron Maiden because they are still going strong. Talk
a little bit more about you talked at the top
about the fact that Iron Maiden is still going. They're

(54:38):
touring right now, So what is the current status of
Iron Maiden.

Speaker 2 (54:41):
As far as I can tell, they intend to continue
until all of them are dead. That's you know. Bruce
Dickinson said as much. We will probably all die on stage.
I bet Nico McBrain if he could have would have
loved to die on stage. He would have loved nothing
more than that. But you know, he had to step down.

(55:03):
They brought in this new guy, Simon Dawson, and they've
not missed a beat from what I can tell, and
I expect them to just basically to continue for as
long as Steve Harris says we're going on, because he
really is the guy.

Speaker 1 (55:16):
Studio albums included. Yeah, we're gonna get back in the
studio probably.

Speaker 2 (55:21):
I mean, he's I read something today where Bruce Dickinson
was talking about wanting to make a new Maiden album
soon and Steve Harris said something like we don't have
time right now, which, of course the clickbait headline was
Steve Harris doesn't know if there will ever be But no,
the reality is just they're on tour through next year,

(55:44):
you know, I mean right now is not they can't
book studio.

Speaker 1 (55:49):
Steve Harris shocks Maiden fans.

Speaker 2 (55:52):
I hate that stuff in all cats. It's so dishonest,
it is. Yeah, but he when they continue, that will
be disproven. So you know, the reality of it speaks
for itself now and it doesn't really matter what the
clickbait headlines say. I expect them to go on. I

(56:13):
just I can't see. Steve Harris just kind of seems
to me like the kind of guy who's not happy
sitting still, and he would just want to continue. You know,
there's the age thing, because they're all around seventy now,
and you know, and you can't do this forever, you know,
And we've we've talked on previous podcasts about like, you know,

(56:36):
Neil Peart having to stop playing because of what was
going on with his body when Black Sabbath got back
together in the twenty tens. You know, Bill Ward didn't
join them, but they got this much younger guy who's
an Aussi's solo band to play, to play drums for them.

(56:56):
And when I saw them, I was I was really feeling, like,
you know, playing heavy metal drums is a young man's
pursuit and once you get to be like sixty five seventy,
it's just really hard on your body. It's just really
hard to do. And I'm sure all these guys would
love nothing more than to just still be playing, but

(57:17):
sometimes your body doesn't let you.

Speaker 1 (57:19):
Alex van Halen, Yeah, right, yeah, exactly. In fact, Alex,
I saw a video with Alex and Nico together. They
got received it was a drum magazine award and they
were together having a good laugh together.

Speaker 2 (57:35):
Yes, as unemployed drummers, I guess. Yeah, they were commiserating. No,
but you know, it's you can. You can be a
seventy year old guitar player. Being a seventy year old
heavy metal drummer is very different. And certainly my hat's
off to what you know, Ian Pace from Deep Purple
is still going yep. Ginger Baker was playing all the

(57:59):
way up until he died when he was eighty, but
he had severe arthritis and talked about how, you know,
just how difficult it was, but they want to and
as long as they want to, and the part of
them that wants to is stronger than their physical limitations,
they can do it. Unfortunately, just the sometimes the physical

(58:20):
limitations speak louder than how much you want to do something, you.

Speaker 1 (58:25):
Know, as poor Phil Collins, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (58:28):
That's that's grim or Ozzy Osbourne, you know, having to
you know, sit there obviously not doing well but still
wanting to perform. You know, that's that's tough, you know.
But you know, all these all these guys now are
getting up there and you know, we who are younger
and got into them later and all that sort of thing,

(58:49):
you know, seeing them age. I don't know how many
of them really counted on that when they started.

Speaker 1 (58:55):
I was going to say that yet they never think
past the age of thirty that.

Speaker 2 (59:00):
Hope I die before I get old, you know, And
and now they're all old. That's that's got to be
kind of rough for them.

Speaker 1 (59:07):
I know.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
Pete Townsend has people, you know, ten times a day
saying to him like so now you're old. How do
you feel about that? Oh? Yeah, right, yeah, and he
has to defend himself every time. But I mean, you know,
we're up to them.

Speaker 1 (59:21):
Man. They sound pretty damn good, though I don't sound
but I.

Speaker 2 (59:25):
Mean enough already, you know, Yeah, we get it. You're
the thank you. They don't but they don't. I don't know.
They don't seem to be enjoying it. And like the
things that they say in the press, especially Roger Daltrey,
it just it sounds like, dude, you you proved it already.
You could, you can? You can? You can go home

(59:47):
and guarden and drink tea and you'll be fine.

Speaker 1 (59:50):
Yeah. I loved but yeah, it does. He does have
that vibe of like this is a little bit of
work for him. Yeah, hard work, which is I mean
to belt out those songs at his age is tough.

Speaker 2 (01:00:02):
Yeah, I mean he's still able to perform, you know.
And so is Townsend, you know. And I mean as
long as they're a you know, in Townshend sad. I
do this for money, so you know, so there's that.

Speaker 1 (01:00:13):
But with Maiden, it's it seems like they're doing pretty
damn good. And Dickens and always seems to be somebody
who takes good care of himself.

Speaker 2 (01:00:21):
Yeah, I mean the only uh, the only way I
can knock him at all is to talk about his
performance of the Star Spangled Banner a couple of weeks ago.

Speaker 1 (01:00:32):
Oh not good.

Speaker 2 (01:00:34):
It was he started, I think, in a higher key
and then sort of adjusted after like the first sentence,
and that was a little weird. And it's just it's
a little pitchy in places. But you don't usually hear
him singing like at full throttle without the band, so
you know, with all the you know, the drums and

(01:00:55):
guitars and all that stuff going on, you don't hear
any little flaws or imperfections or whatever that may be
happening in his voice. When you take all that away,
then you see everything, you know, and and sometimes it
doesn't always hold up. But I mean, you know, towards
the end of it, it was that was Bruce again. Uh,
you know, operatic, you know, nailing, you know when he

(01:01:17):
when he got to Land of the Free, when he
said free, you know, just extending that to the horizon
sounded great, you know, but he was only up there
for like a minute, and that's you know, that's not
enough time to warm up. That's you know, I don't
know if he did if he did his mime mimomu
in the dressing room out there. You know.

Speaker 1 (01:01:37):
It's I defended Steven Tyler back when he took hits
for when he did the national anthem at Fenway, and
everybody's like, oh my god, he's terrible. Like he's a
rock and roll singer. He's one of the greatest rock
and roll singers of all time. But you're putting them
up there and having him do the the national anthem.
I just it's a different environment. It's a whole different situation.

Speaker 2 (01:01:57):
It's it's not it's not the same. And it's you know,
they get they get these people to come and do it.

Speaker 1 (01:02:03):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:02:03):
And I think we see with you know, certainly with
like pop singers, it's just they don't get it and
they sort of they sort of don't understand what that's
all about and what the people in the stands want.
And I think that, you know, the people who do
the best job of singing the national anthem at ballgames
are usually here's little eight year old you know, Stella,

(01:02:26):
who just want to do isn't she great? She's going
to come, you know, and then everyone's like, oh, she's
so she's so cute. You know. That's that's my opinion.
That's really what it's for. I will say though, however,
in my off hours, when I am resting and relaxing,
my favorite thing to watch on YouTube is Star Spangled

(01:02:48):
Banner Fails.

Speaker 1 (01:02:51):
Well, I thought you were going to say the what
you love to do is sing the national anthem at home?

Speaker 2 (01:02:55):
Okay the minute you show no fire up YouTube and
oh my god, just it, I'm not guilty, pleasure It's
and how.

Speaker 1 (01:03:08):
Booked on Rock Podcasts. We'll be back after this The
outlook Rosie a future Bride. Hey, guys, thanks so much
for checking out the Booked on Rock podcast. If you've
just found the podcast, welcome. If you've been listening, thank
you so much for your support, and make sure you
tell a friend, a family member, share on social media

(01:03:30):
and let people know about Booked on Rock. And if
you do like the podcast, make sure you subscribe give
a five star review. Wherever you listen to the Booked
on Rock podcast, We're on Amazon, Apple, iHeart, Spotify, Spreaker,
tune in, and on YouTube music. You can check out
the full episodes on video, along with video highlights from
episodes on the Booked on Rock YouTube channel. Find it

(01:03:51):
at Booked on Rock. Thanks again for listening. Now back
to the show, Iron Main fifty. The book is out now.
It came out September sixteen, so it's out there through
Motor Books. Find ou where books are sold, look forward
at your nearest bookstore. You can go to bookdown rock
dot com to find your nearest independent bookstore. And Daniel,

(01:04:12):
you're online where can people find you? Social media websites?

Speaker 2 (01:04:16):
My website is notorious buk dot com and I'm on
Instagram just at Daniel Buckspan like it says on the
spine of my books. I'm on Facebook, same thing, and
that is my social media presence. And if you want

(01:04:37):
to just mail money to my house, I take cash.
All right.

Speaker 1 (01:04:41):
That's the maybe the greatest website domain name note notoriousbuk
dot com.

Speaker 2 (01:04:47):
I wasn't going to make people spell my last name.

Speaker 1 (01:04:50):
That's awesome. Daniel, thanks again for coming on. I think
this was your third appearance on. We had Rush, Ozzie
and now Maiden, so we'll see. We'll see what's next
down the road. You got any projects?

Speaker 2 (01:05:01):
Yeah, I just finished a book about Brushes twenty one
to twelve called oh Yeah, twenty one to twelve that
comes out in March. Okay, and later that year I
have a book about the Big Four Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica,
Slayer coming out, and in twenty twenty seven I have

(01:05:22):
something else, but I can't say what it is yet.

Speaker 1 (01:05:24):
Okay, all right, Well, I'll keep the podcast going until
twenty twenty seven.

Speaker 2 (01:05:28):
At least, and the Mighty will keep getting in your
face about booking me and I will be there.

Speaker 1 (01:05:35):
I'll show Steve Roth from Motor Books. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
he's the.

Speaker 2 (01:05:39):
Man, Stephen Lee Roth. Now like for the rest of the.

Speaker 1 (01:05:43):
Step Stephen Lee Roth. Yeah, he is the co host
of the DLR cast. By the way, do you know that? Yeah, yeah, Steve.
All right, Daniel, thanks so much man. This is great
and I'll talk to you a getting down the road.

Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (01:06:02):
That's it. It's in the box.

Speaker 2 (01:06:05):
M