Rod Q&A - History Part 2 Late 2007
6) From: WrathGirl666Question: What was your reaction towards the b-side "Sheriff of Huddersfield"?
I was living in LA at the time and the band managed to have all my staff and all EMI put this together on the single without me knowing so it genuinely was a real surprise. The band all thought l should get back to the UK, which of course l later did having had a lot of fun in LA while being based there to beat up the label to break us in America, which we also managed to do (our label at that time Capitol was based there). l guess the single was an affectionate request for me to come home, though some of the other stuff is obviously libelous and legal action is still pending, although moments of revenge have appeared now and again over the years.
7) Name: Queen of Hearts
Question: Since you're on the road a lot with the guys, how does that affect your family & the life with them? Must be tough being apart for such an amount of time. I admire you & your business-skills!
The travelling and being away from the family isn't too bad. We don't tour now for the long periods we used to. I always go to the first few shows to ensure everything is working fine and looks good production-wise. We sometimes make adjustments to the set we play and the production during these first few shows as you don't always know what really works until you see/hear it, so l like to be there to supervise and have an input into that. From there on l will go out to most of the major gigs but of course the way we now tour they are nearly all major gigs. But we do keep to a sensible schedule as we don't want to burn out - every show is so important. In Europe we often fly back after the show going to the airport straight off stage so if we have say 2 gigs in Europe together l would for example leave home around 2 the day of the first show and be home say 2 in the morning the day after so the kids don't really notice l am gone especially if they are at school.
8) From: gor
Question: Will the smaller VHS releases be rereleased IN THEIR ENTIRETY? I am talking about Behind The Iron Curtain and 12 Wasted Years. Many fans want to have them on DVD as much as all the major VHS which are going to be transferred on DVD.
It is certainly our intention that these will both be used in the appropriate part of the history series along with a lot of other stuff too of course. We would expect to have part 2 available towards the end of next year.
9) From: CaMaiden
Question: As the manager of Iron Maiden what was one of your proudest moments of the band?
Its obviously great to have number 1 albums but l always get a much bigger kick out of the live end. In all this probably the proudest moment is unusual as it could have been so negative. This was when the band defied all the bullshit of turning off our PA and the wankers who were planted at the front to throw stuff at us at Ozzfest San Bernardino last year. Through all the interruptions the band stood their ground and ploughed on through the set despite all the distractions. All the crap just made them more and more angry and determined and the performance was immense, one of our best ever. I was also proud of the fans, the huge crowd who were also immense giving us incredible support and singing on, especially in Hallowed after the power was cut one of the times. They were a credit to metal fans everywhere and showed what they thought of the pathetic antics by many leaving. Despite the frustration and bullshit there was no violence or stupid behaviour. l think the kids respected the fact that Maiden didn't want that and didn't want anyone hurt.
Besides this, the most memorable shows are often the really big ones where a sea of people are getting off on the music. Normally l am on the mixing desk at our shows but at the big shows l go on stage so l can see the audience. It always make me very proud to see the joy and commitment of so many fans. So l guess the top 3 of all these shows would be Donington 1988, Rock in Rio 2001 and Ullevi Stadium Gothenburg last year.
10) From: The Artificer
Question: Hullo Rod: pleasure to talk to you. I live next to a village in Cheshire called ""Smallwood"" ). Anyway, my question is this: we all know the band like various sports and have hobbies like fishing, conjuring tricks and so on, but what does ROD do to chill out? What's your favourite pastime whilst trying to escape from the busy schedule of keeping those boys in order?
My family keeps me sane, my wife Kathy and four kids Tom 15, Ben 14, Laura 13 and Jake 9 - well, most of the time anyway. When l get chance l play golf occasionally (hopefully a few rounds with Nicko and Dave on tour) and every year l do a charity bike ride. These usually take about 10 days and so far l have undertaken these in Kenya, Russia, Egypt, China and Vietnam/Cambodia. It’s a real mental break and its great to see parts of the world we don't get to touring. Glad to say the band are generous sponsors!! My obsession is probably rugby. l used to play a lot but retired effectively when we really hit the road full on in the early eighties. I go to all the England home games and went to the World Cup final in Sydney in 03 - which of course we won!! Cricket is always a big interest too, especially being a Yorkshireman (had the great pleasure to spend time with Geoff Boycott last year - a great occasion!) Not much into football though much to Steve's bemusement - England world cup performance was as lame as l expected it to be. Bring on Martin Johnson!! Also an evening down the pub is always welcome of course but l was never much of a clubber. And like everyone else l probably spend too much time in the evening at home watching TV – some good current stuff is Boston Legal, Waking the Dead, CSI (but not Miami as they have that stupid girl in it) and especially My Name is Earl (if you haven’t seen it you have to check it out!). Looking forward to the new 24 DVD too.
11) From: Another Life
Question: Do you have any tatoo?
No l don't personally have any tattoos. l can appreciate some amazing artwork on people but its not for me. cant stand pain!! As you probably know Steve has a Trooper on his forearm and some others, Davey has some and Nicko has some cool oriental stuff but Bruce, H and Jan are bare like me.
12) From: Kevmisterg Question: What do you think the best line up for Iron Maiden was?
For me the current line up has to be the best as the music really does work with 3 guitars and it gives us such a big live sound. Also the chemistry within the band is really very good, everyone gets on well and have a lot of respect for each other's talents. All the key line ups had something different to offer but to me the band are at the peak of their powers right now. l thought we had a terrific band right from the beginning but l would never have thought in the early eighties that we would reach our best 20 years later. l think the new album really demonstrates this. Not many bands manage a creative tour de force on their 14th studio album so far into their careers. it shows how much the band really want to do this.
13) From: Suse
Question: Which was your most emotional moment with the band?
In 1988 we headlined Monsters of Rock at Castle Donington on the Seventh Son Tour. We had never played it before despite an offer every year. l wanted to wait until we could really make it something special. Kiss supported us which was great as we supported them in Europe in 1980 and got on really well with them. Also Dave Lee Roth, Megadeth and Guns n Roses so we put together a pretty good bill. Advance tickets were at a record breaking 75,000 the morning of the show and it was a glorious day. Incredibly over 30,000 more people turned up to get tickets on the day, so many that the promoter actually ran out of tickets and started using raffle tickets!! Everything was going well until later in the day when l was told that two young fans had tragically been killed when they fell in the crowd towards the front of the stage. Since then there have been many changes to the barriers and safety aspects of big shows but sadly these were not in existence at that time. l considered whether or not to tell the band but decided against it as it would serve no purpose and make it immensely difficult for them to play with their hearts in it which would let down an awful lot of fans. So l ensured there was no access to the band so they could not hear about this. The show was a major triumph. It was the first of our really big shows and l will never forget standing on stage seeing a huge sea of raised arms. Afterwards l went in the dressing room and understandably they were on a real high. Of course when l told them what happened to these 2 poor kids they were devastated. it was very emotional indeed. whenever we look back we think of those kids.
14) From: metal monkey
Question: Getting ready to head out and headline shows around the world, how do you go about selecting support bands, if any? Is that something the Maiden boys decide, a management decision, solely on the venue/fest? I would like to add that Maiden was awesome in Columbus, OH Aug 2 for Ozzfest. I was in the front rows, thank you so much for playing there.
For our own shows the band and myself decide who supports us often following proposals from our agent John Jackson . Of course l do try to use bands l am working with. Bullet for my Valentine are touring America with us - they joined Sanctuary a few months ago and l assist their manager Craig wherever l can. Trivium on the other hand l am not involved in. l became aware of them last year and approached them to do the European Tour as l thought they would be a band our fans would like to see and who would have had some success prior to the tour - which of course they have. We try to get great new bands and both of these l think are exceptional bands who will be flying the metal flag high for many years to come. We prefer to give relatively new bands a break rather than using ones who have been around a while and generally have had a shot. i think it gives fans value for money too and its great when fans of these bands in future years recall the first time they saw them was with Iron Maiden. Over the years many of our supports became hugely successful, like Metallica who did some Spanish shows with us, Motely Crue who toured Europe with us, Slayer who have played a number of times ,Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot who we took round America many years ago or Funeral for a Friend a couple of years ago. The list is endless after so many tours!
For festivals the promoter puts the bill together but we have approval of all the acts on our stage that day. We generally go along with them as most promoters do know what they are doing but if we think they dont fit musically we ask them to be changed. We try to be generous on this and its not often we would ask for a band to be removed as it can be a bit insulting to the poor band.
15) From: Really Ancient Marnr
Question: How difficult is it to manage Maiden's publicity with the image and beliefs they have. They shun publicity and the vast majority of TV networks and radio stations seem to be delighted with this as it gives them every opportunity to ignore the phenomenon that is Iron Maiden. As their manager does that get frustrating and difficult at times.
Yes l guess we don’t suffer from over-exposure!! I sit sown with the band and they let me know how many days l can have and l work out the best International schedule l can. This time it was 4 days plus 3 for video and photos!! But between them they covered about 120 interviews. They like recording and touring but after so many years of having to do it they hate doing videos, photos and interviews. We concentrate on the rock press as that’s what the fans read and it is fair that they know what is going on and what the band think of a new album, say. We don’t do profile press for the sake of publicity – no life style stuff, no reality shows and the like – and believe me we get a lot of offers. Usually it is not that we are ignored just we would rather use the time talking about the music than what we had for dinner and where Bruce is flying to next.
16) From: The Underdog
Question: Hi Rod! We all know 'Arry's the big boss in Maiden, but a lot of times you also have your say. Have there been times when you have had a serious conflict with Steve about something? Can you give us any examples?
We both have strong views so we are always arguing!!! Too many to mention!! In the end though we both want what is best for the band and generally whoever keeps going longest wins – out of sheer will power and belief. One lasted about 8 hours about Steve producing X-Factor as l thought he was taking too much on and wouldn’t be objecitive. I lost!!
17) From: mrpjambo
Question: How has the industry changed over the years & do you think that Maiden could have achieved the level success that they have if they had been starting out today?
Its changed massively. From a seven inch vinyl single and 12 inch album plus tour and a couple of T shirts to cd, dvd, video, online sales, all the web stuff etc etc bloody etc. There seems to be more interest in profile than content and the label talk is about “where to position an artist”. Bloody 'ell, position them on stage. There is just such a vast amount to deal with now it takes much of the fun away. If l was thinking about management now l would not do it – it’s a business now, a lot of the fun has gone. But a great band will always find success – l would hope.
18) From: Cads666
Question: Your house is about to swallowed up by the rising sea levels... you can take with you (apart from your family and pets!): What would you pick before losing them to Davey Jones' locker?
1 CD – Dark Side of the Moon (sorry l was a hippy!)
1 Book - Bill Bryon – A Short History of Nearly Everything – it would take me years to take it all on board but it is truly fascinating, Check out the section on particle physics – mind blowing (ok stop now – ed)
1 Film - Hard, The Godfather maybe. l never get bored with it, Apocolypse Now?
1 Item from your wardrobe – Don’t care
19) From: The Hammer of Thor
Question: What were the reasons that made you decide to become the manager of Maiden?
The songs, the playing and how they looked the audience (all 30 of 'em first time) right in the eye. The commitment!!
20) From: robert the clansman
Question: Hello to you Rod,
My question have you / band had to cancel a gig because of the weather, I am thinking back to Dynamo 2000 that was a crazy day.
I don’t recall ever doing that. If we did it would be safety reasons. I remember Dynamo though, l was on the mixing desk. Never saw so much rain and the lightning right behind the stage was immense.
AS THIS WAS LATE COMING TOGETHER HERE ARE A FEW EXTRA SHORT ONES!!
21) From: smokester
Question: Which album cover artwork is your favourite??
POWERSLAVE
22) From: aculard
Question: What to you has been your most favourite tour and most favourite album and why?
Album – the new one of course!! When you hear it you will know why. If not Piece of Mind Tour – Powerslave – it was just so spectacular and breathtaking with all the Egyptian imagery. Our old lighting guy Dave Lights put it together and it was inspired. One day we may take it out again!!!
23) From: Wetlandsorc
Question: What becomes of all the various Eddie props you've toured with over the years?
Mostly in Steve’s garden – if not our infamous warehouse – storage for the wild and wonderful.
24) From: meeshie
Question: Hello, Rod. Have you spoken to Patrick McGoohan since ""The Number of the Beast"" album or was that it?
That was it – great series!!
2 Comments
What happened to Dave Lights? Why is he not the lights guy anymore?
So, the Golden Years Tour will take place during summer 2008.