[SPOILER] Why Maiden Chose Ozzfest
As Maiden enters Ozzfest, it is getting more coverage by the US Media. This article describes why Maiden decided to go with Ozzfest instead of a more traditionnal tour.It also has interesting tidbits about Bruce's solo career.
Be warned that it contains some spoiler material for those wanting to have a surprise at their Ozzfest night.
Iron Maiden voyage comes full circle
By Alan Sculley
Special to The Morning Call
For Iron Maiden, doing Ozzfest this summer is a chance to make something old new again.
The venerable British metal band, whose current lineup includes singer Bruce Dickinson, guitarists Janick Gers, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, bassist Steve Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain, will limit its Ozzfest set to songs from the group's first four albums — ''Iron Maiden'' (1980), ''Killers'' (1981), ''The Number of the Beast'' (1982) and ''Piece Of Mind'' (1983).
That's the old part. What makes it new is that many of the people at Ozzfest will be young enough to have never seen Maiden play the material.
And hearing Dickinson sing songs from the first two albums will be especially rare, considering he wasn't in Iron Maiden when those records were recorded. (He replaced original vocalist Paul Di'Anno before ''Beast.'')
''This is probably the first and last chance that anybody will ever have to see Iron Maiden in America doing these songs, because there will be another Iron Maiden album out next year,'' Dickinson says during a phone interview. ''We'll be doing some new stuff after that. There will be more tours subsequently, but we'll probably never again get a chance to play so many songs from the first four albums, and in particular from the first two.''
The impetus behind spotlighting the first four albums is a new, two-DVD set, ''The History Of Iron Maiden — Part 1: The Early Days.'' The set features a long-out-of-print concert video, ''Live at The Rainbow,'' that has Di'Anno on vocals, plus footage from two of Dickinson's early shows with the band, a 1982 concert, ''Beast Over Hammersmith,'' and a 1983 performance, ''Live At Dortmund.'' The latter was originally filmed for German television.
The package also includes a 90-minute documentary in which band members trace their beginnings in London's East End up through their arrival as an arena headlining act in the early '80s, as well as a 45-minute home video of a 1979 club show in London.
The choice to promote ''The Early Years'' DVD with an Ozzfest appearance rather than a headlining tour might seem unconventional, considering Iron Maiden has headlined amphitheater tours in the past.
Dickinson says, however, that Iron Maiden wanted to play Ozzfest because the tour would put the band in front of a generation of fans that might not be that familiar with the group's music. In recognition of the band's stature, Iron Maiden is receiving second billing, behind Black Sabbath, on Ozzfest's main stage.
''We didn't want to do a headlining tour to the same older audiences that show up every time we go into the sheds [the nickname for outdoor amphitheaters],'' Dickinson says. ''We wanted to get an audience that was going to be … basically 15-year-old kids with attitudes who are really into metal and keeping the music alive, as opposed to an audience who had been like that, but have now grown up, gotten respectable, and just remembered the band from the early days.
''In Europe we play mainly to audiences who are all under the age of 25. In America, I'd say the average age of the audience is 30-plus,'' he continues. ''That's not great for us. And it's also not great for young kids who come to see the band in sheds because they end up sandwiched between a bunch of fat old men drinking beer and eating hot dogs, and the kids are like 'Shouldn't we be really rocking?' So what we want is the Ozzfest vibe, which I think is much closer to the audiences we play to in Europe. That's the audience we want to impress, really.''
To a lesser extent, Ozzfest will give Dickinson a chance to tout his newly released solo CD, ''Tyranny Of Souls,'' the first he has made while a member of Iron Maiden. Dickenson quit the band in 1993 after a 12-year run that took Maiden to its peak of popularity because he wanted to explore music he believed he could not make within the band.
Of his four previous solo efforts, ''Tattooed Millionaire'' (1990), ''Balls To Picasso'' (1994), ''Skunkworks (1996) and ''My Chemical Wedding' (1998), the latter in particular received strong reviews and established Dickinson as a viable solo artist.
Although Dickinson returned to Iron Maiden in 1999, replacing singer Blaze Bayley, continuing his solo career remained on his agenda. However, it took seven years for Dickinson to figure out his next move.
''I was a bit of a chicken frankly, because 'Chemical Wedding' was such a successful album,'' Dickinson says. ''I wasn't too sure how I was going to follow it up, and then a whole bunch of other circumstances got between me and doing it.''
Those circumstances included two Iron Maiden CDs and several tours, and a busy schedule for Dickinson's musical collaborator, producer-songwriter Roy Z. With Iron Maiden on break last year, Dickinson and Roy Z found time to complete ''Tyranny Of Souls,'' which runs the gamut from the fierce yet melodic ''Soul Intruders'' to the epic rocking title song to the acoustic ''Navigate the Seas of the Sun.''
''I thought we could have a bit more confidence, that we could branch out a little bit on this album [and] still sound very heavy,'' he says. ''That was the key. I had to wait until I felt confident about saying, 'Yup, this is what we're going to do on this new record,' rather than, 'Oh my God, I don't know what we're going to do on this record to cope with the legacy of 'Chemical Wedding.'''
Source: Mcall.com
17 Comments
Bruce's words keep getting more and more disillusioned. He could have portrayed older fans in a better light, while still saying that they wanted new fans as well. This quote is being TOTALLY ripped in blabbermouth and rightly so.
But the irony of the fact Bruce is that most 15 year olds reject you for the same reasons: cause you guys are fuckin' old and wrinkly! Sure can't blame 'em when you use the same criteria, can you?
Sad.
I agree with Gor. Bruce's complaints about older fans are getting more than a little tired. Does he really want to alienate a large proportion of Maiden's fanbase?
I'm almost 29 and have been into Maiden since I was 11. By the time Maiden get around to doing a *new* album and tour I'll be 30ish. Is Bruce going to post armed guards at the doors of the concert venues so the likes of me can't get in?!
I saw this comment at blabbermouth:
"Iron Maiden are at another peak again. Everywhere.
Obviously except for the USA.
After their so-called "reunion" in 1999 we got the "EdHuntour", their very first tour featuring mostly older material. Everybody loved it. Then, after the release of "Brave New World" in 2000 they played a set including lots of new stuff and guess what? Predominately in the US many "glory days" hunting "fans" came out of the woodwork (without buying the album I might add), attended the Maiden shows and wanted another "best of" gig. No wonder the fan participation was lackluster when it came to newer material."
I have to agree with Bruce and with this fan. Who has not seen the numerous of old maiden-fans complaining about the new songs, only wanting to hear the old stuff. Now the band comes with old stuff, and again complaints. Especially from the old farts. Myself I am 30 now, maybe I am also an old fart, compared to the audience that Bruce would like, but I never was so much of an nostalgic fan, only demanding older songs.
It's also a great challenge for such an old band as Maiden to try and reach such a young audience. It shows you are succesful when you try to reach both old and new fans, like in Europe. I also would get tired if I had to play in the States only for fat 30 plus people, thinking like 'is no one new interested in our music'?
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For a start, I think Bruce is exaggerating about the make-up of the US audiences. Second, even if he is disillusioned with no-one new or young turning up (and I don't believe this is the case), he should be pleased that fans who've been into the band since their teens still want to see Maiden; what gives him the right to insult loyal fans? Finally, I think it is rather telling that the band is doing yet another greatest hits tour. Looks like the band is trying to bring old fans back to the fold as well as attract new ones by playing the classics.
I’m all for Maiden attracting new fans; we were all ‘new fans’ once. I don’t see the point of making comments that upset old fans.
I think Bruce comments are fashionable here.
Whatever he said in the past, he obviously cares about who listens to Maiden and if they are strong or not.
I just hope they will continue to release new material and not only play older songs. They're almost too nostalgic for me these days.
Yeah, yeah, I'm complaining, I'm not a good fan 
Cheers
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They've become a cabaret act!
Memory serves you well, Mav ! Excellent !
I would have prefered them playing a tour with a new album and shifting their older songs to make room for rarely played ones.
But, hey, if they promise to stick with one tour per History period, that's not a too bad compromise.
Just that Maiden is getting massive coverage in the US for playing songs that are 20+ years old...
Cheers
You know what!
WE THE "OLD" ARE THE ONES THAT BUY ALL THEIR STUFF!.
THE "YOUNG" I DOUBT IT.
WE THE "OLD" ARE THE ONES THAT BUY ALL THEIR STUFF!.
THE "YOUNG" I DOUBT IT.
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I think, Caps Lock Man, that the main difference between us and them is that they put "Brave New World" as their favourite album, while we put, like, Piece of Mind....
Well, Bruce just has said what pisses him (and Steve too) about the USA audiences. And he's probably right (he's the one that sees that kind of behaviour from the stage), although obviously not all USA older fans are like that.
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I am 36 and Maidenfan since Number of the Beast, still my favourite albums are Brave New World, Dance of Death and 7thSon
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I am 31 and Maiden fan since Seventh Son. Now are we new or old fans? And does it matter?
I must admit that I'm a bit annoyed too by the comments of Bruce on the older fans. I'm 39 and am I one of those "old fans"? Still, I'm younger than Bruce himself I admit, I've kindof left the band when the released No prayer..., but I do love the new albums (and beginning to start to like the late Blayze-albums), but does all this mean that I don't know how to rock any more, now I've turned 39?? Or doesn't want Bruce us to show up on their tours? I'm a bit annoyed and "confused".
Sad.
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Most kids reject them because they have never seen them live and don't know what kind of show they put on. When Maiden started playing yesterday at Ozzfest, EVERYONE stopped moshing(i cant spell it), and really got into their performance. The kids loved it! The guys I went with were more into the usual Ozzfest stuff, and really didn't care for Maiden because they were "too old". But after Maiden was done, Maiden gained 3 new fans!
Yes, Frankie is quite right. I'm turning to 40 next month, what kind of music I should start to listen, not Iron Maiden? I have been a fan of that band since '82, seen 9 shows during the years and obviously spend some amount of money for Iron Maiden. I don't have anything against younger fans, but I really don't understand what is wrong with the older fans. The band itself doesn't consist of teenboys either.
Jukka
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Isn't it "a borderline fucking cabaret act"?
Anyway. I dunno, I think that it's from America that Maiden's received most of its shit press and opinions. Just the other day I was reading some moron's babbling on a rock concert by Maiden. It started with "I was glad they did Number of the Beast first because I can't sing the chorus because it's Satanic and I didn't want to draw Bruce's attention" or some such shit. There was, of course, some Blaze bashing later.
American fans, especially the older ones, seem to want Maiden to never change. Which is silly. So I don't think I can blame Bruce for getting a little pissed at them. Of course, he's probably also taking a jab at the fattest country in the world, considering he's 46 or 47 and in superfit shape.
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![lol[1].gif](style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/lol[1].gif)
yep... after Ozzfest
Barbara Streisand, Liza Minelli, Iron Maiden.....
It's the "Hello Dolly.... Welcome to Hell" tour....
Eddie comes out... in top hat and tails and does a kick ass blazin' version of "Puttin' On The Ritz" with Bruce....
"I got a fever... and the only perscription is.... MORE COWBELL!!!!"