The bassist Steve Harris formed Iron Maiden back in 1975 and it always had been the band’s leader and main songwriter. But when it comes to doing interviews with the mainstream media, he prefers to handle that task to the vocalist Bruce Dickinson. He explained in an interview with Scars and Guitars (Transcribed by Blabbermouth) he said he prefers to talk with specialized media and only if they are promoting a tour or a new album.
Steve Harris on why he prefers Bruce for Maiden’s interviews
“Well, I’ve always encouraged whatever band I’ve been in or whatever I’ve done in the past, even before that, it’s always really the frontman that you wanna push as being the key focal figure, really. I mean, it was only because, say, Paul (Di’Anno) wasn’t really that active on stage — he had a great stage presence, but he wasn’t really very active on stage. So, you kind of, I would not say compensate, but you just fill in for whatever.”
“When Bruce came along, he was a full-on frontman. And also Bruce does a lot of the interviews, and he’s out there speaking to mainstream media. I’m not so good with them… He’s a bit different with mainstream media — he’s good at doing the mainstream media — so we get him focused on that. And also with him being a pilot and all these other things, it gives him more of a profile when [it comes to dealing with the media] than the rest of us. I’m totally happy with that because I don’t really see the limelight anyway… I don’t court mainstream media.”
“I’ve been asked to do loads of things on mainstream media, and unless it’s got a purpose, like I’ve been asked to do lots of football programs, for example, and I don’t really do them unless there’s a tour coming up or an album coming up and it’s something that’s important for us to promote or whatever. Then maybe I’ll do it, but just to go and do stuff just for the sake of it, celeb-type stuff, I’m not into that. I’ve never been into that side. That’s not me. But that doesn’t mean to say that someone else can’t do it, and Bruce is good at that stuff. And so it all works,” Steve Harris said.
Next Iron Maiden tour dates
September
- 16 – Auckland, New Zealand – Spark Arena (Killswitch Engage as opening act)
- 22 – Aichi, Japan – Sky Hall Toyota
- 24 – Osaka, Japan – Osaka-Jo Hall
- 26 – Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Garden Theater
- 28 – Kanagawa, Japan – Pia Arena MM
- 29 – Kanagawa, Japan – Pia Arena MM
October
The Mongolian band The Hu will be their opening act on all their North American tour dates.
- 4 – San Diego, CA, USA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
- 5 – Las Vegas, NV, USA – Michelob ULTRA Arena
- 8 – Los Angeles, CA, USA – Kia Forum
- 9 – Phoenix, AZ, USA – Footprint Center
- 12 – Sacramento, CA, USA – Aftershock Festival
- 14 – Portland, OR, USA – MODA Center
- 16 – Tacoma, WA, USA – Tacoma Dome
- 18 – Salt Lake City, UT, USA – Delta Center
- 19 – Denver, CO, USA – Ball Arena
- 22 – St Paul, MN, USA – Xcel Energy Center
- 24 – Rosemont, IL, USA – Allstate Arena
- 26 – Toronto, ON, Canada – Scotiabank Arena
- 27 – Quebec, QC, Canada – Videotron Centre
- 30 – Montreal, QC, Canada – Centre Bell
November
- 1 – Philadelphia, PA, USA – Wells Fargo Center
- 2 – Brooklyn, NY, USA – Barclays Center
- 6 – Worcester, MA, USA – DCU Center
- 8 – Pittsburgh, PA, USA – PPG Paints Arena
- 9 – Newark, NJ, USA – Prudential Center
- 12 – Baltimore, MD, USA – CFG Bank Arena
- 13 – Charlotte, NC, USA – Spectrum Center
- 16 – Fort Worth, TX, USA – Dickies Arena
- 17 – San Antonio, TX, USA – Frost Bank Center
- 20 – Mexico City, Mexico – Foro Sol
- 24 – Bogota, Colombia – El Campin Stadium
- 27 – Santiago, Chile – Estadio Nacional
- 28 – Santiago, Chile – Estadio Nacional
December
- 1 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Estadio Huracán (Malon as opening act)
- 2 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Estadio Huracán (Malon as opening act)
- 6 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Allianz Parque (Volbeat as opening act)
- 7 – 6 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Allianz Parque (Volbeat as opening act)
