Very Cool Iron Maiden Photo

So check this out, via Facebook: the original lineup of Iron Maiden, together again. One person is missing and that is drummer Ron Matthews. In this photo below is founder Steve Harris, Paul Mario Day, Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance.

I do have a question for the Iron Maiden faithful: is Eddie a member or just a mere mascot? A decade ago I would have said mascot. Now I tend to argue the figure is a member of the band too.

Comments

[Gogmagog]

Nice. Reminded me of this video with Dennis Stratton and some other early NWOBHM pioneers ripping through an old Maiden classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rNG_gTbKGk

[Bkallday]

Nice & I say mascot, even though I'm not a huge fan. I am planning on seeing them for the first time, at Riverbend in August, while they still sound great! I'm pretty familiar with most of their catalog, so I'm actually looking forward to it.

[Shawn]

I think Eddie crossed over from mascot to full fledged member on the number of the beast tour. I was hoping Christian would weigh in on this and B.K. Prepare for a great show - despite their age these guys bring it live..

[Him]

Note that Day did make some interesting comments awhile back about some of their youthful songs and who wrote what when and with whom. But nice to see them all hanging out and having a good time in the moment. And Day and Harris seem to be enjoying the moment, so I will let it be and not digress into a screed.

Seen Maiden numerous times. Always a good show. They are showing their years, if but a bit. And Gers is fun for his, well, Gers-isms. You almost forget he was in Gillan and a band named after one of this site's posters (someone name that band and you get a free gift from Metalboy!) with all the stage dancing. It is as if he saw Sarzo and went, "No, this is how you do it!!!" They have a solid catalog, release challenging new music, and always seem to place the fans near the front when it comes to their (and the band's) interests.

I assume the question about Eddie was in good fun and rhetorical in nature, so I will punt on that one. I could lob one back though: when did X become a mascot in band Y? Meaning, when did a living member retreat to the level of a prop? I can think of a number of those instances.

[Metalboy!]

Not really all that cool, actually.

But it IS cool they all got together but would have been even cooler if it was the complete original group ...

Brace yourself, Boyz ... As you may recall, I’m not the biggest fan but I will actually be going to see them on their upcoming North American Tour.

[Christian]

Eddie is, I think, a member of Iron Maiden and an integral part of their success. While their music is good, it's Eddie who drove them into the upper reaches, not least by providing far more merch income than most bands get. No one knows who Vic Rattlehead is, but everyone knows Eddie.

[Him]

Good to hear you chime in, Christian. Welcome back.

But I disagree: plenty of people know Vic. I think you meant to say that Eddie is more popular. Which is a fair and accurate statement. But Megadeth's "See/Hear/Speak No Evil" mascot remains a stroke of pure (likely drug- and rage-fueled) inspiration.

I suspect there is one that tops them both though. Motorhead's Snaggletooth (courtesy of Joe Petagno) extends even farther in recall-reach.

[Christian]

For every person who knows vice, 1000 know Eddie. Snaggletooth may be known in terms of visual recognition, but not many know his name. Eddie was certainly marketed better

[Metalboy!]

Christian! Great to see you back, Boy! Left you a note in Comments on Allyson’s “Best Albums of 2018” post, as well as added a “Best of The Rest Albums 2018” list AND a “ Worst Albums of 2018” list you all may want to check out. Please let me know what I may have omitted or what you think I’m wrong about in both cases, haha!!

[Shawn]

Happy New Year Christian great to see you commented!

[Christian]

Hey guys, nice to be seen. I am still alive, did Wacken last year, doing Wacken, Manowar, Brutal Assault and Metal Days this year. I don't come to the USA any more, although I did do 70k last year.

[Metalboy!]

Holy sh*t! Wackiness, Manowar, Brutal Assault and Metal Days?!

I gotta admit, boy, quite honestly, you’re WAY MORE Metal than I’ll ever be!

[Metalboy!]

Christian! I meant WACKEN, not “Wackiness”, dangin’ autoincorrect! Seriously, I would never disparage Wacken! That’s nothing more than a typo, plain and simple! Also, man, did you have the chance to see AXL/DC? AC/DC fronted by AXL was TOTALLY killer and one of THE greatest shows I ever saw! \m/

Shawn! There you are, boy! Puleeez post your “Best Albums of 2018” list in Comments back a few more posts to Allyson’s post by the same name, if you can. You always turn me into new bands I would never have otherwise checked out that wind up totally blowing me away on an annual basis, haha!!

[Christian]

I had no interest in Axl DC. Love both, and morally offended by the combo.

Truth be told, I am 50 next month and my knees are shot. I'm doing two shots at Wacken while

a - I can still stand through a set and
b - my wife is studying nursing so I'm on my own for vacations any how

[Metalboy!]

Christian! Dude! AXL/DC was KILLER!

First time Angus was able to retune his guitar to higher settings in 30 years due to Axl’s higher vocal range. He absolutely killed it every night.

Personally, I liked him better on the Brian Johnson stuff, which I know is a highly controversial statement.

But I can tell you, I saw them point blank in Atlanta and my impression of Axl’s performance is that he was nothing short of superhuman!

Honestly, it made Guns ‘n Roses sound like Easy Listening background music by comparison.

[fletch]

Christian: welcome back, mate! Oi!

I was recently listening to Howard Stern. I assume (?) you know who he is- a radio personality out of New York City, who is now syndicated on satellite radio. Recently, Howard was interviewing David Hasslehoff (of Knight Rider and Baywatch fame). He, in addition to "acting" (if you call it that), he is apparently also a pop star and has a huge following in Europe. Howard was asking him questions about his musical career and exactly how big it is overseas. Here, in America, he is a B-list celebrity, at best and his music career is non-existent.

Anyway, as Howard was interviewing him about his singing career, he asked him what the biggest audience he ever sang in front of. Mr. Hasselhoff's reply, "About 90,000 people in Germany...I had Iron Maiden open for me". I nearly spit out my coffee.

[Christian]

Wow. Must have been some sort of festival? No way were they just opening on a two band bill. Yeah, it's interesting how different bands are big in different places. I saw a doco that said Motorhead were not big in the US until 1991 with an Ozzy tour. They were always huge to me.

[Him]

Agree that we agree (in part), Christian. You and I seem to be on the same page regarding Eddie and Vic. And I will certainly give you the point that more people know the name of IM's mascot. But I think the name itself is not always the point. I could get into this a bit further and move towards band symbols (Bad Religion, Dead Kennedys, etc.). But then I am just scratching an itch because I want to do so. Nuff sed.

All quibbles really. Glad to see you posting. And I envy some of your concert choices and options. Cheers!

[fletch]

Xian: You are correct, my Aussie brethren. It was a festival. I found this article online and it states that the crowd was estimated at 110,000. Among other "openers" were Green Day.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rambling-reporter/why-baywatch-star-david-hasselhoff-is-big-germany-1006554

Also, Motorhead, really never achieved the status that you describe in the US, but I know they were huge overseas. Another band, IMHO, that fits the same category were The Ramones. Both, Motorhead and The Ramones could only pull in about 1000-2000 people throughout their respective careers in the US and they were regulated to play Clubs and concerts halls. Another band that fits into this category is W.A.S.P. They (he, Blackie) hardly ever, anymore, tour in the US, but go overseas almost every years to play and headline Festivals. Twisted Sister, too, until they called it a day. (Post the 80's mind you for the latter).

Of a much lighter rock phenomenon, I offer Suzi Quatro, Joan Jett's muse and inspiration. I just read her (Quatro) autobiography BTW- amazing and it made me download a few of her albums. Her career is non-existent in the US, but she draws sizable audiences in Europe and Australia. My guess is that Kenny Laguna used his influence to keep her out of the American market. While Suzi Quatro spoke positive about Joan Jett (and Debbie Harry), there seemed to be an underlying tone of what she considered unfairness among the record labels, distributers and promoters. Note: She did not point any fingers at Joan or her manager, but mostly laid blame, actually, on her own manager who was based in England. Ergo: Colonel Parker to Elvis Presley (as far as touring that is). But, perhaps there was a quid pro quo among the camps.

One last takeaway from her book: (spoiler alert, I jest!!!): Suzi Quatro is mostly known in in the US for her role as "Leather Tuscadero" in the 70's sit-com Happy Days. Leather fronted a rock band in the show. After her contract was up, the Producers reportedly offered her, her own spin-off show (Joannie loves Chachi anyone?), but Ms. Quatro flatly turned it down saying that she didn't want to be typecast. Amazing? Baffling? Smart? Brilliant? Independence? But, she did branch out in Europe to other acting roles, theatre and one reality show, as well as, write, produce and star in a musical about the life of Tallulah Bankhead, an American actress best known for her husky voice, outrageous personality, and devastating wit. Intriguing.

Now, enough of my gibberish. I gotta go attend to my Conduct-Disordered charge.

[Christian]

Hey Fletch. Yeah, I didn't think Motorhead were huge, and I accept a doco on Motorhead might over state it, but the big take away was that they were never big. As another example, I give you The Angels, aka Angel City. They were as big as AC/DC in Australia at one point, and their momentum here was really lost by the year they spent failing to break in the USA. They called themselves Angel City there because of Angel (I think, certainly a name clash). There's plenty of names in the pop world that also are huge here and exist no where else, like Jon Farnham. The singer of the Angels left for a while, then they got back together. He blamed bitterness on the lack of success in the USA on the split. He went on to die and they took the singer of the Screaming Jets. They had one great song, called Better. I wanted to see them for years and was disappointed when I did and the singer started a rant on stage about Muslims in Australia and trying to build a church 'over there'. There's been tons of anti mosque demonstrations in Australia. So, I wrote to the Angels suggesting their singer was bad for their image and they blocked me on social media. I've never seen or listened to the Angels again. Disappointing.