Dieses Interview wurde mit Bruce in Paris aufgenommen..es ist einigermaßen informativ ;D

IRON MAIDEN fan site MaidenFans.com (http://www.maidenfans.com) has issued the following report:

In anticipation of their Paris concert, (frontman) Bruce (Dickinson) got the unusual honor to be interviewed by Paris Match, a classy gossip magazine.

The full translation follows:

Iron Maiden still has all its teeths … in order to bite

The metal band has an iron health. It arrives at the Parc des Princes still shrewish. In particular with its competitors. Long hairs, liters of beers and guitars solos… Iron Maiden incarnates hard rock since thirty years. Today they do more look like old paunchy gentlemen than mean aggressive rockers, even if on stage the madness still works. With its 25 millions records sold (Maidenfans' note: it’s more like 60 million), the band remains a blood-and-thunder type of attraction that a tribe of loyal fans will follow whatever happens. Interview with its singer, Bruce Dickinson.

Q: Who listens to Iron Maiden today?

A: "In Europe, our public is 80% of kids aged from 13 to 25 years old. In general, they come to see us for the first time. We do play a lot of festivals at the moment. People of our age do not lie around in these type of places… Iron Maiden is unique. We are not a commercial band and we exist entirely outside of the musical industry. Nobody can influence us, nor dictate what we are going to do. Young lads love this attitude!"

Q: What have you brought to music?

A: "We have brought an aggressive side to metal. Before our time, there were a lot of nice enough bands, Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull… The more violent bands like Deep Purple had an almost aristocratic image, afar off their fans. Maiden found its way in the middle of this doldrums. We have created a full-fledged universe, free of any compromises."

Q: Is this the key to your success?

A: "Absolutely. It’s good to have a universe, but it’s better if it appeals to others. We had many opportunities to go into other directions, to have a go at a more “commercial” music, but we did resist, even if it could have brought more success…"

Q: The egos quarrels have almost killed the band. Yourself did leave the band to better rejoin later.

A: "Today, we do not want to lose our time for quarrels. We can have fun despite our ego. You cannot go on stage in front of 50000 people without the latter being oversized… But between us from now on there are no more useless rows. The interest of aging rests also in the fact that we have gained more and more confidence in ourselves. The little details that unnerve you while you’re 23 are no more at 48…"

Q: Do you think about retirement ?

A: "Honestly, we don’t have much time left. A few more tours and soon we won’t have the energy to go on. Even if the enthusiasm remains intact. Nicko, our drummer, is not far from his sixties."

Q: Charlie Watts continues to play.

A: "Charlie Watts plays jazz! It’s not exhausting! Jagger doesn’t sing like I do, he’s not able to run on stage anymore. We are a raw energy piece."

Q: How does your family see all this ?

A: "It’s all right, because I’m on tour for three months at most per year. The rest of the time, I’ve got my airline pilot job or I’m at home. Even if my neighbors know that I’m part of Iron Maiden, they don’t really know what the band is."

Q: What do you listen at home ?

A: "The kids are the real masters of the hi-fi system: I’m listening to Green Day, or System of a Down… When I manage to gain the upper hand, I’m put out my old classics, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, always the same crap. But it feels so good…"

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