S Poddar
In a recent conversation on the ‘Scars and Guitars’ podcast, Iron Maiden’s bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris spoke about the journey of his band through a really tough period of time with Blaze Bayley as their lead vocalist. He was gracious to acknowledge Bayley for keeping the band alive during times of transition but admitted to some vocal issues that cropped up live.
Asked if the band ever considered toning down their music after Bruce Dickinson left the band in 1993–thereby tailoring his now-lowered range of vocals, Harris said no. “Not really, no. Maybe on some things, in retrospect, we could have done. But no, we didn’t really think about it. It wasn’t, really, till we got out and played live that we realized there was a couple of things,” Harris explained.
He explained the situation, stating that Bayley had been pretty confident during their rehearsal sessions: “The weird thing is that was really confident when we were rehearsing. And then a couple of times on a couple of songs, then we get out live and there was maybe an issue or two here and there, but in general he handled it really well.”
Despite all this, Harris underscored Bayley’s contribution to keeping Iron Maiden alive during the most important time. It was a transitional era, both for the band and the fans, to move on from Dickinson’s powerhouse vocals to Bayley’s unique style. Harris’s comments make for a nuanced understanding of the era in that it has respect for the difficulties but celebrates the tenacity and commitment Bayley brought to the role.
What’s amazing about Iron Maiden, however, is how in such times of change, it could still carry on making music and perform it live. Keeping in view what Harris said, one can grasp the subtle mechanics at work in order to retain the identity and excellence of a band.
