Iron Maiden. Integrity.
To this day, there is no band like Maiden. No matter what, Maiden soldiers on with ferocity. They have seen ups and downs. They have seen some line-up changes. Through it all their core sound never waivers, and I have yet to hear anyone really rip it off successfully.
Facts:
- The founder/bass player runs Maiden with a Iron Fist.
- Their singer is a mad genius.
- They have too many guitar players, but they are all brilliant.
- Adrian Smith is a mutafuckin wizard.
Writing about Maiden is difficult. What points would you hit? I could write 6 Maiden blogs today, and still not even scratch the surface. For this particular blog and in honor of Clive Burr (who died on March 12th, 2013) I am going to focus on early Maiden.
32 years after Maiden fired vocalist Paul DiAnno, there is still debate about the voice of Maiden. The average Joe not exposed to Maiden doesn't realize or care about the significance of Paul's departure, or that Bruce Dickenson is not the original vocalist. However, because of the change, Maiden went on to become one of the top 3 Heavy Metal bands of all time. These bands have earned the love of the fans to the point of us refering to them by their last names only: Maiden, Priest, & Sabbath (with all due respect to Purple and Zep), like old friends.
The material Iron Maiden releases with Bruce to this day continues to define true Heavy Metal. Bedloved is an understatement globally.
Lesser known are the original players that helped craft the sound of Maiden.
Dennis Stratton - Guitar: Iron Maiden - 1980
Clive Burr - Drums: Iron Maiden - 1980
Killers - 1981
Number of the Beast - 1982
I still own an original Killers on vinyl. It is in plastic now, but I remember every nick and pop like it is part of the production. If I hear Murders in the Rue Morgue, I expect to hear heavy scratches in the intro, and to this day it is weird not hearing them. One of my favorite parts of this production is the drumming. Clive is a badass in his use of open high-hat and cymbals abound. His snare fills are simple but tasty given the tempo this barn burner is keeping.
"Clive was the best drummer the band ever had. That's not taking anything away from [present drummer] Nicko. Technically, Nicko's probably a far more competent drummer than Clive. It's just that Clive had this incredible feel, and you can't learn that, and I regret that he wasn't given more time to try and sort himself out."The story of Clive's departure from Maiden in December of 1982 following the Beast on the Road tour goes grey from there. The band says Clive's excess was the issue. Clive says he left the tour to bury his father who had died back in England, Nicko was brought in to fill some dates and Clive never felt like part of the band thereafter.
Band politics are what they are. I have seen the worst of it, and I have been the "too much excess" guy from time to time as well. There is some weird shit that goes down between musicians after they leave the practice room/stage. It is competitive by nature, which sucks, but unfortunately it's fact.
Maiden soldiered on without Clive.
Nicko McBrain has been a part of the landscape for so long now that Clive's contribution to Maiden is somewhat overlooked. Just remember: the intro, timing and fills on Run to the Hills and the entire Number of the Beast LP is Clive's work.
Clive Burr was diagnosed with MS in 1994, which eventually left him unable to drum and ultimately wheelchair bound. The following is taken from his wiki page:
Burr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the treatment of which left him deeply in debt. Iron Maiden staged a series of charity concerts and were involved in the founding of the Clive Burr MS Trust Fund. Burr used a wheelchair because of his condition.
He was also the patron of Clive Aid, a charity formed in 2004. Clive Aid has continued to raise awareness and funds for various cancer and multiple sclerosis programs around the world through the staging of rock events.Burr attended many of these events.
Burr died in his sleep on 12 March 2013. He was 56.Clive is no longer a prisoner. RIP and Thank you.
For more info on Clive, his legacy and his battle:
http://archive.classicrockmagazine.com/view/february-2011/32/when-drummer-clive-burr-was-ousted-from-iron-maide
Now I spend my time looking all around, for a nerd thats nowhere to be found.
Now playing:
Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death (best modern era Maiden LP hands down - and one of my favs)
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