The UK-based Independent has shared an in-depth interview with the members of Iron Maiden reflecting on their 1984 World Slavery tour, which launched 40 years ago this week. They were the first Western rock band to take a full production show behind the Iron Curtain.
Following is an excerpt from the story.
Bruce Dickinson (vocals): “At the time, the Iron Curtain was down and the opportunity of going there, we might make a significant number of people really happy by doing this. It wasn’t a political act at all. It was an act to go and entertain some fans. You can characterise it as a political act. When I was an undergraduate, there was no such thing as a non-political act. The act of taking a piss could be construed as political, depending upon where you did it. (But) sometimes people just want to have fun. They just want to rock. That’s what we were there for.
Rod Smallwood (manager): “From the beginning, I always saw Maiden as being a truly international band. We felt it was unfair that those behind the wall, so to speak, were unable to see us, so we had to try to get to them. As in the song, ‘Iron Maiden’s going to get you, no matter how far!'”
Steve Harris (bass): “We thought, ‘How do we even know we’ve got fans there?’ and they said, ‘Well, you get radio play.’ It was probably the only place in the world that was actually playing us back in them days. The albums were black market albums. They weren’t allowed to buy stuff properly.”
Bruce Dickinson: “They pirated cassettes and that’s how people figured out what the songs were. They would get together in bars and their bedrooms and play them to each other, proper word of mouth.”
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