Backstage with Slash and Bruce Dickinson as Guns N’ Roses open for Iron Maiden in Vancouver

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 3, 1988

By Steve Newton

The politics of rockin’ can be tough on new bands just getting used to the tour circuit. Take for example Guns N’ Roses, who are on the road in support of their first album, and opening for Iron Maiden, who’ve toured the world for 10 years now.

“It’s terrible,” complained Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash before Monday’s show. “Maiden is cool and everything, but they’ve got such a big stage show, and new soundmen and all, and sometimes there isn’t even time for us to get a soundcheck.”

From the sound of their performance, Slash and his bandmates didn’t get one last Monday (May 30) either. About the only things you could hear well were Slash’s lead guitar and a bit of W. Axl Rose’s lead vocals. Forget the rhythm section. And the band wasn’t too impressed with the crowd’s reaction to them either, threatening to pack up and go unless they got more feedback.

That was a tacky move, but you can’t really blame them, since they deserved to be treated better than your average warm-up act. Their debut ’87 LP, Appetite for Destruction, has skyrocketed to the top-10 on Billboard, and sold over a million-and-a-half copies.

It’s quite possible that next time they’re in town they’ll be the ones headlining.

As for Gun N’ Roses’ music, it’s a fast, gritty, and loose sound reminiscent of Aerosmith, with guitars aplenty and screeching vocals. So it wasn’t surprising that, backstage after their show, Slash was seen wearing a black leather jacket with Aerosmith’s logo emblazoned across the back. Between sips of J.D., Slash chatted amiably with Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who had to dart away when he heard his band’s intro music going over the P.A.

“I gotta do a tune, mate,” he explained before running off.

When Maiden hit the stage the difference in sound was like night ‘n’ day. Although loud enough to give elderly folk nightmares, it was also very clean (the band is noted for sparing no expense when it comes to gear). The stage resembled the barren arctic landscape portrayed on the cover of the group’s latest album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son–everything was painted white and frosty-blue, with icebergs stuck here and there.

Dickinson didn’t waste any time in lambasting the Coliseum staff for moving the stage-front barriers back three feet because they thought the crowd was “dangerous”. And when he noticed one particular security guy roughing up a kid, Dickinson jumped down, mike in hand, and grabbed him.

“He wasn’t doing anything, you big ape,” shouted Bruce, adding some choice expletives, and the red-faced bouncer was hustled off, to be replaced by a more understanding member of the band’s road crew.

With the crowd-control under control, Dickinson got on with the business at hand, and he and his British mates delivered state-of-the-art metal via tunes like “Wasted Years” and “The Number of the Beast” (which Dickinson sang while running around with guitarist Dave Murray perched on his shoulders. If you think it sounds easy, try it sometime).

They put the frosting on a typically fine show full of pyrotechnics and effects with two encores that featured “Run to the Hills”, “Two Minutes to Midnight”, and “Running Free”.

To hear the full audio of my interviews with Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, and Steve Harris, and Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Dizzy Reed, subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can also eavesdrop on over 350 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with:

David Lee Roth, 2003
Grant Walmsley of the Screaming Jets, 1991
John Popper of Blues Traveler, 1991
Dave Murray of Iron Maiden, 2012
Joe Perry of Aerosmith, 1993
Ellen McIlwaine, 2001
Derek Trucks of Tedeschi Trucks, 2012
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Fernando von Arb of Krokus, 1984
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, 1997
Gary Holt of Exodus, 1985
Scott Ian of Anthrax, 2012
Gary Lee Conner of Screaming Trees, 1992
Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, 1985
David “Honeyboy” Edwards, 2003
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Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, 2001
Jeff Keith of Tesla, 1988
Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton of Arc Angels, 1992
Marc Bonilla, 1992
Mike Smith of Sandbox (and Trailer Park Boys), 1996
Dewey Bunnell of America, 1983
Robert Randolph of the Family Band, 2003
Keith Strickland of the B-52s, 2008
David Johansen of the New York Dolls, 2005
Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon, 2003
Todd Kerns, 2016
Bill Payne of Little Feat, 2002
Tommy Shannon of SRV & Double Trouble, 1998
Alejandro Escovedo, 1997
Billy Duffy of the Cult, 1989
Dave Martone, 2020
Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, 2006
Joss Stone, 2012
Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest, 2005
Jack Blades of Night Ranger, 1984
Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, 1992
Colin James, 1995
Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown, 1998
Tom Cochrane of Red Rider, 1983
Ed Roland of Collective Soul, 1995
Taj Mahal, 2001
Tom Wilson of Junkhouse, 1995
Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, 2003
David Lindley, 2002
Marty Friedman of Megadeth, 1991
John Hiatt, 2010
Nancy Wilson of Heart, 2006
Jeff Golub, 1989
Moe Berg of the Pursuit of Happiness, 1990
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Terry Bozzio, 2003
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Jim McCarty of the Yardbirds, 2003
Luther Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars, 2001
John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, 1995
Steve Hackett from Genesis, 1993
Grace Potter, 2008
Buddy Guy, 1993
Steve Lynch of Autograph, 1985
Don Wilson of the Ventures, 1997
Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, 1998
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Robert Cray, 1996
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Ian Hunter, 1988
Kate Bush, 1985
David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, 1984
Jeff Healey, 1988
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Kenny Wayne Shepherd, 1995
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Wayne Kramer from the MC5, 2004
Bob Rock, 1992
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Lars Ulrich of Metallica, 1985
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John Mellencamp, 1999
Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1999
Kenny Aronoff, 1999
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Jon Bon Jovi, 1986
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Randy Bachman, 2001
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Stevie Salas, 1990
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Alex Van Halen, 1995
Eric Johnson, 2001
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David Lee Roth, 1994
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John Mayall of the Bluesbreakers, 1988
Tony Iommi of Heaven and Hell, 2007
Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1996
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Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1990
Rick Richards of the Georgia Satellites, 1988
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Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers, 1991
Jake E. Lee of Badlands, 1992
Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1997
John Fogerty, 1997
Joe Perry of Aerosmith, 1987
Rick Derringer, 1999
Robin Trower, 1990
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, 1994
Mick Ronson, 1988
Geddy Lee of Rush, 2002
Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult, 1997
Michael Schenker, 1992
Vince Neil of Motley Crue, 1991
Vinnie Paul of Pantera, 1992
Joan Jett, 1992
Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, 1989
Rob Halford of Judas Priest, 1984
Bill Henderson of Chilliwack, 1999
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Carlos Santana, 2011
Walter Trout, 2003
Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot, 1983
Tommy Aldridge, 2001
Donald “Duck” Dunn, 1985
Mark Farner of Grand Funk, 1991
Chris Robinson of Black Crowes, 1990
Jennifer Batten, 2002
Mike Fraser, 2014
Leo Kottke, 2002
Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, 2002
David Gogo, 1991
Booker T. Jones, 2016
Link Wray, 1997
James Reyne from Australian Crawl, 1988
Mike Rutherford of Genesis, 1983
Buddy Guy, 1991
Country Dick Montana of the Beat Farmers, 1990
Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers, 2016
Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1986
Lindsay Mitchell of Prism, 1988
Buddy Miles, 2001
Eddie Money, 1988
Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, 1983
Gaye Delorme, 1990
Graham Bonnet of Alcatrazz, 1984
Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, 2016
Doc Neeson of Angel City, 1985
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Sonny Landreth, 2016
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Leslie West of Mountain, 2002
Uli Jon Roth, 2016
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Greg Lake of ELP, 1992
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Tal Wilkenfeld, 2016
Steve Clark of Def Leppard, 1988
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…with hundreds more to come

One thought on “Backstage with Slash and Bruce Dickinson as Guns N’ Roses open for Iron Maiden in Vancouver

  1. Thanks for putting these old Maiden reviews and interviews up ! I lived in “the South” when I was a teenager and never got to see them in their “classic years”.. Some of your pics and A/V clips I haven’t seen anywhere else before ! Oh man I should’ve gone into journalism…

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