By Steve Newton The choice of #1 was a no-brainer for me, but the other 19 picks were trickier. Up the Irons! 20. “Running Free” (Iron Maiden, 1980) 19. “Purgatory” (Killers, 1981) 18. “Speed of Light” (The Book of Souls, 2015) 17. “Wrathchild” (Killers, 1981) 16. “The Wicker Man” (Brave New World, 2000) 15. “Flight … Continue reading Iron Maiden’s 20 best songs, from wicked to freakin’ awesome
By Steve Newton I don’t get out to that many rock concerts these days, mainly ’cause I’m an old fogie living out in the ‘burbs and most of my concert-going buddies have either passed away (like Ferg) or moved back to Alberta (like the guys from Mad Duck). But my nephew Jeff offered to take … Continue reading 10 minutes on the phone with Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson in 1983
By Steve Newton Way back in June of 1983 I did my second Iron Maiden interview, following up the previous year’s chat with the soon-to-be-replaced drummer Clive Burr with a conversation featuring 24-year-old frontman Bruce Dickinson. At one point in the interview I asked Dickinson about the backwards message that could be heard between the … Continue reading That time I asked Bruce Dickinson what the backwards message was on Maiden’s new Piece of Mind LP
By Steve Newton Over the last 40 years I’ve been fortunate enough to have done one-on-one interviews with four members of Iron Maiden: Clive Burr, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, and Bruce Dickinson. I interviewed Dickinson back in June of 1983, when Maiden was touring behind its fourth studio album, Piece of Mind, which had been … Continue reading That time I asked Bruce Dickinson what his favourite tune was on Iron Maiden’s new album Piece of Mind
bev davies photo By Steve Newton The first time I interviewed Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson was back in June of 1983, when Maiden was touring behind its Piece of Mind album. I started the conversation by asking why the band had replaced drummer Clive Burr, who I’d interviewed in ’82 during the Number of … Continue reading That time I took my nephew backstage to meet Bruce Dickinson on Iron Maiden’s Powerslave tour and we all felt sad about Razzle
By Steve Newton Forty years ago, around this time, I was livin’ the dream–if the dream was to be a journalist specializing in heavy metal. I’d recently found work as a freelance music writer/proofreader with the Georgia Straight, a weekly Vancouver newspaper. The cool thing was, within a span of six weeks, I got to … Continue reading Metal mayhem in the summer of ’82: scoring cover stories on Ozzy, Maiden, and Scorps
By Steve Newton I interviewed original Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler back in August of 2011, the same year he appeared in Season 5 of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. At the time he was heading to Vancouver for a club show with his own band, Adler’s Appetite, performing originals and the tunes he … Continue reading That time Steven Adler told me that he wished he’d checked out Iron Maiden when Guns N’ Roses opened for them in the ’80s
Nita Strauss plays the Rickshaw By Steve Newton There were some darn fine concerts to see in Vancouver during the first half of 2023–including gigs by Jason Isbell, Larkin Poe, John Mellencamp, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Now here’s my top 10 picks for the second half of the year. Rock on, people! Nita … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 Vancouver concerts to see in the second half of 2023
By Steve Newton Iron Maiden are one helluva rock band. If they weren’t I wouldn’t have interviewed them six times. But those inept turdballs down at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seem to think that a group like the Go-Go’s–who put out three studio albums in their heyday and another one 17 years … Continue reading Iron Maiden loses out to the Go-Go’s and Jay-Z as the Rock Hall’s head plunges even further up its ass
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed the members of Iron Maiden six times so far: the late Clive Burr once, Bruce Dickinson once, Steve Harris once, and Dave Murray three times. I’m cool with that. I always like chattin’ with the guitarists best. This was my last interview with Murray, when the band was in the … Continue reading That time Iron Maiden guitarist Dave Murray told me that growing up in poverty gave him an edge
By Steve Newton After ten years of my complaining about Link Wray not being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the boneheads who run the high-falutin’ joint in Cleveland finally caved and decided to induct him, in the “musical influence” division. It’s about freakin’ time. Wray, who pretty well invented the raunchy guitar … Continue reading Rock Hall finally inducts Link Wray, can Johnny Winter and Rory Gallagher be far behind?
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DECEMBER 23, 1983 By Steve Newton “It was supposed to be a post-nuclear holocaust type thing,” says Aldo Nova, referring to the initial concept idea for his latest album, Subject…Aldo Nova. Over the phone from Shreveport, Louisiana last week, Nova (his real name’s Caporuscio) outlined the proposed plan for his mini-epic. “It … Continue reading Aldo Nova on touring with Blue Öyster Cult, covering Coney Hatch, and the new Subject…Aldo Nova
By Steve Newton As I mentioned yesterday, since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has just announced its seven inductees for the Class of 2023, my own little institution located in the wilds of British Columbia–Newt’s Rock Hall–is gonna counter with seven different inductees of its own. And of course mine will be better. … Continue reading Newt’s Rock Hall inducts Dick Dale, Soundgarden, the Guess Who, the Replacements, Bad Company, Mahogany Rush, the Edgar Winter Group, and the Stray Cats
