Iron Maiden have helped a bike crash victim reward a fan who saved his life by using a vintage band shirt as a tourniquet.
Steve Radeski lost his right leg in the traffic accident in Australia in 2014 – and the fast reaction of passer-by Bill Gaythwaite kept him alive until help arrived.
Last night in Adelaide, Maiden gave Radeski a brand-new, signed shirt, which he’ll present to Gaythwaite.
Radeski tells AdelaideNow.com: “There was no one around, and a returned soldier from Afghanistan turned up after he heard the accident.
“My leg had come off totally, and the bones were coming out of my hand. I only had about six minutes to live and he came up after about four minutes.
“He was wearing a 1985 Maiden tour shirt which he’d had since he was a kid. He realised he would have to use it as a tourniquet, which stemmed the blood-flow until the helicopter arrived.”
Gaythwaite – who received two commendations for his actions – told Army News at the time: “His right leg had been severed below the knee. Coupled with a compound fracture to his wrist, he was losing a lot of blood. I realised he might die so I made a tourniquet our of my shirt.
“The ambulance arrived after about 15 minutes, followed by the police. It was such a relief to see them both.”
Iron Maiden sent a car for Radeski and made him guest of honour at their Adelaide Entertainment Centre show. He says: “It was a fantastic show – really good. It’s one of the best nights I’ve ever had. It means a lot to get to this point.”
He adds: “I still have the shirt from that day, and it hasn’t been washed!”
Iron Maiden’s The Book Of Souls world tour continues tomorrow (May 14) and runs until August, including a headline appearance at the Download festival on June 12.
Iron Maiden: The TeamRock Archive Of Souls
Iron Maiden: The Book Of Souls world tour
May 14: Perth Arena, Australia
May 18: Cape Town Grand Arena, South Africa
May 21: Johannesburg Carnival City Festival Lawns, South Africa
May 27: Dortmund Rock Im Revier Festival, Germany
May 29: Munich Rockavaria Festival, Germany
May 31: Berlin The Waldbuehne, Germany
Jun 03: Lucerne Sonisphere Allmend Rockt, Switzerland
Jun 05: Rock In Vienna Festival, Austria
Jun 08: Arnhem Gelredome, Netherlands
Jun 10: Paris Download Festival, France
Jun 12: Donington Download Festival, UK
Jun 15: Oslo Telenor Arena, Norway
Jun 17: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, Sweden
Jun 19: Dessel Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium
Jun 21: Herning Jyske Bank Boxen, Denmark
Jun 23: Kaunas Zalgirio Arena, Lithuania
Jun 25: Moscow Olimpiyskiy, Russia
Jun 29: Hameenlinna Kantolan Tapahtumapuisto, Finland
Jul 01: Sopron Volt Festival, Hungary
Jul 03: Wroclaw Stadium, Poland
Jul 05: Prague Eden Arena, Czech Republic
Jul 06: Zilina Airport, Slovakia
Jul 09: Viveiro Resurrection Festival, Spain
Jul 11: Lisbon MEO Arena, Portugal
Jul 13: Madrid Barclaycard Center, Spain
Jul 16: Barcelona Rock Fest
Jul 22: Milan Mediolanum Forum, Italy
Jul 24: Rome Rock in Rome Sonisphere, Italy
Jul 26: Trieste Piazza dell’Unita D’Italia, Italy
Jul 27: Split Spaladium Arena, Croatia
Aug 02: Esch-sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
Aug 04: Wacken Open Air, Germany
