Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris says the one and only downside of touring with his solo band British Lion is the amount of snoring he can hear when their tour bus stops.
It’s a far cry from hitting the road with Iron Maiden, who used a customised jumbo jet for this year’s The Book Of Souls world tour.
But he argues that there are other advantages to playing smaller venues with his side-project, who plan to release a live album and a second studio album during 2017.
Harris tells Planet Rock: “The bus is great – apart from all the snoring. When the bus stops I can’t deal with that, I’ve got to say.
“But that’s the only downside, really. I do like being on the bus, and the meet-and-greet with fans. It’s nice to see people so happy in a photo with you and all that.
“I can’t do that with Maiden, really. There’s too many, and we tend to go straight off the back of the gig and fly to the next place anyway. With this it’s a bit different.”
He reflects that next year is going to busy for him, with two British Lion releases planned alongside Iron Maiden’s continuing world tour, which includes European and UK dates in April and May.
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Harris says of the British Lion live record: “It’s be out at some point next year and we’ll do a second studio album as well. I think it’s gotten more powerful as we’ve gone on. It’s evolving in a natural way.”
He reports that they’re about eight songs into the follow-up to their 2012 self-titled debut and adds: “There’s not too much to do.”
The band have two remaining dates on their European tour: Dolan’s Warehouse in Limerick, Ireland on December 5, and the Limelight in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on December 6.
Iron Maiden Book Of Souls European tour 2017
Apr 22: Antwerp Sportpaleis, Belgium
Apr 24: Oberhausen Konig Pilsener Arena, Germany
Apr 28: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
May 02: Hamburg Barclaycard Arena, Germany
May 04: Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena, UK
May 06: Dublin 3arena, Ireland
May 08: Manchester Arena, UK
May 10: Sheffield Arena, UK
May 11: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
May 14: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, UK
May 16: Glasgow SSE Hydro Arena, UK
May 17: Aberdeen AECC GE Oil & Gas Arena, UK
May 20: Liverpool Echo Arena, UK
May 21: Birmingham Barclaycard Arena, UK
May 24: Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK
May 27: London O2 Arena, UK
