Iron Maiden fans furious at Sharon Osbourne

[ABlairican Pie]

Iron Maiden fans furious at Sharon Osbourne

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050823/050824_osbourne_hmed_1p.hmedium.jpg

An incident at Ozzfest has some heavy-metal fans fuming.
Bruno Vincent

By Jeannette Walls
MSNBC
Updated: 2:55 a.m. ET Aug. 24, 2005
Some Iron Maiden fans have declared a heavy metal war on Sharon Osbourne. More than a thousand angry fans have signed a petition they plan to send to Ozzy’s wife, with some signers wishing the former reality-show star bodily harm.

The unpleasantness began at an Ozzfest concert in Devore, California over the weekend. When Iron Maiden took the stage, Black Sabbath fans apparently began chanting for Ozzy to appear, with some hurling eggs, bottles and various other items on stage.

Iron Maiden’s lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, told the crowd to break the arms of the hurlers, according to various fans’ reports, and made a snide comment about heavy-metal singers who appear in reality shows. “Technical difficulties” then erupted in Iron Maiden’s show — with lighting and sound going on the fritz; fans of the band blamed blamed the problem on the organizers of Ozzfest. Some also claim that that Kelly Osbourne was one of the eggers, which the Osbourne camp denies.

Sharon Osbourne took the stage afterwards and had kind words for most members of Iron Maiden but reportedly called Dickinson an obscenity and said that he had been disrespectful of Ozzfest since the beginning of the tour.

That has brought out the wrath of Iron Maiden fans. “Sharon and Kelly’s actions towards Bruce and Iron Maiden are despicable at best,” wrote petitioner Michael Swint, one of the calmer of the signers. “It clearly shows how low they are willing to go to upstage an incredible act that were asked by the Osbournes to co-headline and [yet] Maiden are treated with disrespect.”

[Pus$y Galore]

WTF?

Am I wrong, or isn't it a fact that Iron Maiden wouldn't even be playing an "Ozzfest" gig if it weren't for Sharon Osbourne? Wasn't it her and Ozzy who started the tours and produce them?


Sure, not great if Ozzy fans started it, but why start slandering Sharon or Ozzy directly because of that?

I always thought that band was a little off their rockers (no pun intended!) ;)

[ABlairican Pie]

It's a very bizarre story:

The manager of a well-known heavy metal band (*NOT* IRON MAIDEN) who attended this past weekend's Ozzfest show at the Hyundai Pavillion in Devore, California has submitted the following first-hand account of the evening that will surely go down as one of the most shameful moments in recent rock history (NOTE: at his request, the author's identity is being protected by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

"Saturday night's Ozzfest at the Hyundai Pavillion near Los Angeles was a debacle on so many levels, I am still in shock as I write this. As a fan of many of the bands [Saturday] night, one can only hope this was an isolated incident, but sadly, it most likely wasn't. As many of you have heard already, co-headliners and metal legends IRON MAIDEN were pelted with eggs, bottle caps, beer cups, spit on, had people from the Ozzfest camp talking over the PA during their set, had 'Eddie' delayed from his onstage entrance, had members of the [BLACK LABEL SOCIETY] entourage rush the stage with American flags, and had the PA intentionally turned off over six times, all by the OSBOURNE CAMP.

"While it's still unclear as to the exact reasons why the terrorizing started (rumors abounded as to why, with everything from Bruce calling out Ozzy in the U.K. rock magazine Kerrang! on the widely known fact that Ozzy uses a teleprompter, to various vague references said on stage about a 'reality show' at an Ozzfest stop in Detroit), one thing was very clear: The whole thing stunk, and left me, and nearly all of the 40,000+ heavy metal fans in attendance angered and disappointed. Not that behind the scenes bickering or magazine trash-talking is anything new to rock fans, but the shocking lack of professionalism at one of the largest stops in North America in front of 40,000+ spectators, at the hand of the Osbournes was nothing short of disgusting.

"It all began early in the afternoon, when many side stage bands were openly approached in clear view of everyone backstage by Sharon and Kelly Osbourne to 'join them in throwing eggs at IRON MAIDEN this evening.' All the bands were encouraged to rally the other side-stage bands to do so. Members and/or friends of the hardcore band BURY YOUR DEAD were seen actively trying to encourage other side-stage bands to 'join in the fun.' Thankfully, many side stage bands angrily declined.

"Later that evening, as IRON MAIDEN came on stage, their intro was interrupted by [BLACK LABEL SOCIETY] hanger-on and biker wannabe Big Dave, who was at the soundboard loudly chanting 'Ozzy, Ozzy' over the PA. MAIDEN opened their set and the entire band was pelted from the front row with eggs, beer, beer cups, spit, and various other objects by an Ozzfest-credentialed, bandana-wearing, Osbourne entourage. IRON MAIDEN, ever the professionals, continued through their set, and by the time they launched into their second song, 'The Trooper', Bruce changed into a civil war-era, red coat and began waving a Union Jack — British flag. Then, someone in, or associated with, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY tried to rush the stage waving and American Flag with the words 'Don't **** with Ozzy' scrawled across his bare chest. He was tackled and beaten by MAIDEN crew and promptly thrown off stage.

"As 'The Trooper' ended, frontman Bruce Dickinson, with characteristic spunk, launched into a scathing attack on the people terrorizing his band, calling them 'a sorry excuse for an Ozzy Osbourne fan,' and wondering aloud how, 'three dozen eggs could get snuck into the front row of Ozzfest by people with Ozzfest laminates?' Though he never named names, all in attendance could understand who he was referring to. Nicko McBrain ran up to the front asking Bruce to hold on while he cleaned egg off his drums. He then stated the the next song wouldn't be heard on 'Your local cocksucking corporate radio station, wouldn't be seen on MTV anymore, and sure as hell wouldn't be played on a ****ing reality TV show,' met by a huge roar from the crowd.

"During the song 'Hallowed Be Thy Name', Bruce, after only the first two lines, stopped singing and ran to the front row, firing back at his terrorizers, saying 'That asswipe right there, with the curly hair, the ****ing glasses, and Ozzfest laminate throw his ****ing ass out of here right now. It's gonna take more than eggs to stop IRON MAIDEN, and if it wasn't for a lawsuit, I'd rip your ****ing head off right now, you piece of ****!!!!' He had the various attackers ejected and continued with a blistering version of the song until right before the big sing long at the end, the PA was INTENTIONALLY cut off. When it came back, Bruce launched into another scathing attack saying that they were supposed to play a shorter set than normal today, and only play 55 minutes, but IRON MAIDEN can't drive 55, or play 55, and were going to play our whole ****ing set tonight.

"The band endured six more 'PA cuts,' including having the power to their amps turned off at one point. When the PA would come back on, they would simply launch into the next IRON MAIDEN classic, never missing a beat. Frankly, with every PA cut, the band just got meaner and meaner, playing each new song with an anger and a fire that was at times, simply astonishing to watch. Bruce began the introduction to IRON MAIDEN with a speech about 'Your constitution has something about 'We The People.' Well let me tell you, the only reason we are up here tolerating this bull****, is because of you people. You have been amazing Glen Helen, and there are A LOT of IRON MAIDEN fans here tonight,' eliciting a huge roar from the crowd. He continued, 'It's gonna take more than eggs to stop IRON MAIDEN, NOTHING is going to come between us and our fans, and it will be death before dishonor, this is 'Iron ****ing Maiden',' which was greeted by a thunderous applause. During 'Iron Maiden', longtime MAIDEN mascot Eddie was purposely delayed from making his entrance, making a brief appearance at the end, and one could only wonder as to how. As the band closed there set with a furious version of 'Sanctuary', the PA was again cut only to have Big Dave repeatedly chant 'Ozzy' over the PA, while the band tried to say goodbye to their fans. The now-furious crowd angrily drowned him out with chants of 'MAIDEN, MAIDEN.'

"Then, not 10 seconds after MAIDEN left the stage, Sharon Osbourne walked on stage and predictably, tried to give MAIDEN some fake, half-hearted praise about how they'd like to 'thank IRON MAIDEN,' and what a wonderful band IRON MAIDEN are, and how their crew were 'fantastic,' then sneering, 'But Bruce Dickinson is a *****.' The entire crowd, now fed up with the entire affair, began loudly booing her, pelting her with beer cups, and yelling 'bitch.' She tried to carry on, adding that 'Bruce had disrespected Ozzfest,' only to be drowned out by an ocean of boos, and soaked with beer. She slammed the microphone down and stormed off stage. Many in the crowd, fed up with what they had just witnessed, especially considering that many had come solely for MAIDEN, and paid upwards of $150 to do so, left in droves. SABBATH played to maybe half the audience that was there prior, and seemed stagnate compared to the band preceding them. As a huge fan of SABBATH, I honestly couldn't stand to watch them.

"I've seen IRON MAIDEN probably 10 times in my life, and frankly this was the very best IRON MAIDEN show I've had the pleasure of witnessing. You DON'T want to **** with IRON MAIDEN. The more the Osbournes tried to **** with them, the better they got! IRON MAIDEN was on ****ing overdrive! Considering the amount of terrorizing and intimidation that IRON MAIDEN had to deal with at the hands of the Osbournes and the other side stage and main stage bands participating, they were the consummate professionals. They had the crowd in the palms of their hands, and IRON MAIDEN and Bruce Dickinson proved beyond a shadow of a doubt why they are the greatest metal band on earth right now, and quite possibly, the classiest, too.

"The Osbournes are drunk with power. Shame on them, and shame on ANY of the bands that participated in the terrorizing and intimidation. It was disgusting display, that NO BAND should have had to endure, but especially a legend like IRON MAIDEN. That fact that it happened in front of 40,000+ people, at a Clear Channel-sponsored event, while Hyundai Pavilion Security turned a blind eye and let the Osbourne camp pelt one of the main headlining bands with eggs, beer, and spit, was simply inexcusable.

"I will proudly be attending next year's MAIDEN fest, and as much as I hate to say it, I can't bring myself to spend another dime on the Osbournes.

"Ozzfest, hang your head in shame."

[ABlairican Pie]

23/08/2005OZZFEST - SAN BERNARDINO AUG 20

Maiden are currently returning from America and preparing for UK festivals this weekend and don't wish to waste time giving Sharon Osbourne's statement the dignity of a reply. Considering the disgraceful nature of the events that occurred they feel it's a pretty dismal effort at self justification and they don't think Metal fans are at all gullible and that they will easily see through it. They want no more to do with this sorry incident and are very much looking forward to headlining Reading and Leeds Festivals this weekend.

I would however like to add my own comment on this.

In 30 years in this business and after attending hundreds of gigs l have never seen anything anywhere near as disgusting and unprofessional as what went on that night. I was standing on our sound desk out front as usual but ran to the stage as soon as the hail of missiles began and from then on watched from the front of the stage right next to Bruce's walkway. The scale, viciousness and concentration of the throwing made it obvious that this was a premeditated and co-ordinated attack. Assaulting musicians while performing by throwing bottle tops, lighters and eggs at them from just a few yards away is vile, dangerous, criminal and cowardly. It is incredible that Ozzfest security apparently did nothing about it - aren't they there to protect the bands too? Especially when the band is concentrating on a performance in front of 45,000 people and the missiles are coming out of the glare of the spotlights. And to spit at a band on stage is unforgivable.

Iron Maiden, like all the bands on Ozzfest, had to sign quite onerous legal documents part of which was promising not to throw anything into the audience, even wristbands!!! Ironic isn't it.

It is well documented on the web who was responsible for planning and participating in this attack and for musicians to join in this assault on other musicians is a shocking disgrace akin to treachery. You should all be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.

We know who authorised the making of the 'ozzy - ozzy' chant tape the day before and how it was played secretly through the PA at the very beginning and end of our set.

We also know who continually turned off the power interrupting our set at crucial moments. It is a good thing that the power was turned back on before there was a riot as you could sense on stage a lot of the huge audience were getting totally pissed off at this continual onslaught on the band.

The great majority of the Ozzfest crew throughout the tour were terrific and we thank them. Those who participated or stood idly by and watched as this all went down should also be ashamed of themselves and l would certainly hope they never come near a tour with which we are involved.

There is little point in my commenting on the chap with the flag or their trying to hold up Eddie or Sharon's speech as the audience made their feelings very clear on each occasion.

And in the end what was all this about?? If l had any sort of problem or misunderstanding with a band working on a tour we were involved in l would go and talk to them or their manager - not wait until the end of a tour and assault and ambush them. Or was that really it?

I find it staggering that this ambush would take place in front of any audience, let alone in San Bernardino, the biggest audience of the tour. Didn't that audience merit any consideration? They pay an awful lot to be there in terms of prices for tickets, parking, food, beer etc. Surely if they spend this sort of money they deserve to watch the bands they paid to see be able to put in a full unhindered performance. Free of danger and intimidation. If I had paid I would ask for my money back!

And this audience really were outstanding, giving the band incredible support and many voting with their feet in disgust after the set and the speech, which to many was the final insult.

I have to say l was immensely proud of Maiden who stood up to it all and showed great courage and just got better and better through the adversity. Their heads never dropped, instead they went on the offensive. It was a truly memorable moment when Bruce went to the very front of the stage during Trooper - something which he never normally does as he is usually on the ramps - waving the flag whilst avoiding the hail of missiles and yelling 'This is a ****ing British flag, and these colours don't ****ing run!'. The imperturbable attitude and ability of the band shone through and in the end made this a truly remarkable rock and roll event, even if for all the wrong reasons.

We will have no more to say on this matter except that l do think the band deserve an apology from a number of people, and you know who you are.

ROD SMALLWOOD
MANAGER, IRON MAIDEN
CHAIRMAN, SANCTUARY ARTIST MANAGEMENT

[Mikado]

how rediculous, nuff said

[Hollow]

LOL.

[TJL]

That's totally insane.

[Dean Winchester]

well, it's funny that Ozzy's fans can tolerate a lot of nu-metal garbage, but then boo Iron Maiden off the stage, a metal band that are every bit the legends that Black Sabbath are.

[ABlairican Pie]

Torsdag 25 augusti 2005

Musik

http://www.aftonbladet.se/noje/0508/25/NOJE-25s40-m-maiden-888_368.jpg

Iron Maiden och Sharon Osbourne är inte direkt vänner.

Fru Osbourne i öppet krig med Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden och Sharon Osbourne är inte direkt vänner.


Heavy metal-krig råder.
På ena sidan - Iron Maiden.
På andra sidan - Ozzy Osbournes hustru Sharon.
Hon anklagas nu för att ha saboterat Iron Maidens spelning på Ozzfest i helgen. Konserten urartade när publiken kastade ölflaskor, ägg och cigarettändare mot sångaren Bruce Dickinson.
Fans anklagar nu Sharon som hjärnan bakom attacken.
När konserten var slut dök dessutom Sharon upp på scenen och kallade Dickinson för en "jävla skit".
Iron Maidens manager fördömer händelserna under spelningen i ett öppet brev på bandets hemsida.

Pontus Hammarlund
Publicerad: 2005-08-25

Läs mer:
”Cancern det bästa som hänt mig” Sharon Osbourne omvärderade livet under behandlingen
Vilken show! Iron Maiden får 57000 åskådare att bli religiösa

http://www.aftonbladet.se/noje/0508/25/NOJE-25s36-m-sharonFRI-830.jpg

[ABlairican Pie]

From IRON MAIDEN's official message board:

"About 10 minutes before MAIDEN came on, I was in the center of the pit a few feet from the front railing when a guy comes barging in from the right escorting 4 or 5 people. At first, I tell him to F-off because I thought he was trying to take my spot, but he said he worked for Ozzfest and showed me his passes. He also told me that Ozzy's daughter was with the entourage he brought with him. There were a few girls with him and one of them looked a little like Kelly Osbourne, but I couldn't tell for sure because all of them were wearing bandanas over their noses and mouths. After I heard her speak, I was pretty sure. At that point, I tapped her on her arm and said, 'I really liked you on the show. You were great,' to which she responded, 'Thank you.' There was no doubt at that point. The bodyguard who came with them starting getting chumy with us because he needed a few of us to help him protect the girls from the moshing that would start when MAIDEN came on. I saw the girls passing eggs, and I said, 'What's that for?' The bodyguard said something to the effect, 'You'll see. Something big is going down. You'll hear about it everywhere after tonight. It's all because Bruce Dickinson made some comments in Detroit dissing the 'Osbournes' reality TV show.' He also said that there were about 60 people in the pit who were going to participate in the mayhem. Most of them were wearing the same Ozzfest shirts. Before MAIDEN came on, they all started chanting, 'Ozzy, Ozzy...' I actually saw Bruce off to the left of the stage before they came on. His mike was on and he said something like, 'What the ****?' — probably in response to the 'Ozzy' chanting.

"When MAIDEN came on, eggs started flying and all these guys were flipping off the band. Nicko had to stop after one song to clean his set. Bruce was obviously very pissed. Thank God they continued their set. At one point, someone through a cup of corn with milk or something. It got all over Bruce, me, and about a dozen other people. Then the technical problems started. The sound went out on about three songs — 'Phantom of the Opera', 'Hallowed be thy Name', and one other one I can't remember. I could not believe what was going on. I was furious because I didn't want the guys in MAIDEN to think badly of the fans who love them. I do think that Bruce understood because the band continued to play the full set, and Bruce made comments to distinguish the fans there from the guys throwing stuff. Towards the end of the set, Bruce started yelling at a guy in the pit to my left about 10 feet. Bruce said he saw him throwing stuff and wanted the ****er out. It took a long time for security to get him out. The reason why is that one guy from Kelly Osbourne's entourage was holding down the guy security was trying to take out. Eventually security pulled both of them out. After MAIDEN's set, it was obvious that Sharon Osbourne was in on it, because she came out to say that 'Bruce Dickinson is a *****.'

"Needless to say, it was insane. I was really pissed that MAIDEN got treated this way. I wanted to enjoy their set and instead got drama from egg throwing and songs cut short by someone pulling the power. Bruce was obviously pissed and the rest of the band seemed a little irritated. It showed in their playing too because some of the songs were sloppy, but of course you couldn't blame them given the situation."

[TJL]

Do you think anyone's told Ozzy about what's going on?

:lol:

[dawsongirl]

Do you think anyone's told Ozzy about what's going on?

:lol:
Do you think we'd understand his reaction? :lol:

[ABlairican Pie]

Do you think we'd understand his reaction? :lol:
:lol:

[ABlairican Pie]

Sharon Osbourne has issued the following "open letter" to IRON MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood:

"Rod,

"I found your statement to be completely void of the facts that led up to Saturday's show. Your press release was written like an old-time '80s manager, trying to use every opportunity to try and sell the record and the upcoming shows instead of just dealing with the truth.

"These are the facts:

"You claim to have been in the business for 30 years and have been to hundreds of gigs, but can you tell me how many times you have heard of an opening band talking sh*t about the headliner during their set and getting away with it? Not only is Ozzy the headliner, but he is also the man who is paying your band $185,000 a night. We gave IRON MAIDEN a chance to play to the biggest audiences they have ever played to in the U.S.A. We accommodated them with their stage set and at the band's request we even scoured the audience for people wearing IRON MAIDEN t-shirts and brought them down front during their set to make them feel more comfortable. Tell me, what other headliner would do that? Unfortunately those gestures were completely lost on Bruce Dickinson who for over 20 shows continually berated Ozzy and Ozzfest during his set.

"Over the last 10 years of Ozzfest, we have worked with over 200 bands. None of them were ever disrespectful to Ozzy or any of the other bands on the tour. But for 20 shows we were forced to hear Dickinson's nightly outbursts from the stage: 'When we come back to America, we'll be back with a proper sound system,' or "We won't be playing the same old songs every night (like SABBATH),' 'We don't need a teleprompter (like Ozzy)' and 'We don't need a reality show to be legit (again, like Ozzy).' Night after night we heard his complaints from the stage about how 'corporate' the venues were and how 'outrageous' the ticket prices were. Strangely enough, if you want to get a general admission ticket to stand in a field to see IRON MAIDEN at Reading this weekend it's going to cost you over $120. I would say that's very pricey, wouldn't you?

"When an artist comes on stage and says he's not playing the 55 minutes that he was allotted and that he is going to play for as long as he wants (cutting into SABBATH's set), I'm not going to let that happen. Dickinson was under the delusion that the 46,000 people in San Bernardino had come only to see IRON MAIDEN. He even proclaimed 'This is not the Ozzfest, This is Maidenfest.' I guess no one told him that we have an audience of 45,000 to 53,000 people every year in San Bernardino.

"Here's another fact for you. Bruce Dickinson's own band was embarrassed by him. IRON MAIDEN leader, Steve Harris, even came to Ozzy's dressing room to apologize to Ozzy for Bruce's behavior before MAIDEN took the stage in San Bernardino.

"It's shameful that Dickinson felt he had the right to air his issues publicly onstage every night as a way to boost his own ego. Dickinson never once came up to Ozzy and me to voice any concerns. He certainly had the opportunity to do so every night. If he wasn't able to show us that courtesy then why should I give him the respect to air my grievances with him in private? Ozzy's only interaction with Dickinson was on the first night of the tour. Ozzy, being the true gentleman that he is, passed Bruce in the hall and said 'Good luck and have a great show.' Unfortunately Dickinson felt the need to turn his back to Ozzy and walked away. Frankly, Dickinson got what he deserved. We had to listen to his bullsh*t for five straight weeks. He only had to suffer a couple of eggs on the head.

"On closing, yes, I did cut IRON MAIDEN's sound. This is the way I look at it: Ozzfest is our tour. We built it into something that's lasted 10 years now. We've been responsible for breaking many new bands and resurrecting the careers of former superstars. Part of our success stems from the fact that when a band is on Ozzfest we treat them with nothing but kindness and respect just as if we had invited them into our home. You can ask all of the bands who have been on the tour. They all describe it as the 'ultimate summer camp.' It's like one big family. Unfortunately Dickinson doesn't have the manners to realize that when you are invited into someone's home, are seated at their dinner table, are eating their food and drinking their wine, you shouldn't talk disrespectfully about them (Ozzy, BLACK SABBATH and Ozzfest), otherwise you just might get your ass handed to you. Every action has a reaction. Was Dickinson so naïve to think that I was going to let him get away with talking sh*t about my family night after night? I don't think he realizes who he's dealing with. I will not endure behavior like this from anyone.

"I know you would love to keep talking about this because this is the most press that IRON MAIDEN has had in the U.S. in twenty years, but let's move on, shall we?

"Sincerely,

"The 'Real' Iron Maiden

"Sharon Osbourne"

[SBTB Geek]

LOL... Sharon is hilarious. It's times like these I wish they still had their TV show.

Oh well. I have a couple of friends that were there, at least they had fun.

[dawsongirl]

Sharon is so cool.

[ABlairican Pie]

From The Sun Online

Bowled over by success

http://www.kisw.com/goout.asp?u=http://www.rockdaily.com/rd_news/1,,kisw,00.html


Getting their hands dirty ... Iron
Maiden join the Rockwalk of Fame

RELATED WEBSITES

• www.ironmaiden.com

By JACQUI SWIFT

IRON MAIDEN are heavy metal gods - and after 25 years at the top, the band were last night inducted into Kerrang's Hall of Fame.
Bruce Dickinson's legendary group picked up the gong at the magazine's annual awards in the same week they joined the likes of AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis in Hollywood's prestigious Rockwalk of Fame.

They've also just put on a stunning show at this year's Ozzfest, despite notorious attempts to sabotage their set.


Jacqui Swift, of The Sun's Something For The Weekend section, was a guest of the band at both US events in Los Angeles. Here Bruce tells her what he thought about the eventful week, a certain Sharon Osbourne and why Reading could be the greatest show of their career.

JS: Why is Reading so special?

It's where I was asked to join the band and it's also the first festival I ever went to in my life and also played. And this year it will be a big one, I promise and yes we'll be nervous.

JS: You're playing just the four albums on this tour because of the Early Years DVD Part One? Will there be a Part Two?

Yes, Part Two will be based around Live After Death and Powerslave and Somewhere in Time and we have started working on it

The plan is to do what will be our biggest, most spectacular tour we have ever done. The Powerslave era was the one that had all the toys.

It had the massive Eddie, the huge mechanical hands and Ancient Egypt. And we want to recreate the whole deal.

JS: You've ridden out every rock music trend and almost every band throughout has cited you as an influence. Why?

Yes that's weird isn't it? It's because we've never compromised.

Maiden is about loyalty and pride and doing what you believe in and sticking with your beliefs.

It's a bit like people who follow football teams.

They sign up for a football team and support them all their lives even if they lose.

That's us, and our fans are part of our gang.

JS: Ozzfest, Reading and Leeds are all about new fans. Why are they important?

People who are as old as I am are generally not that fun to play to. I know there'll be people reading this saying "It's not true" but 47 year olds don't rock like 15 year olds.

They go absolutely mental and that's what keeps us going.

We are playing songs approaching 25 years old and yet we have the youngest audience.

JS: So what happened when you went on stage at Ozzfest?

We were hit by a co-ordinated barrage of bottle tops, lighters and eggs from a certain section at the front! Then the power for the PA and backline was completely pulled three or four times during songs.

The band held it all together incredibly though and we just got really pumped up.

It ended up being an amazing show. Maiden can pretty much deal with anything. We don’t get fazed too easily.

JS: Who do you think was behind it all?

Everyone knows it's Sharon Osbourne. It's certainly not Ozzy or Sabbath - they have too much class to condone stunts like that.

She hates me for making remarks about reality TV. I hate reality TV.

People should get off their arses and do stuff and not be so voyeuristic.

JS: Her stunts seemed to backfire as you played a magnificent set and soon after, thousands walked out in disgust?

We left for the airport pretty well straight after we came off but we could tell there were a lot of disgusted fans who had paid good money to see us.

The audience was incredibly behind us all the way and they really lifted us.

If they hadn't been happy, there may have been a riot as those fans were really disgusted with the cowardly attacks.

JS: Did you enjoy the Rockwalk of Fame presentation and what does it mean to you?

Well it's very American but behind it there are all these fans that are really into it and have all turned up. It's great.

We are very proud of that day, though we ended up with filthy hands.

It was great that Eddie rightfully got a handprint too.

JS: You left the band in 1993. Is it something you regret?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. When I left I had no intention of coming back but in the intervening period, I ended up becoming a much better singer than I was before, certainly live.

And coming back into the band I had a hell of lot more energy than in the two or years before I left and I stayed with it.

I also came back with a determination that I'm never going to walk on stage again doing something I don't want to do as it's soul destroying and eats you up.

JS: How does Maiden fit in with family life?

Well, we get to run around like a lunatic and play music and my kids can come and watch.

My 15 and 13 year olds were in the front row at our New York gig, in the mosh pit.

I suddenly saw these four security guards jump in and hold someone down.

I thought they had my kids but then I looked and saw their little faces, sweating and screaming and I was ready to dive in.

JS: And next for Maiden?

We have the live album Death on the Road out on Monday with a DVD to follow and then we record the new studio album next spring, which will be out next autumn.

First we have the special fundraising Hammersmith Odeon show next week. It's for our old drummer Clive Burr's Multiple Sclerosis Trust Fund.

I'm really looking forward to it. It will top off an amazing year which included a show in Sweden, where we played to 56,000 and were broadcast live to 20million people.

JS: And next for you?

I go back to my 6 Music radio show and my job as an airline pilot. It's a proper, straightforward, regular job.

I had to book holidays for the tour.

I was straight off stage at Ozzfest to hightail it to LAX airport.

[robyrob]

i hate reality tv too, and punishing the FANS that paid those outrageous ticket prices for what amounts to Sharon's ego is ridiculous.

[ABlairican Pie]

http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/1466/sharonnotb1ud.jpg

[TJL]

:lol:

[ABlairican Pie]

Steve Harris:

[ABlairican Pie]

The buffoon who charged the stage during "The Trooper" getting hauled off by Maiden security: ohno:

[ABlairican Pie]

Bruce as "The Trooper": :rock:

[ABlairican Pie]

Steve Harris: :rock:

Note the egg shattered on the bass monitor. ohno:

[ABlairican Pie]

"Number of the Beast": :rock:

[ABlairican Pie]

EDDYYYYY!!!!!! :eek2: