Iron Maiden won’t retire.
Although the English heavy metal band plan to take a break in 2027 after their current world tour ends, guitarist Adrian Smith insisted they will be back.
He told Billboard: “I can’t see that [retirement] happening. We all love doing it. (Bassist and founder) Steve Harris, he’s 70 now, and the guy can go and play (soccer) in the afternoon, 90 minutes, a proper game, then go on stage and play tours of a Maiden set — then get up and basically do the same thing the next day. That’s the kind of spirit that drives all of us, so…I’m sure we’ll be back to it before too long.”
Smith also opened up about the difficult period he endured during his time out of the band from 1990 to 1999 and revealed he was emotional when he watched it back in the new documentary Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition.
He said: “Bruce [Dickinson – the band’s frontman] is talking about that (in the film) and how he felt, and that was quite nice to see that he kind of cared a bit, and that I was kind of missed, I suppose. I think it needed to happen at the time. It was the right thing to do. I wasn’t happy. I didn’t jump up and down and stamp my feet and storm off; it just kind happened over a period of time. It was difficult.
“When I came back to the band I had a different perspective. I could see it for what it was and appreciate it a lot more and be part of it. And I haven’t looked back since.”
The setlist for the current tour is drawn from Maiden’s first nine albums and Smith is enjoying revisiting the classics.
He said: “It’s great playing that set. It’s songs from way back, and they still sound great when you give them an airing. They still sound fresh and powerful. We try something different every time, a different kind of theme, to keep it fresh rather than just playing the same old thing, and it’s great fun. The fans are loving it. And for me…I mean, it changed my life, joining Iron Maiden (in 1980) and then we went on to record Killers. So playing those songs just takes me back in time, temporarily.”