Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood confident of new album/tour & he urges more bands to fight touts
Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood says he’s highly confident Maiden have at least another album and tour in them.
After Steve Harris categorically ruled out retirement last week – comments he later echoed to Planet Rock – speaking on The Bus of Souls ahead of Maiden’s opening show at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena on Thursday, our very own Paul Anthony asked Rod whether Maiden still have many years ahead of them.
“They’ll retire when they can’t drag themselves on stage!,” Rod laughed. “They love it, they love playing.
“I was saying earlier I think they enjoy recording more now than they’ve ever done because obviously, I’m not putting them on the road for so many shows. So, I think we’re going to tour two or three months a year, which we normally do.
“Of course, last year was more because we were sort of making up to the fans for the fact we missed the year before because of Bruce’s illness (throat cancer).
“So, I’m pretty sure there will be another album and another tour and I think you’re just going to have to drag them off stage. They love playing, they just love it and they love writing and recording now. So they’re going to be… just keep Nicko (McBrain) fit that’s all we need to do (laughs). Everyone loves Nicko!”
Elsewhere in the interview, Rod urged fellow bands to take on the successful anti-touting strategy implemented by Iron Maiden for the UK leg of their Book of Souls World Tour.
Measures included issuing paperless tickets with the buyer having to present photo ID upon entry, limiting tickets to four per person and 'setting conditions of purchase' so that tickets are not for resale.
“We spend a lot of time on the ticketing because we think secondary ticketing is immoral and wrong and takes a lot of money out of the fans’ pockets which could be spent on a new band’s album, a concert,” Rod explained. “Y’know if you’re a kid and you’ve got ‘x’ amount per month to go to a show, so if you’re going to see Iron Maiden and you can only get tickets through secondary ticketing you’re going to spend at least £100 over the odds.
“That £100 could be spent on two or three bands in the pubs and the clubs or it could be on a catalogue or on our t- shirts (laughs) even better. But it just takes it out of the grassroots of the industry for me. If you’re going to go to one concert a month and that’s a big concert, how are new bands going to get through?!”
Reflecting upon Iron Maiden’s victorious fight against touts, Rod said: “Yeah (it’s been) a huge success. It’s obviously something that I feel quite passionate about. I hate these f* making money off the back of our fans. I hate it. And I’ve been fighting for some years now and I think we’re getting somewhere.”
He continued: “Other bands should certainly follow suit. It’s probably got to a stage where if bands aren’t following suit, fans are going to say ‘why aren’t they following suit?’
“There are artists - and it’s probably more in the pop world than the rock/metal world... (they’re) taking a chunk of tickets out of the inventory and selling them on secondary ticketing sites.
“You’re a big act, you take a thousand tickets – give them to second ticketing sites and a thousand (pounds) times a hundred that’s a hundred thousand (pounds) immediately – at least – extra income. So there are temptations but I think anyone that doesn’t make a stand against it should really rethink their position. They should because it’s wrong. It’s wrong.”
Watch Paul's full interview with Rod here:
Following their triumphant shows in Nottingham and Dublin, Iron Maiden continue the UK leg of The Book of Souls World Tour at Manchester Arena tonight (8th May).
You can read the full gig report from Nottingham including photos, live video footage, the setlist and details of Planet Rock’s journey on The Bus of Souls right here.
PHOTO GALLERY: 18 stunning photos of Iron Maiden's opening UK show in Nottingham
Tickets to most of the remaining Iron Maiden shows are completely sold out but there are tickets to certain dates from Planet Rock Tickets now. The UK tour touches down at the following venues:
MAY 2017
Manchester Arena – Mon 8th
Sheffield Arena – Wed 10th
Leeds First Direct Arena – Thu 11th
Newcastle Metro Radio Arena – Sun 14th
Glasgow SSE Hydro – Tue 16th - SOLD OUT
Aberdeen GE Arena – Wed 17th
Liverpool Echo Arena – Sat 20th - SOLD OUT
Birmingham Barclaycard Arena – Sun 21st - SOLD OUT
Cardiff Motorpoint Arena – Wed 24th - SOLD OUT
London O2 Arena – Sat 27th - SOLD OUT
London O2 Arena – Sun 28th - SOLD OUT