“I’m really proud of our time with Blaze. He helped keep the band going. It was great. It was a challenge.”
Steve Harris recalled Iron Maiden’s “greatest challenge,” and praised the contribution of vocalist Blaze Bayley, who helped keep the band alive.
Iron Maiden has been through a lot during its illustrious career. They’ve taken blows, overcome problems, and adapted to harsh circumstances. But of course, not all challenges in life are of the same level.
In an appearance on the Scars and Guitars podcast, founding member and bassist Steve Harris was asked what the “greatest challenge” of Maiden’s career was. Harris stated that Bruce Dickinson’s departure was the likely candidate (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
“Challenge? Um, it’s tough. I don’t know which is the greatest one, but I think it’s always tough if someone leaves the band. I think the toughest one was, I suppose, probably when Bruce left. To try and keep the band together and go out and still do something different and get a different style of singer.”
Harris continued, noting that Blaze Bayley was a very different vocalist, but that this worked to the band’s advantage:
“Blaze was a very different style. And I think there was a couple of people who sang very much like Bruce, but what’s the point? We’d end up being like a tribute band, so I didn’t want that. We took it somewhere a bit different.”
“I’m really proud of our time with Blaze. He helped keep the band going. It was great. It was a challenge.”