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Tag: Steve Harris
0 TRIBUTE TO STEVE HARRIS / BRAIN TUMOUR UK CHARITY EVENT: “A MASSIVE SUCCESS”
Last Friday night, July 19, about 500 people came together at The Asylum in Birmingham, England for a very special event – The Steve Harris (SHY) Tribute and Brain Tumour UK charity event. “It was amazing to see so many people come together to support a great cause and to pay tribute to a wonderful man and a great musician. I cannot believe how generous people were. When I decided to organize a raffle I was overwhelmed the by the donation of prizes,” replies Pamela Mills. “I anticipated that I would raise around 200 pounds but people were queuing to buy tickets. The total of 650 pounds for just the raffle alone totally exceeded all my expectations”.
The event, which hosted esteemed hard rock heroes SHY raised around $7,000 on the night to donate to Brain Tumour UK in Steve’s name with more money pouring in from online auctions, as well. “The event was absolutely amazing,” says Shy keyboardist, Joe Basketts. “So many people came together to make this happen and on the night nearly two years of hard work just fell into place. The support we received from friends, fans and other musicians has been overwhelming, without which we could not possibly have put this show on.”
Several items were raffled off and are included in an online auction, including autographed guitars from George Lynch, Michael Schenker and the members of SHY, a Blackstar amp autographed by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, drum heads autographed by the members of Magnum, autographed artwork from fantasy artist Rodney Matthews, who designed a total of ten Magnum album covers, an autographed Ozzy Osbourne poster and an autographed TNT jacket amongst various other autographed CD’s, records and t-shirts.
Steve Harris was struck down with a brain tumour in June of 2009 during the recording of the band’s self titled swansong album (and thirteenth release overall) and succumbed to the neurological disorder in October 2011. He was an extremely beloved person in the hard rock community, not only respected for his incredible talent but also as someone who had a positive affect on everyone he came in contact with. Steve was the founding member of SHY (initially called Trojan) at 17 years of age and played on every album the band recorded from 1983 to 2011.”Steve Harris was one of the nicest and most down to earth blokes you could ever hope to meet,” says Roy Davis. “As talented as he was there was never any sign of ego at all. He was the most humble member of the band! He should have gotten more recognition than he did. Who knows, maybe if he had put himself ‘out there’ a bit more, was more flashy, more over the top, whatever, he might have been.”
The current members of SHY (vocalist Lee Small, bass player, Roy Davis, keyboardist Joe Basketts and drummer, Bob Richards) were joined onstage by friends Neil Hibbs and Carl Anthony Wright, who played Harris’ parts on the older songs, whilst Harris’ own guitar parts were taken straight from the multitracks and played using a click track through the PA system for the songs from the latest album. One of the many highlights of the evening was original frontman, Tony Mills joining the band onstage for a run through of some of the classic hits. “It’s been over twenty years since I performed with SHY to any great measure, but the rehearsal went as if it was only yesterday,” says Mills. “I have to attribute that to Steve’s writing and undeniable flare in composition. A truly great artist, taken from us much too soon; it was an honour to be part of such a fitting tribute to one of the most professional musicians I have ever performed with.”
Roy Davis on Steve Harris:”Steve was always on time, never missed a day of work. He had never been sick. He’s never smoked or drank. When we were on tour, the rest of us would go out and get drunk every night and he never did. He really was the epitome of someone who lives the clean lifestyle. And this happened to him. There are a lot of people asking, ‘why him and not me?’ There’s no reason to anything in life in that this would claim the life of a guy like Steve Harris.”
You can take part in the online auction by visiting: http://bit.ly/1aFfg9O
The Steve Harris Memorial can be viewed at: www.steveharrismemorial.co.uk
Keyboard player, Joe Basketts has set up a Facebook page to share, view and add photos and videos from the night at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/175642609284185/
0 STEVE HARRIS TO PLAY A SELECTION OF EUROPEAN DATES IN EARLY 2013
Steve Harris will be taking his new solo/side project British Lion out on the road next month visiting fourteen countries and twenty four cities across Europe, starting in Portugal on Feb 21. For the first time ever, and as a major surprise to many, Iron Maiden’s bass player, founder member and leader will be taking temporary leave from his Maiden activities and heading out on a full European Club tour. (full schedule and details below)
Steve comments “I love touring and live shows and I’m very excited about touring with British Lion. It’s fantastic to get out there and once again experience the sheer vibrancy of small clubs with the fans right up front and in your face. I think the fans will enjoy that too. It’s exciting, going back to the roots, and it’s going to be fantastic. We are taking this to clubs all round Europe – a full club tour, with club shows at club prices, hot, sweaty and loud . We have no idea how many people will turn out to see us as it’s obviously very recent and very new, so we have kept the venues small with tickets priced accordingly as low as we reasonably could.
I’ve known all the guys in the band for ages and, besides being great musicians, they are also good friends, which is lucky because this has been an ongoing project for many years! They’ve had to be very patient with me as, of course, I’m so involved with Maiden I don’t really get a lot of free time to work on other stuff. So it’s great to finally have the opportunity to get out and do all these shows. The reaction to the album has been really good and I think it will sound great live. We’re all planning to have a lot of fun on this tour!”
British Lion is Steve’s debut CD outside Iron Maiden and was released by EMI in September 2012. Featured alongside Steve are Richard Taylor on vocals, David Hawkins on guitar and keys, Grahame Leslie on guitar, and Simon Dawson on drums. The 10 track album was mixed by Kevin Shirley [Maiden’s longstanding producer] and has been pronounced both “brilliant” and “a big hearted ferocious triumph” by the music press who also commented that although it’s stamped with Steve’s inimitable style, it’s also very different to Maiden, so fans will be in for a whole new experience seeing and hearing these new songs played live.
| FEBRUARY 2013 | |||
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| THU 21 SAT 23 SUN 24 TUE 26 WED 27 THUR 28 |
PORTUGAL SPAIN SPAIN SWITZERLAND ITALY ITALY |
PORTO HARD CLUB MADRID LA RIVIERA BARCELONA SALAMANDRA ZURICH KOMPLEX MILAN LIVE CLUB ROME ORION |
On sale Tuesday Jan 15th On sale Tuesday Jan 15th On sale Tuesday Jan 15th On sale Tuesday Jan 15th On sale Tuesday Jan 15th On sale Tuesday Jan 15th |
| MARCH 2013 | |||
| SAT 02 SUN 03 TUE 05 THUR 07 SAT 09 SUN 10 TUE 12 WED 13 THUR 14 SAT 16 MON 18 FRI 22 SAT 23 SUN 24 TUE 26 WED 27 FRI 29 SAT 30 |
GERMANY GERMANY GERMANY AUSTRIA GERMANY GERMANY SWEDEN SWEDEN NORWAY SWEDEN FINLAND HOLLAND BELGIUM FRANCE ENGLAND ENGLAND SCOTLAND ENGLAND |
NUREMBURG ROCKFABRIK MUNICH BACKSTAGE HALLE STUTTGART LKA VIENNA ARENA COLOGNE LIVE MUSIC HALL BERLIN COLUMBIA CLUB MALMO KB GOTHENBURG BREWHOUSE OSLO ROCKERFELLER STOCKHOLM KLUBBEN HELSINKI CIRKUS AMSTERDAM MELKWEG VOSSELAAR BIEBOB PARIS LA TRABENDO O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON, LONDON O2 ACADEMY 2, BIRMINGHAM GLASGOW GARAGE MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY |
On sale Saturday Jan 19th On sale Saturday Jan 19th On sale Saturday Jan 19th On sale Tuesday Jan 15th On sale Saturday Jan 19th On sale Saturday Jan 19th On sale Wednesday Jan 16th On sale Wednesday Jan 16th On sale Wednesday Jan 16th On sale Wednesday Jan 16th On sale Wednesday Jan 16th On sale Saturday Jan 19th On sale Tuesday Jan 15th On sale Tuesday Jan 15th On sale Friday Jan 18th On sale Friday Jan 18th On sale Friday Jan 18th On sale Friday Jan 18th |
3 Shy – S/T (2011)
Shy returned in 2011 with their 10th studio album, and their first with their new singer Lee Small. Small ,who sang with the bands Phenomena and Surveillance, turns in an outstanding vocal performance, and have helped Shy create what is easily their best new album since 2002’s Unfinished Business.
This album isn’t the heaviest of Shy albums. What it lacks in heaviness, it has in melody. The keys of Joe Basketts greatly augments, but never over powers, the guitar work of Steve Harris. Some of my favorites on this album include the songs “Sanctuary”, a killer melodic tune that has some awesome progressive rock elements to it, and ‘Pray”, a killer tune with a great message. Some of the other album highlights are the rocking cuts “Land of a Thousand Lies”, and “Blood on the Line”. There really isn’t a bad song in the bunch.
I thought I would miss the vocals of Tony Mills with Shy, but I have to admit that I am loving what the band is doing with Lee Small. Both Shy and TNT can forge ahead with the excellent singers they employ.
Sadly, this album will be the swan song for guitarist Steve Harris who passed away in October from a brain tumor. His guitar work will be greatly missed by the melodic rock community. He leaves us with an outstanding melodic rock CD and a catalog of hard & melodic rock that will never be forgotten by music fans anywhere.
For more information on Shy, please visit the band’s website. You can purchase Shy’s new CD at this link. I recommend it!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
01. Land of a Thousand Lies
02. So Many Tears
03. Ran Out of Time
04. Breathe
05. Blood On the Line
06. Pray
07. Only for the Night
08. Live For Me
09. Over You
10. Sanctuary
11. Save Me
12. Union of Souls
Shy is:
Lee Small – Vocals
Steve Harris – Guitars
Joe Basketts – Keyboards
Roy Davis – Bass
Bob Richards – Drums
5 Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier (2010)
Iron Maiden is back with their follow-up record to 2006’s excellent, A Matter of Life and Death. How does the band’s latest opus The Final Frontier stack up? Read on!
The Final Frontier is one long album. It may only be ten songs, but it over seventy minutes of music crammed on to this CD. The opening track “Satellite 15….The Final Frontier” is pretty much two songs in one, and I don’t know why Iron Maiden didn’t break this up into two pieces. The first half provides a build up for the album, but is a little excessive in my opinion. The drums sound like they were recorded in a live setting, not in a studio. I could have done without the first half all together. The second half is more of a classic sounding Maiden tune. The second half is what you will hear as the radio edit single, “The Final Frontier:. While this song isn’t bad, I question why Iron Maiden chose to use this as the album opener. There is much stronger material to be found on The Final Frontier that would have made a better intro.
Chances are you have heard the first single, “El Dorado” by now, if not, you can get a free download of the song here! I have been listening to “El Dorado” for a few weeks now, and I must admit that I like it a lot. I keep finding myself turning the volume up each time this one comes on. An album just doesn’t seem like an Iron Maiden album without the galloping bass, and heavy riffs. This song has them both.
“Mother of Mercy” is one of the songs that I didn’t care for at first. After multiple listens, I have to now ask myself why. “Mother of Mercy” is a mid-tempo number that has all of the makings of a radio single. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a soldier at war. It is a well written and interesting tune, that will resonate with a lot of people.
“Isle of Avalon” is a monster of a tune on The Final Frontier. The song starts off a little slow, but builds into a truly classic tune albeit a very long one! “Isle of Avalon” might just be the most memorable moment on The Final Frontier.
Overall, casual fans will probably not be very happy with the lack of shorter, radio worthy tunes. Iron Maiden’s long time fans will probably love this, and appreciate the band trying to push the boundaries of their sound. The Final Frontier won’t be considered Iron Maiden’s best effort. Quite honestly, I don’t think this would make their top three. With that being said, it is still a far better disc than most of the stuff that is being released today. The Final Frontier is a grower of an album, and if you give this one multiple spins, you will grow to appreciate this disc as much as I have.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Satellite 15….The Final Frontier 
2. El Dorado
3. Mother Of Mercy
4. Coming Home
5. The Alchemist
6. Isle Of Avalon
7. Starblind
8. The Talisman
9. The Man Who Would Be King
10. When The Wild Wind Blows
Iron Maiden is:
Bruce Dickinson – Vocals
Dave Murray – Guitars
Adrian Smith – Guitars
Janick Gers – Guitars
Steve Harris – Bass & Keyboards
Nicko McBrain – Drums
3 Iron Maiden – A Matter of Life and Death (Release Year – 2006)
Iron Maiden have simply done it again with their new CD, A Matter of Life and Death. This is one excellent rocking CD.
Bruce Dickinson proves that he still has plenty of vocal chops to please the masses. This CD stands up to any of Maiden’s past works and that really says something.
Don’t expect to listen to this CD quickly! 7 songs clock over 7 minutes long. You wont mind once you start hearing the almost, progressive rockers chocked full of guitar solos.
This is what a rock CD is supposed to sound like! “A Matter of Life and Death” is easily one of the best CD’s of 2006!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Pick up the special edition if you can. It includes a Bonus DVD with the Making of, a Video for Benjamin Breeg and more!
Track Listing:
- Different World
- These Colours Don’t Run
- Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
- The Pilgrim
- The Longest Day
- Out of the Shadows
- The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
- For the Greater Good of God
- Lord of Light
- The Legacy
Iron Maiden is:
Bruce Dickinson – vocals
Dave Murray – guitar
Janick Gers – guitar
Adrian Smith – guitar and backing vocals, guitar synth on “Brighter than a Thousand Suns”
Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboard
Nicko McBrain – drums
