Top 5 Reasons Janick Gers is Still a Member of Iron Maiden

"Someone needs to serve Adrian Smith drinks when Steve Harris tries to sell him on the idea of adding Virtual XI and X-Factor songs into the set." :D

Still, I agree with the Swede here. Janick is a great songwriter and yes, he has actually been in the band longer than Adrian. I simply think it would've been unfair of Steve to fire him back in '99. Janick was a kick in the arse for the rest of the band when he came in and he contributed significantly to keep the boat floating through the 90s. So, many people don't like his soloing style and his stage antics. Well, it seems like Steve does. And he is the captain.

I believe that if Janick had left in '99, the five remaining would've felt that they had to become the Maiden of the 80s again. With Janick still in the band and Adrian returning, they were instead ready to write a new and different chapter in the Maiden history book. I must admit I really like this chapter :)
I agree!
 
Einz. He’s a good rhythm guitar player. He brings a lot of muscle to the Iron Maiden sound.
Zwei. He’s a very strong writer, particularly when paired with Steve. The duo has crafted some of the best epics of the reunion era.
Drei. He’s got an incredible stage presence. He may go off the rails as far as those solos go, but he’s one of the main spectacles in the concerts and new fans are won over by the sparks he gives off.
Vier. He’s an extremely friendly sort of person, from what I can tell, and that makes him very easy to work with. This helps keep the vibe of the band as professionals who like being with each other, and writing and performing music together, alive and well.
Fünf. Steve likes him, for all of the reasons outlined above and more. He adds in a certain something to Iron Maiden that was missing before he entered and is a permanent part of the finest lineup the band has ever sported. Hats off!
 
Janick is a great songwriter and yes, he has actually been in the band longer than Adrian.

He is indeed a great songwriter (lately he has been repeating himself though) but I should point I think Adrian has been in the band longer than him. Adrian spent over 9 years with the band (from November 1980 to early 1990, the writing sessions for No Prayer For The Dying), which is a little bit longer than the period since Janick joined (spring of 1990, for the recording of No Prayer For The Dying) to the date the reunion was officially announced. ;)

By the way, I believe this is Adrian Smith's first public appearance with Maiden.


I simply think it would've been unfair of Steve to fire him back in '99. Janick was a kick in the arse for the rest of the band when he came in and he contributed significantly to keep the boat floating through the 90s. So, many people don't like his soloing style and his stage antics. Well, it seems like Steve does. And he is the captain.

Apparently Janick offered to step aside if the idea was to have the 1980s classic line-up back together and was told by Steve that he would stay.

I believe that if Janick had left in '99, the five remaining would've felt that they had to become the Maiden of the 80s again. With Janick still in the band and Adrian returning, they were instead ready to write a new and different chapter in the Maiden history book. I must admit I really like this chapter :)

I also really like this chapter, some aspects of it even more than some of the stuff they produced during the 80s.
 
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5. Janick and Bruce are friends.
4. Someone must enjoy Janick’s stage antics, though I can’t imagine why.
3. Having 3 guitarists allows you to play twin leads plus rhythm guitar live, though the band shockingly doesn’t do as much of this as they should.
2. Ejecting Janick would be an admission from Steve that NPFTD through Virtual XI as a bloc weren’t as good as the rest of the Maiden catalog.
1. Janick has compromising pictures of Rod Smallwood.
 
5. Janick is everyone's friend. He seems to be the only person that shows up regularly with other band members.
4. Sometimes they're fun to watch. It's different than Adrian's intense face and Dave smiling, which is fun for variety alone.
3. Basically yeah.
2. The fact that no songs from those albums come up live save for a small handful is more of an admission than ejecting Janick would be.
1. I mean, I would have assumed the camera would break just attempting those.
 
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