Steve Harris

[Kalata]

Steve Harris about

"Powerslave"

“The piece came from three ideas from Bruce,” says Steve. “I told him: 'Combine them into one big song instead of trying to work out every single
idea.” I thought it was cool that he composed a song on his own, like he did on “Piece Of Mind” with “Revelations”, which by the way was also composed of two or three ideas. So I helped him put it all together. I also had no desire to change the flair of the number by interfering with it. I think it's good to have unusual pieces where I don't get involved. So I told him that he already had all the parts of the song and just had to put them together that they fit the story he wanted to tell.
But to get back to “Powerslave”: I helped him fine-tune the arrangement. I don't know if he remembers it differently and would deny it, but that's what happened.
I didn't ask for any credit for it - why should I have done that? After all, Bruce had written the piece, not me. I only helped with the arranging and in some places added a few melodic embellishments.” When we ask Steve whether he does the same with his own compositions, he confirms that:
"I have already combined ideas in a song that I originally intended for two or three different songs. Sometimes I have a good idea that I can't finish right away. Then I put it aside to comeback to it later. I'm thinking of songs like 'Rime Of The Ancient Mariner", "When The Wild Wind Blows‘, ’The Red And The Black', 'Death Of The Celts', 'For The Greater Good Of God' and so on. The same applies to 'The Book Of Souls', which was the brainchild of Janick. When I told him that it didn't really fit on “The Final Frontier” and that we will shelve it to make it a key track on the 'next album, he thought I was pulling his leg.

Cool to read this about the creative process behind ''Powerslave'', Steve's input (he said this for the first time?) and his way of writing epics. Thanks. So Bruce combine ideas too, at least for the longer stuff. He had some really great ideas back then.

What's rather interesting: Years later he asked me to help him arrange 'Empire Of The Clouds', but I refused because he didn't need me. If I had done it, the thing would probably have been even longer (laughs).

Wow, haha. Bruce asking Steve to help him with the arrangement of a song speaks about their relationship.

With your lyrics, your artwork and the production of your concerts you have to conjure images up in people's minds, and all basically has to come from the songs.
Many bands - without wanting to criticize anyone - have great shows, but many of the effects they use just look spectacular but have no direct
connection to the songs they play. Obviously we use effects sometimes just to have effects, but most of the time our album artwork and stage animations are directly related to our songs. The cover of “Powerslave” and the stage design of the "World Slavery Tour" 1984/'85 were probably the best examples of this.
And I believe that's one of the things that make us stand out from other bands."

So true.

 

[Melony]

Since we have the opportunity to speak to the bassist personally we ask him if he heard Bruce Dickinson's voice in his head when he was composing. His answer is quite surprising:
“Not necessarily, because he was able to sing almost everything I put in front of him. So when I wrote, I wasn't really thinking about him. It
only happened sometimes, because my voice is much deeper than his. In other words, he could perceive what I thought was high for him as low and vice versa.
Before finalizing a song, I usually checked with him what worked and what didn't work.
But I would also sometimes ask him in advance whether the key I was using for a piece was okay with him and he would answer yes without taking the time to try it out. For example when we covered a piece by Jethro Tull ('Cross Eyed-Mary”- ff) for the B-side of the single “The Trooper”.

When we were in the studio, we realized that some of the passages in the song were too high for him. He still managed to record his vocal parts, but I thought the result could have been better. Okay, it was a B-side and therefore not the end of the world, but that's why I wanted to check in advance whether he felt comfortable vocally with what I put in front of him.
Bruce liked to get things done quickly, without questioning too much. Sometimes he would put the the lyrics in the foreground at the expense of the melody or didn't pay much attention to keeping the melody intact. I thought quite differently, because I thought the melody was the most important element in a song; my main argument was that listeners will get stuck on the melody in particular. They don't need to know the lyrics of a song in order to hum along to it.
It is enough if the melody of a song captivates them so that they can sing along. So I viewed the melody as the main criterion, although I was of the opinion that all the elements that make up a song must be good for it to be good overall:
The melody, but also the verses, the chorus, the instrumental parts and so on. I thought that a song can only be good if all the elements that make it up are are good.
A song should still be good if you remove the vocals and even some of the guitar parts. The bass, the drums, all that has to be loud and powerful and in a way stand for itself.
I don't know if that has distinguished us from other bands, apart from the fact that I compose on bass.
Some people liked it, others didn't, but like I said, it didn't really matter to me because it was my natural way. I haven't analyzed it.”

 

[Weird on Top]

Since we have the opportunity to speak to the bassist personally we ask him if he heard Bruce Dickinson's voice in his head when he was composing. His answer is quite surprising:
“Not necessarily, because he was able to sing almost everything I put in front of him. So when I wrote, I wasn't really thinking about him. It
only happened sometimes, because my voice is much deeper than his. In other words, he could perceive what I thought was high for him as low and vice versa.
Before finalizing a song, I usually checked with him what worked and what didn't work.
But I would also sometimes ask him in advance whether the key I was using for a piece was okay with him and he would answer yes without taking the time to try it out. For example when we covered a piece by Jethro Tull ('Cross Eyed-Mary”- ff) for the B-side of the single “The Trooper”.

When we were in the studio, we realized that some of the passages in the song were too high for him. He still managed to record his vocal parts, but I thought the result could have been better. Okay, it was a B-side and therefore not the end of the world, but that's why I wanted to check in advance whether he felt comfortable vocally with what I put in front of him.
Bruce liked to get things done quickly, without questioning too much. Sometimes he would put the the lyrics in the foreground at the expense of the melody or didn't pay much attention to keeping the melody intact. I thought quite differently, because I thought the melody was the most important element in a song; my main argument was that listeners will get stuck on the melody in particular. They don't need to know the lyrics of a song in order to hum along to it.
It is enough if the melody of a song captivates them so that they can sing along. So I viewed the melody as the main criterion, although I was of the opinion that all the elements that make up a song must be good for it to be good overall:
The melody, but also the verses, the chorus, the instrumental parts and so on. I thought that a song can only be good if all the elements that make it up are are good.
A song should still be good if you remove the vocals and even some of the guitar parts. The bass, the drums, all that has to be loud and powerful and in a way stand for itself.
I don't know if that has distinguished us from other bands, apart from the fact that I compose on bass.
Some people liked it, others didn't, but like I said, it didn't really matter to me because it was my natural way. I haven't analyzed it.”

Love it to peak a little on how things works inside Steve's mind. Bruce's cute lol. Thank you lots for sharing!

 

[harrisdevot]

One of the most interesting interviews in ages. Thank you very much for the translation.
From the lack of reaction, I assume most people here are missing it because it's in the solo thread and they don't like British Lion.

 

[____no5]

From the lack of reaction, I assume most people here are missing it because it's in the solo thread and they don't like British Lion.

Thank god for your post, I would have missed that otherwise, I almost never visit here due to my dislike for British Lion.

I mean if it was another member I wouldn’t have bothered but because it was you, in Steve Harris thread, it intrigued me to check!

Bon, tout es bien qui finit bien!

 

[Randalf]

Thank you for the effort, @Melony! Very interesting interview indeed.

 

[TaaviMaiden]

What an interesting interview. How did they get him to be so open and talkative?

 

[harrisdevot]

His interviews tend to be more interesting these days. A couple of years ago, he's been interviewed by a lady and talked about his taste for fixing things at home, his love for architecture and so on. And a few of his BL interviews are quite good too.
This Powerslave bit answers a lot of questions that have been discussed here about his role in the song.

 

[Abas]

The same applies to 'The Book Of Souls', which was the brainchild of Janick. When I told him that it didn't really fit on “The Final Frontier” and that we will shelve it to make it a key track on the 'next album, he thought I was pulling his leg.
I guess he thought, “That's it then. Steve's going to put this song on the shelf and we'll never hear anything about it again.” Except I already had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do with this song. It just didn't fit into the overall concept of “The Final Frontier” and its space theme.
I could well imagine that this composition would become the title track of the next album and would set the direction.

That is perhaps the most legitimizing thing I have heard about Janick Gers and him holding a significantly solid place in Iron Maiden, and that makes me very happy to read. I hope to see an Iron Maiden track with a Janick solo credit some time.