Forostar
Ancient Mariner
I wanted to bring this up earlier, and now I can't hold back:Phil Collen is a great guitarist too. Him and H were born two months apart, both from Hackney, and they knew each other. They could have made an incredible partnership. In fact, the more I think about it, the better the idea sounds!
Collen was considered for Maiden, had Adrian refused to join Maiden
Here it is:
Inside Out: Tell us about your brush with IRON MAIDEN, I believe that if Adrian Smith never joined the band, you were next in line for the job!
Collen: They asked me to come down and I wasn't really interested. I have known them guys for years. I used to go to school with the original singer Paul Di'Anno, who I have known since I was six. All the guys grew up in the same area as me, they're lovely guys, I love 'em, but it's a different type of music. I was in a glam rock band and now I'm in DEF LEPPARD… which is more up my street."
Which leads us to an even more realistic question than the original one:
What if Phil Collen had joined Maiden instead of Adrian?
No 2 Minutes to Midnight, 22 Acacia Avenue, Wasted Years, Flight of Icarus. No The Evil That Men Do, no Can I Play With Madness, no Wicker Man....
Maiden would have been less succesful without Adrian Smith.