One of the most significant creative forces in the history of heavy metal music is bringing his stripped down, kick-ass, badass rock and roll side project to Canada for the very first time for a string of five shows in five nights, starting Nov. 1
Iron Maiden founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris, itching to stretch his creativity away from the metal mayhem of his primary band, joined up with some other like minded U.K. musicians to form a band that create music more reminiscent of the ballsy, bluesy songs of the early 1970s. British Lion is the name of the band, and also of the band’s first album, which was released six years ago.
With Iron Maiden still touring quite relentlessly, even though it’s been three years since they released a new studio album, it’s often hard for Harris to find time for his other musical passion. But seeing that there was a window open in November, he decided to take up a promoter’s offer for a run of shows that will see British Lion hit Toronto, Waterloo, Ottawa, Quebec City and Montreal on successive nights.
As if the first chance to see and hear this band for the first time on Canadian soil wasn’t a lure enough, to sweeten the pot, Harris personally requested that 1980s Canadian rockers Coney Hatch reunite, and act as the opener for all five shows, making for a quality musical evening from top to bottom.
“Basically, you have to grab the moment when you get a chance. I got offered to do some shows, and although it’s not really down time, because I am usually busy doing other bits and pieces, I decided to cram some shows in when I had time. So, we were offered these shows and I was like, yeah, let’s go do it. We have not played these places before, so let’s put our toe in the water and see what happens,” said Harris from his home in the U.K.
“Out of the last six years that British Lion has been around we have played some shows pretty much every year. We have done a few weeks in Europe and the U.K. whenever we can. The last show we played this year was in February when we did the Monsters of Rock Cruise in the Caribbean, which was the first time we had played outside of Europe. So that was interesting as well, and a chance to do something different. I just like new challenges, so it was great. And I think coming to Canada and then later heading down to South America is another challenge that I am looking forward to.”
British Lion was a band in the U.K. that caught the attention of Harris, who originally agreed to act as a sort of mentor and producer for the band in the 1990s.
That band eventually splintered, but core members Graham Leslie (guitar) and singer David Hawkins stayed in touch with Harris, continuing to work on material. It took a while because of Harris being so busy with Iron Maiden, but at one point in the process, Harris decided to step into the band itself, using his clout and reputation to help the band get what would be their debut album recorded and released.
It soon became another of Harris’s passions, becoming a bona-fide additional project, that soon began touring throughout the U.K. and Europe, whenever Harris managed to get some time away from Iron Maiden.
“With the early version of British Lion, I used to help them out in various ways, kind of managing them and all kinds of stuff like that. And I was writing some material with them too. So even when they kind of split, I always really thought that one day it would be resurrected. I know those songs they dud and we did together were just too strong to be lost forever. I really only got up and jammed with them once in a town in Portugal back in the day. But later I thought the only way to get these great songs out, was to actually be in the band. And I am glad that I got involved, because I am really enjoying it,” said Harris.
The album came out under the banner Steve Harris British Lion, but British Lion is how the band is truly billing itself. The album is a departure from what fans of Iron Maiden might expect, but it really isn’t when you consider it’s very similar to the sorts of bands that Harris and his bandmates in Maiden would have been listening to as budding young musicians themselves – the bluesy, edgy straightforward melodic hard rock sounds of bands like U.F.O. and Thin Lizzy.
“It’s definitely more melodic rock and roll than metal. I do think that Maiden is pretty melodic too, but this is more of a mainstream kind of rock. It’s just a different side of things for me. It’s very different than Maiden, so if people come around expecting Maiden, that’s not what they’re going to get. Although to be honest, I don’t think people know now. The band has been around for a little while now and I think people know to expect something different,” he said.
“We’re starting to find a new audience now. People may have come at first out of curiosity who aren’t Maiden fans, which is great. And they will either like it or they won’t. I think they will because it’s a good band with good songs and very good in a live setting, with lots of aggression and attitude and playing the songs with honesty and intensity.”
The debut album was released in the fall of 2012 and the band has played a few shows in the U.K. and Europe each year ever since. But Harris confirmed that a second album is all but in the can, with a release date happening sometime within the next year or so. A live version of a new song, Spit Fire, was recently released on video, and Harris said it, and many other new tracks, will be incorporated into the band’s setlist on the current tour.
“It was done quite differently that the first one. It sounds more representative of where we’re at now as a band. The first album was a true sound of where we were at the time, which was still a pretty new band. It’s evolved into something that isn’t all that different, but a progression from where we were before, because we have played more together and know each other better as musicians and songwriters,” he said, adding that in British Lion, the songwriting is more collaborative than in Iron Maiden, where Harris is – and has always been – the primary composer.
“Basically, Richard Taylor the singer and David Hawkins the guitar player, they are pretty prolific guys and so I work alongside them. And Graham Leslie, the other guitar player, he is a pretty good writer too. So, there’s a lot of talent in the band in that respect, which is good. And well all like that traditional British hard rock sound, and so that’s what the music is like. So, if you like that kind of music, you should like what we’re doing. But there are no guarantees. At the end of the day everybody’s got an opinion and not all of it’s going to be good.”
For an opening act for the short British Lion Canadian jaunt, Harris called long-time pal Andy Curran and asked him to reunite with his bandmates in Coney Hatch. The two bassists have known each other since Coney Hatch opened for Iron Maiden on that band’s Piece of Mind tour in 1983 and have stayed in touch.
“We have become really good mates from when he toured with us in the 1980s. His band supported Maiden and we became really good friends and kept in touch a lot. We play tennis whenever we can get together. So, I thought if I am going to play Canada, who better to ask than Andy, especially I thought if Coney Hatch can do some gigs with us, that would be great. It will be like old times, really,” Harris said.
“Andy is a great guy and the band are really great guys too, and they are also just a great band. So, it’s all good. It’s rock music, what they do is not terribly dissimilar to what we do. I think we are a bit heavier than they are, but having said that, it’s all under the same hard rock umbrella, and I am really looking forward to the shows. I think it was the right thing to do to have a Canadian band open for us. In Europe when we toured there we didn’t have any major support or anything like that. We just put our toes in the water not knowing what we were going to get. But we did well anyways.
“This, to me, is a bonus having Coney Hatch with us because we know they are going to pull in some people to the shows. It they pull more people than us, that’s fine because you’ve got the people in there and then we can prove what we can do. And it’s the same thing for them; they are going to try and prove what they can do with the people who are coming to see us. I think people are in for a really good night at each of the shows. It’s certainly value for your money, that’s for sure.”
The band is playing some of the top clubs in eastern Canada, with the Toronto show on Nov. 1, being recently moved to The Great Hall. Nov. 2 they are at Maxwell’s in Waterloo followed by an already sold-out show at the Brass Monkey in Ottawa Nov. 3 before moving east to La Belle Province for dates in Quebec City at L’Imperial on Nov. 4 and the Theatre Corona in Montreal Nov. 5, before heading down to South America for shows in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. British Lion wraps up the month of November with three shows in Japan.
“I love playing the clubs, I love these kinds of shows. Like everybody else, I may not like the backstage facilities at some of these smaller venues, but that’s not what you’re there for. You’re there for the gig and the audience. And the people are close up and in your face and you feed off their enthusiasm. That’s all that really matters,” Harris said of playing in smaller venues, compared to the huge arenas and outdoor stadiums that Iron Maiden routinely sell out all over the world.
“I enjoy all gigs. I enjoy big gigs, outdoor ones, indoor ones, whatever – I enjoy the lot of them. I am very lucky that I can do all of them now. I wouldn’t be able to play clubs with Maiden and haven’t done for many years. To be able to do it with British Lion is great. I have played so many cool venues that I have never played before, so it’s really good.”
As for Iron Maiden, the band continues to tour off and on internationally after releasing their most recent album, The Book of Souls in 2015. Harris said he and his bandmates, Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Nicko McBrain are content to keep playing and recording new music as long as possible.
“Well, obviously the clock is ticking, everyone knows that, everyone is aware of that. We have to wait and see what to do next. But I will say we’re all feeling good, and we will carry on as long as we feel we can. All of us in Iron Maiden are really enjoying what we’re doing and even more so at this stage, because we know we’re getting towards the end of our career, our lives even. So, you enjoy it and appreciate it even more,” he said.
“I think we can carry on for a good few years yet, but you never know what’s around the corner. It’s amazing, really, when you look at where we are compared to where we came from. Who’d have thought? Not many, and certainly not us, but at the end of the day, we’re doing fantastically well, and I would like to think that even if we weren’t doing fantastically well, we would still be playing as well. At the end of the day, we are enjoying themselves, and that is the bottom line. None of us have to be out there, but we are because we love it. And it’s the same for British Lion. We don’t have to be out there either, but the lads and I are enjoying all of it.
“With this band, basically I am the sort of person who, when I commit to something, that’s it, I am full on with it. That’s just the way I am. And I really enjoy what we’re doing and loving every minute of it. And I enjoy everything I do with Maiden too. Hopefully, long may both of them continue. Let’s see what happens.”
For more information on British Lion and their shows in Canada, visit https://steveharrisbritishlion.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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