Okay, so here it is - I like Iron Maiden. In fact, I am an Iron Maiden fan - I have a great affection for the 'legends' of Heavy Metal, and I'm not too fussed about who knows it. In my possession I have all of their studio albums, most of their B-sides and a handful of DVDs. I have owned two band t-shirts, one being from the 2009 New Zealand leg of the Somewhere back in Time world tour. Unfortunately that's as close to the concerts as I got, being otherwise occupied on matters more important and domestic, but for the want of that not so small matter, I'd have a live experience to add to my meagre stocktake.
It wasn't always thus; I didn't own an album of Iron Maiden's until maybe 2000 or 2001, although most of the material I had on that discounted Best Of (The Best of the Beast) I was familiar with; I'd just not got around they buying any of it. They disappeared off my radar by the time I was sixteen, and the 1990s were not a kind decade to the band. By their millennium 'reunion' I was curious and nostalgic enough to dip my toe in, and in 2008 most of their discography had become rather more affordable (and some of it was remastered and relaunched), so that was that.
You see a fair bit of Iron Maiden merchandise around your main street if you look hard enough, most of it either worn by concert attendees or by kids who weren't even alive when the band had broken the big time, let alone formed. To which I say a quiet 'bah', because despite my teenage yearnings for expression through outergarments, there's nothing rebellious about a fifteen year old girl wearing a heavy metal t-shirt of a band she's probably not that into. Or a boy for that matter. 'Irony' is a bit of a dirty word sometimes - I don't want to come across as snobbish, but it looks like I've just been.
Anyway, fair warning - there might be a bit more on Maiden on this blog in months to come!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
But you could say that about any band T-shirt P - The Ramones anyone? ;)
ReplyDeleteAnyway's looking forward to the first post. I just busted out the self titled yesterday to refresh my memory.
To other people reading the blog and/or comments, when Peter and I meet up for lunch we talk about Iron Maiden. A lot. Look for some interesting discussions! Cheers
PS I didn't know you'd dipped out in your teenage years - what prompted the trip down memory lane?
Hey Tim
ReplyDeleteI agree it's a slippery slope - I personally haven't ever owned a T-shirt of a band or artist I didn't follow, but if I had I'd have been sure to have a few facts up my wide 80s sleeves in case I got challenged over it. And who knows - maybe those young things hanging outside Supre do the same thing with their Motorhead jobs?
Maiden and I in the 'first wave' were strictly '84 to late '85. Thereby hangs a tale!