In a recent chat with Music Radar, Dave Murray opened up about Iron Maiden’s retirement plans.
“Right now, Bruce’s singing is incredible,” the guitarist said of Bruce Dickinson’s performance. “It’s so powerful. On the last tour he was running around all over the stage and singing so well. He’s got it all. He’s got everything.”
He then spoke about retirement, explaining, “To me, there’s nothing worse than seeing a band you like on stage and they look like they shouldn’t really be there doing it. We’re nearly hitting the seventies mark now, but I think we will all know when it would be time. It would be a mutual decision.”
“I think there’s a time and a place to bail out with dignity and grace – as opposed to dragging it out. If you can leave it at that high level, and then bow out gracefully, I think it would be satisfying for us. And not just flog a dead horse, when you’re doing it for the wrong reasons,” Murray added.
The musician concluded, “We’re all set up for this tour, and after that we’ll see what the future holds. But at the moment the band sounds great, we still have that excitement and adrenaline when we go on stage. We’re still enjoying it, and that’s what it’s all about, really.”
Bruce Dickinson also told Classic Rock earlier this month that Iron Maiden would quit if they ever needed backing tracks. He said they prefer to retire with dignity. The frontman shared, “The idea that you can turn it into the Disneyland Maiden, by using backing tracks, a few tricks… No! Maiden has to be one hundred percent real – and f*cking fierce!”
He continued, “Only recently this guy, a big fan, said to me: ‘It’s so great to see Maiden still doing it,’ I said: ‘Yeah, and we’re doing it for real!’ There’s no detuning. This guy said: ‘Lots of bands use backing tracks now…’ I said: ‘No! No, no!’ [If we use backing tracks,] that’s the day I quit. Or the day we stop. If it’s not real, it’s not Maiden.”
Iron Maiden is celebrating 50 years with the Run For Your Lives tour this summer. The setlist will include songs from their 1980 debut to the 1992 album ‘Fear of the Dark.’
