[kj] OT: Iron Maiden Egged/more patriotism

[Neil Perry]

This from Maiden's manager on Blabbermouth.net:

"I have to say l was immensely proud of MAIDEN who
stood up to it all and showed great courage and just
got better and better through the adversity. Their
heads never dropped, instead they went on the
offensive. It was a truly memorable moment when Bruce
went to the very front of the stage during 'Trooper' —
something which he never normally does as he is
usually on the ramps — waving the flag whilst avoiding
the hail of missiles and yelling 'This is a fucking
British flag, and these colours don't fucking run!'
The imperturbable attitude and ability of the band
shone through and in the end made this a truly
remarkable rock and roll event, even if for all the
wrong reasons.

"We will have no more to say on this matter except
that l do think the band deserve an apology from a
number of people, and you know who you are." 


--- Alexander Smith <vassifer at earthlink.net> wrote:

> 
> I know there are some `Maiden fans on this list. I'm
> one. If you're  
> not, well that's fine.  But read on....
> Cheers,
> Alex  in NYC
> 
> As many of you now know, Sharon Osbourne and
> assorted hangers-on  
> dramatically and deliberately sabotaged Iron
> Maiden's final performance  
> on the Ozzfest on Saturday 20th August in Los
> Angeles. There is an  
> inital statement from the band on Iron Maiden's
> website  
> www.ironmaiden.com but as a result of further
> developments Iron Maiden  
> will respond to Sharon and co's inflammatory and
> upsetting behaviour  
> later today.
> 
> In the meantime for a full, frank and unbiased
> report of the events of  
> Saturday night I'd like to refer you to this
> eye-witness, backstage  
> account posted on the heavy metal website
> Blabbermouth.net by a manager  
> of a fellow band playing the festival, who was
> disgusted by what  
> transpired. Having also been in attendance that
> night I can vouch for  
> the truth of this testimony.
> 
> http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/ 
> news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=40739
> 
> Blabbermouth.net
> The manager of a well-known heavy metal band (*NOT*
> IRON MAIDEN) who  
> attended this past weekend's Ozzfest show at the
> Hyundai Pavillion in  
> Devore, California has submitted the following
> first-hand account of  
> the evening that will surely go down as one of the
> most shameful  
> moments in recent rock history (NOTE: at his
> request, the author's  
> identity is being protected by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):
> 
> "Saturday night's Ozzfest at the Hyundai Pavillion
> near Los Angeles was  
> a debacle on so many levels, I am still in shock as
> I write this. As a  
> fan of many of the bands [Saturday] night, one can
> only hope this was  
> an isolated incident, but sadly, it most likely
> wasn't. As many of you  
> have heard already, co-headliners and metal legends
> IRON MAIDEN were  
> pelted with eggs, bottle caps, beer cups, spit on,
> had people from the  
> Ozzfest camp talking over the PA during their set,
> had 'Eddie' delayed  
> from his onstage entrance, had members of the [BLACK
> LABEL SOCIETY]  
> entourage rush the stage with American flags, and
> had the PA  
> intentionally turned off over six times, all by the
> OSBOURNE CAMP.
> 
> "While it's still unclear as to the exact reasons
> why the terrorizing  
> started (rumors abounded as to why, with everything
> from Bruce calling  
> out Ozzy in the U.K. rock magazine Kerrang! on the
> widely known fact  
> that Ozzy uses a teleprompter, to various vague
> references said on  
> stage about a 'reality show' at an Ozzfest stop in
> Detroit), one thing  
> was very clear: The whole thing stunk, and left me,
> and nearly all of  
> the 40,000+ heavy metal fans in attendance angered
> and disappointed.  
> Not that behind the scenes bickering or magazine
> trash-talking is  
> anything new to rock fans, but the shocking lack of
> professionalism at  
> one of the largest stops in North America in front
> of 40,000+  
> spectators, at the hand of the Osbournes was nothing
> short of  
> disgusting.
> 
> "It all began early in the afternoon, when many side
> stage bands were  
> openly approached in clear view of everyone
> backstage by Sharon and  
> Kelly Osbourne to 'join them in throwing eggs at
> IRON MAIDEN this  
> evening.' All the bands were encouraged to rally the
> other side-stage  
> bands to do so. Members and/or friends of the
> hardcore band BURY YOUR  
> DEAD were seen actively trying to encourage other
> side-stage bands to  
> 'join in the fun.' Thankfully, many side stage bands
> angrily declined.
> 
> "Later that evening, as IRON MAIDEN came on stage,
> their intro was  
> interrupted by [BLACK LABEL SOCIETY] hanger-on and
> biker wannabe Big  
> Dave, who was at the soundboard loudly chanting
> 'Ozzy, Ozzy' over the  
> PA. MAIDEN opened their set and the entire band was
> pelted from the  
> front row with eggs, beer, beer cups, spit, and
> various other objects  
> by an Ozzfest-credentialed, bandana-wearing,
> Osbourne entourage. IRON  
> MAIDEN, ever the professionals, continued through
> their set, and by the  
> time they launched into their second song, 'The
> Trooper', Bruce changed  
> into a civil war-era, red coat and began waving a
> Union Jack - British  
> flag. Then, someone in, or associated with, BLACK
> LABEL SOCIETY tried  
> to rush the stage waving and American Flag with the
> words 'Don't fuck  
> with Ozzy' scrawled across his bare chest. He was
> tackled and beaten by  
> MAIDEN crew and promptly thrown off stage.
> 
> "As 'The Trooper' ended, frontman Bruce Dickinson,
> with characteristic  
> spunk, launched into a scathing attack on the people
> terrorizing his  
> band, calling them 'a sorry excuse for an Ozzy
> Osbourne fan,' and  
> wondering aloud how, 'three dozen eggs could get
> snuck into the front  
> row of Ozzfest by people with Ozzfest laminates?'
> Though he never named  
> names, all in attendance could understand who he was
> referring to.  
> Nicko McBrain ran up to the front asking Bruce to
> hold on while he  
> cleaned egg off his drums. He then stated the the
> next song wouldn't be  
> heard on 'Your local cocksucking corporate radio
> station, wouldn't be  
> seen on MTV anymore, and sure as hell wouldn't be
> played on a fucking  
> reality TV show,' met by a huge roar from the crowd.
> 
> "During the song 'Hallowed Be Thy Name', Bruce,
> after only the first  
> two lines, stopped singing and ran to the front row,
> firing back at his  
> terrorizers, saying 'That asswipe right there, with
> the curly hair, the  
> fucking glasses, and Ozzfest laminate throw his
> fucking ass out of here  
> right now. It's gonna take more than eggs to stop
> IRON MAIDEN, and if  
> it wasn't for a lawsuit, I'd rip your fucking head
> off right now, you  
> piece of shit!!!!' He had the various attackers
> ejected and continued  
> with a blistering version of the song until right
> before the big sing  
> long at the end, the PA was INTENTIONALLY cut off.
> When it came back,  
> Bruce launched into another scathing attack saying
> that they were  
> supposed to play a shorter set than normal today,
> and only play 55  
> minutes, but IRON MAIDEN can't drive 55, or play 55,
> and were going to  
> play our whole fucking set tonight.