IRON MAIDEN Bassist STEVE HARRIS On Accusations Of Satanism - "It Was Absolutely Hilarious!"

Miami New Times' Wendy Rhodes reports: When your band is named after a medieval torture device, your third album is titled The Number Of The Beast, and it contains songs titled “Children Of The Damned” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name” and bears an image of a red demon on the cover, some people might accuse you of being satanic. Those people can’t take a joke.

“It was just hilarious; it was absolutely hilarious,” Iron Maiden founder, bassist, and songwriter Steve Harris says of how Maiden retaliated against relentless accusations of satanism after the British heavy-metal band's release of The Number Of The Beast. “It was so ridiculous we thought we’d do something ridiculous back.”

So on Maiden’s next album, Piece Of Mind, drummer Nicko McBrain - a born-again Christian who lives in Boca Raton and owns Rock 'n’ Roll Ribs in Coral Springs - recorded a backward message on the song “Still Life” while mimicking the voice of former Ugandan President Idi Amin.

"What ho sed de t’ing wid de t’ree bonce/Don’t meddle wid t’ing you don’t understand," he said. Then, for further comic effect, he belched.

Read more at Miami New Times.