In a recent interview with Chaoszine, former Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton revealed that he discussed with Steve Harris reuniting for a future farewell show if there’ll ever be one.
Dennis Stratton joined the British heavy metal legend Iron Maiden, in 1979 after Steve Harris saw him play live. Adrian Smith, one of the three current guitarists of Iron Maiden, was asked to join priorly, but he couldn’t commit to the band as he had another project. After Stratton’s recruitment, Iron Maiden released their self-titled debut album in 1980.
Stratton’s guitar solos had a significant role in the debut record’s success, and his guitar riffs greatly influenced the band’s classic sound. Stratton worked with the British metal legend on various singles and played along with them for their first British television appearance. Before his departure, he was on tour with Maiden in 1980 when the band opened for KISS.
Shortly after the tour wrapped up, Iron Maiden released a statement announcing that Stratton had left the band, and Adrian Smith soon replaced him. The reason for the departure was called ‘musical differences,‘ but Stratton later revealed that it was due to conflicts he had with the band’s manager, Rod Smallwood.
In a recent interview with Chaoszine, Stratton revealed that he maintained good personal relations with the band. Dennis explained that he kept in contact with Steve Harris after all these years and even discussed a possibility of a future reunion with his former band. He mentioned the time his daughter asked Harris about her father going onto the stage with them.
He recalled:
”Yeah, of course. It’s on everyone’s bucket list, isn’t it? We were at the O2 [London arena] about ten years ago, and my daughter was there, and we were all having a drink with Steve and his family. And Rod was there. My daughter said to Steve, ‘Are you gonna get the old man up to do a song tonight, Steve?’ And Steve said, ‘We’ve got three old bastards up there already, we don’t need four [laughter]…”
Dennis then explained how it was on his bucket list to perform with Iron Maiden once again for a possible farewell tour. He revealed that he had mentioned this to Steve Harris, who would be the decision maker on this matter. He added, however, that the Maiden was still going strong on the music scene, releasing their latest studio album, ‘Senjitsu,’ in 2021 and currently being on a South & North American tour. To him, Iron Maiden wasn’t anywhere near the finish line.
Stratton explained:
”And then not long ago, when we were talking about the Covid zone, I said, ‘Well, everyone’s got a bucket list, Steve. I’ve ticked off most of my bucket list.’ I said, ‘But you know, there’s still one that I need to tick off my bucket list, but that’s definitely your decision.’ So I left it at that.
So the question has been put, because I would love to go and do ‘Phantom of the Opera’ or something… [but] I can’t see them finishing because they’ll be going for many years yet, I reckon.”
You can check out the entire interview on YouTube below.
