Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has revealed that the band's upcoming Eddfest event – scheduled to debut at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire on July 10 and 11 – could in the future become an event that takes place without them.
Speaking in the new issue of Classic Rock, where he's interviewed alongside band leader Steve Harris and guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson talks about an event Harris likens to "a medieval fair."
"Eddfest could even become a festival that didn’t have Iron Maiden in it," he says. "Just bands in the same spirit."
In the same interview, Harris recalls his own first experience of Knebworth, when the Rolling Stones brought their Tour of Europe '76 to the historic park.
"It was ridiculous,” says Harris. “As soon as you put your foot out, you had to step over somebody; people were getting really ratty. I watched [opening acts] Lynyrd Skynyrd and Todd Rundgren and thought: ‘Nah, I’ve had enough, I’m out of here.’ Do you know, I’ve still never seen the Stones, which is a shame.”
Irom Maiden have personally curated the Eddfest lineup, which includes former Maiden singer Blaze Bayley, vintage blues rockers Stray, The Almighty, The Hu, Airbourne and much-loved East Anglian titans The Darkness.
"I know The Darkness are a different type of band,” says Harris. “But I think they’re really entertaining.”
Eddfest tickets are on sale now. Iron Maiden's Burning Ambition movie will be shown in cinemas internationally from May 7. Harris, Dickinson and Smith are interviewed in the new issue of Classic Rock, which is available to buy online.
