Bruce Dickinson has revealed his initial impressions upon seeing Iron Maiden live for the first time - well before he eventually joined the band as their singer. Speaking to Record Collector's Joel McIver (reported by Metal Injection), Dickinson reminisces about how impressed he was when he witnessed the then-emergent British metallers take to the stage at London's Music Machine venue (now KOKO). Maiden were supporting Dickinson's own band at the time, Samson, and were fronted by Paul Di'Anno and yet to release their game-changing debut album.
"The first time I saw Maiden was at what was then the Music Machine in Camden," Dickinson explains. "Samson were headlining because our management had bankrolled the gig and said, 'We want the top slot,' although we didn't really deserve it. That became obvious when Maiden came on because the whole place was rammed. I'd heard rumours about how good they were, and I thought I'd better see them. When they came out, I thought, 'I've never seen Deep Purple, but this is what it must have felt like to see Deep Purple in their prime, rocking up a storm.'"
