Lady Gaga and Iron Maiden have a long mutual love
Lady Gaga they Iron Maiden they have a mutual respect that can be surprising.
However, anyone who has even vaguely followed Lady Gaga's career over the last 15 years knows that the Italian-American singer-songwriter has a particular affinity with rock music.
The mega pop star, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, has made no secret of the influence that the icons of British rock Queen have had on his art or some inspiration he has drawn from the likes of the Kiss when it comes to putting on great live shows.
Then, of course, there was the collaboration with i Metallica at the 2017 Grammys.
However, if there is a band in history to which Gaga feels most attached, it is that of Iron Maiden. The heavy metal legends have held the singer-songwriter in (reciprocal) respect for over a decade. In 2011, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Gaga complimented the Maiden concert she attended, declaring, “It was just amazing.”
Gaga had begun watching the show, like most major celebrity guests, from a private box at the venue. However, when the band launched into their success “The Number Of The Beast”, Ms. Germanotta rushed off stage, down into the audience, mingling with metalheads pleasantly surprised to suddenly find themselves in the presence of a pop icon.
“We were dancing and singing and everyone was so into it,” she recalled with joy. “We jumped and danced… In short, there was no judgement, no prejudice, but freedom and love for music. It doesn't matter who you are; you don't need to know anything about music to love it. Everyone hugged me, gave each other the five, they were punching the air.”
Gaga even took her praise of the show a step further, noting that the relationship the band has with their fanbase has inspired her on a professional level. “The devotion of the fans moving in unison, shaking their fists, watching the show, when I see that, I see the paradigm for my future and the relationship I want to have with my fans,” she explained. “Iron Maiden have never had a hit song, but they tour stadiums all over the world and their fans live, breathe and die for Maiden and that's my dream.”
Four years later, Gaga appeared on the cover of the glossy fashion magazine CR Fashion Book, wearing a Maiden t-shirt for the photoshoot. “I wore my own t-shirt “Number Of The Beast “(a record she's obviously very attached to) on a major fashion cover,” she later said on Twitter. “I'm so proud to be a fan.”
“They are one of the greatest rock bands in history, in my opinion,” he told CR Fashion Book in the interview that appeared alongside the photoshoot. “Some people don't really know the importance of metal and its reach,” she added. “Those guys filled stadiums and still do.”
He even added: “I always told people when they said, 'Oh, she's the next Madonna'. No, I'm the next Iron Maiden.”
The appreciation was greatly reciprocated by them Iron Maiden. Responding to the Lady's comments, the Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson said a Corus Radio: “I think she's fantastic and I agree with her: she's not the next Madonna; she's much better than that. First of all, she can sing: she's got a killer voice,” he explained. “She's a great instrumentalist. And she has a great sense of drama. And anyone who can show up at an awards ceremony dressed as a bacon sandwich has my vote. I mean, she's fantastic.”
Speaking to Metal Hammer last year, Iron Maiden's founder, bassist and leader, Steve Harris it was a little more “lukewarm” and recalled the meeting with Gaga in 2011, on the occasion of the show that commemorated Lady Gaga. “Yes, she came to one of our concerts. My daughter Maisie who was quite young at the time took a photo with her. I didn't talk to her much,” Harris admitted, “I said hello and asked to take a photo. photo with my daughter, that's all,” she added. And my daughter said, 'Dad, why doesn't she have any clothes on?' She had nothing covering her! I said, 'I have no idea!'”
After the collaboration with Metallica at the Grammys, will there also be a Lady Gaga/Iron Maiden meeting?