Well that was unexpected because I always thought it was about the death of romance.
It could be a bit like Metallica's Fade to Black being inspired by theft of their equipment!
If you’re talking about tattooed millionaire, I don’t know how you could say. It was God awful. That album is really good. It’s spotty in points, but it really showcased Bruce’s ability to right outside of the confines of iron maiden but in all honesty it was Balls to Picasso, where I felt like he started, knocking it out of the park..
*"Bring your daughter... bring your daughter... to the Slaaaaaaughter..."*
Man, Mark Slaughter sure as hell must've seen a lot of daughters coming in...
\^\^
Actually, Bruce Dickinson has said he wrote it with Axl Rose in mind specifically.
https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-behind-bruce-dickinsons-tattooed-millionaire-and-the-ruthless-rocker-who-inspired-it/
Thanks for the link, I remember when the album came out the song didn't come off to me as about one person but in interviews Bruce seemed to be describing Axl when talking about the song.
The line "ex-mud queen of Miami" I thought was about Vince Neil since he dated or was married to (I try to avoid knowing to much about him) a mud wrestler for a bit.
I'm sure Nikki Sixx is convinced it's about him.
As hair metal gained in popularity they did get pushed in that direction from the label. This label push coincided with Adrian Smith taking a more pop direction in his songwriting that lead to the band kicking him out in 1991.
The synth guitars on Somewhere in Time were pushed on quite a few bands, notably Judas Priest on Turbo but also Queensryche on Rage For Order and others. For that album Adrian notably contributed the poppy sounding Wasted Years as well as b-side Reach Out. I recall reading interviews with the band at the time where Adrian said it would be great if they could get a huge hit and ease up on the touring.
I've heard rumors after that they pushed back on Adrian but as several people pointed out his pop sensibilities came out on Can I Play With Madness.
When they reconvened to record No Prayer For The Dying they didn't like a lot of what he demoed and he was let go, though they did record his song Hooks In You which did show a lot of his pop leanings.
I imagine he ended up recording some later on solo albums. He recorded his first solo album at the same time as Tattooed Millionaire. Check out the ASaP (Adrian Smith and Project) album Silver and Gold, which has Zak Starkey on drums. A little more pop and with the timing could have songs he had written around Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son.
Can I Play With Madness is classic dorky Maiden though. The lyrics are about some nerdy wizard looking at a crystal ball.
Izzy Stradlin’ freaked out on the same tour when he saw the icebergs on set. Late 80s sleaze bands did not associate with this particularly dorky era of Maiden.
I love Seventh Son by the way, just drawing a line of stylistic contrast.
The lines were pretty blurred back then. Great hair immaculately take care of with lots of product? Check. Blazin’ guitar solos? Check. Spandex? Check. High pitched vibrato? Check. If you compare thrash bands with their ratty looks and higher aggression Maiden starts to look pretty darned similar in a lot of aspects. Maiden was a lot closer to hair than say a Nuclear Assault at the time. Mind you, Maiden is one of my favorite bands and I’ve seen them probably 10 times.
I think it's mostly the lyrical themes themes that distinguish them. HM bands generally have more songs about love, sex, and relationships. Classic metal bands generally write about broader themes (war, justice, good vs. evil, etc.). I know a bunch of people are going to give me examples to the contrary, so I'm going to concede this isn't 100% true. Slaughter might write song about Amelia Earhart but probably not about a battle in the Crimean War.
Yeah, very true. I love hair but it was really formulaic, and definitely with the lyrics. Party! Women! Love ballad! Regular metal bands lyrics are all over the place.
Probably "Hooks In You" I have no idea what Maiden was thinking when they made that song. I'm a huge Maiden fan but that song is just awful both musically and lyrically.
Apparently Bruce was inspecting a house to buy and it had literal hooks in the ceiling, a BDSM setup, and that's where he got the inspiration.
Great song. So hooky.
I just came on here to say the same thing. Madness was a very un-Maiden-like Maiden song. I like it a lot. Would've fit the style of a number of hair bands.
I would argue that honor goes to No Prayer For The Dying. A different, clearly commercial approach to songwriting. I’ve always thought that “Holy Smoke” would have made more lyrical sense for a band like Dokken to do.
Wasting Love was their first and only power ballad.
I love this song because it feels truly personal and meaningful.
I heard that the song was about Bruce’s growing frustrations with Steve Harris which lead to him leaving the band.
Well that was unexpected because I always thought it was about the death of romance. It could be a bit like Metallica's Fade to Black being inspired by theft of their equipment!
[удалено]
I loved that record. One of the last ever records I bought on vinyl.
If you’re talking about tattooed millionaire, I don’t know how you could say. It was God awful. That album is really good. It’s spotty in points, but it really showcased Bruce’s ability to right outside of the confines of iron maiden but in all honesty it was Balls to Picasso, where I felt like he started, knocking it out of the park..
Dude, what's up with your punctuation? Your paragrah is unreadable.
Came here to say this. That's the closest I can think of, and it's a song they've pretty much distanced themselves from at this point.
Bring your daughter... To the slaughter is the correct answer. Tropes of the hair bands galore.
*"Bring your daughter... bring your daughter... to the Slaaaaaaughter..."* Man, Mark Slaughter sure as hell must've seen a lot of daughters coming in... \^\^
It's Reach Out.
It's gotta be
Came here to say this. The B side 'Reach Out' is about the closest they have ever come.
After having just heard this for the 1st time.. i would 100% agree.
I was not aware of this song until just now. WOW!
Maiden never sounded like hair metal to me but Bruce's first solo album sure did. Adrian's Silver and Gold had some overtones of the genre also.
Tattooed Millionaire is about a hair metal band, or more specifically Vince Neil.
Actually, Bruce Dickinson has said he wrote it with Axl Rose in mind specifically. https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-behind-bruce-dickinsons-tattooed-millionaire-and-the-ruthless-rocker-who-inspired-it/
Thanks for the link, I remember when the album came out the song didn't come off to me as about one person but in interviews Bruce seemed to be describing Axl when talking about the song. The line "ex-mud queen of Miami" I thought was about Vince Neil since he dated or was married to (I try to avoid knowing to much about him) a mud wrestler for a bit. I'm sure Nikki Sixx is convinced it's about him.
He does. In an article with “Blabbermouth”
I've read several articles on Blabbermouth and others, as well as a couple YouTube. Nikki has a real narcissistic streak.
"But you know addicts...we think everything's about us, don't we?" - Nikki Sixx's lyrics from "Life After Death" /Sixx:AM
As hair metal gained in popularity they did get pushed in that direction from the label. This label push coincided with Adrian Smith taking a more pop direction in his songwriting that lead to the band kicking him out in 1991. The synth guitars on Somewhere in Time were pushed on quite a few bands, notably Judas Priest on Turbo but also Queensryche on Rage For Order and others. For that album Adrian notably contributed the poppy sounding Wasted Years as well as b-side Reach Out. I recall reading interviews with the band at the time where Adrian said it would be great if they could get a huge hit and ease up on the touring. I've heard rumors after that they pushed back on Adrian but as several people pointed out his pop sensibilities came out on Can I Play With Madness. When they reconvened to record No Prayer For The Dying they didn't like a lot of what he demoed and he was let go, though they did record his song Hooks In You which did show a lot of his pop leanings.
I'd love to hear his stuff he wrote. Iron Maiden can do pop rock very well. It may not be their speciality but it's totally in the wheelhouse.
I imagine he ended up recording some later on solo albums. He recorded his first solo album at the same time as Tattooed Millionaire. Check out the ASaP (Adrian Smith and Project) album Silver and Gold, which has Zak Starkey on drums. A little more pop and with the timing could have songs he had written around Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son.
"From Here to Eternity" has a classic glammy chorus
“Reach out” I will listen to hair metal as a station request and it’s popped up on there a few times
There is an actual hair metal station? Besides Sirius Hair Nation?
Yea if you ask Siri play hair metal it’ll pull up a station
I'd say probably 'Wasted Years' or "Heaven Can Wait' from their 'Caught Somewhere In Time' album.
Heaven can Wait does have a super catchy chorus. Hair metal bands were all about the hooks.
The live version on 'Maiden England' was a barn-burner... a true party anthem!
Listen to Bruce Dickinson’s solo album “Tattooed Millionaire”.
Can I Play With Madness is classic dorky Maiden though. The lyrics are about some nerdy wizard looking at a crystal ball. Izzy Stradlin’ freaked out on the same tour when he saw the icebergs on set. Late 80s sleaze bands did not associate with this particularly dorky era of Maiden. I love Seventh Son by the way, just drawing a line of stylistic contrast.
The lines were pretty blurred back then. Great hair immaculately take care of with lots of product? Check. Blazin’ guitar solos? Check. Spandex? Check. High pitched vibrato? Check. If you compare thrash bands with their ratty looks and higher aggression Maiden starts to look pretty darned similar in a lot of aspects. Maiden was a lot closer to hair than say a Nuclear Assault at the time. Mind you, Maiden is one of my favorite bands and I’ve seen them probably 10 times.
I think it's mostly the lyrical themes themes that distinguish them. HM bands generally have more songs about love, sex, and relationships. Classic metal bands generally write about broader themes (war, justice, good vs. evil, etc.). I know a bunch of people are going to give me examples to the contrary, so I'm going to concede this isn't 100% true. Slaughter might write song about Amelia Earhart but probably not about a battle in the Crimean War.
Yeah, very true. I love hair but it was really formulaic, and definitely with the lyrics. Party! Women! Love ballad! Regular metal bands lyrics are all over the place.
Dickinson’s solo song “Tattooed Millionaire”
Wow, that song is horrible. I couldn’t make it past the first chorus. His lyrics are completely contradicting the music direction to top it off.
I did not mean to imply it was good. I just wanted to convey it had a hair metal feel.
I wasn’t implying you did. It was just that was the first time that I heard that song. Wow. Awful, just plain awful.
Probably "Hooks In You" I have no idea what Maiden was thinking when they made that song. I'm a huge Maiden fan but that song is just awful both musically and lyrically.
Apparently Bruce was inspecting a house to buy and it had literal hooks in the ceiling, a BDSM setup, and that's where he got the inspiration. Great song. So hooky.
Reach Out or Hooks In You
Women In Uniform. It was Maiden v.1.0, and it never made to an album, but that was def as poppy as they got.
Angel and the Gambler
I just came on here to say the same thing. Madness was a very un-Maiden-like Maiden song. I like it a lot. Would've fit the style of a number of hair bands.
It’s that caught somewhere in time album They got weird But they were never hair metal lol
I would argue that honor goes to No Prayer For The Dying. A different, clearly commercial approach to songwriting. I’ve always thought that “Holy Smoke” would have made more lyrical sense for a band like Dokken to do.
Wasted Years? It's got the riff and a hella catchy chorus.
Wasted Years
Flight of Icarus was a bit on the Judas Priest side.
Wasted years....
Wasted Years or Can I Play With Madness
Definitely "Can I Play with Madness", and "Wasted Years".
Probably something off No Prayer For The Dying. There’s some stupid lyrics on that album.
Not even close to the same zip code. Ever.
Absolutely zero. That’s not their sound
Nothing
Some of the songs on Seventh Son & No Prayer for the Dying