As a music writer, I love few things as much as sharing stories of my adventures. That being said, I am a sucker for a hearing a great story as well. Needing to get away from the toxicity of social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter to name a few, I have recently found peace and comfort on Reddit. Reddit reminds me of the old school message boards where it was nothing but engaging conversations without all of the ridiculousness of the jackasses that come with Social Media.
I have been on a bunch of music/band sub-reddits and the Iron Maiden sub-reddit has been one of my favorites. Fans ranking their favorite albums, creating fantasy setlists, and debating over whether Blaze Bayley was a great vocalist or a total waste of oxygen have always been fun to read and even participate in. Not too long ago, I found an older post from a user named u/Such_Indication9705 who had an amazing story to tell about August 8th, 1982 which, in my opinion, is one of the most epic stories one could tell. Here’s the original post and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
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My Night with Iron Maiden August 8th 1982 Memphis
On the night of August 8th, 1982 Scorpions-Iron Maiden and Girlschool played the Auditorium North Hall and I was there to shoot the show. I had already befriended Steve Harris of Iron Maiden and some of their crew and plus I was scheduled to have a meeting with their manager Rod Smallwood at the hotel bar across from Cook Convention Center. I had written Rod about shooting the show and him looking at photos from my past Maiden shows for possibly using them in future tour programs. So after the meeting, the Maiden boys were all at the bar drinking and Steve Harris mentioned to me that they were celebrating Bruce’s Birthday and would I like to come along after the show for the celebration and will I think of a cool place to take them.
Fast forward to the show. I shot Girlschool, Iron Maiden, and headliners, Scorpions. As the show was ending and all of my film was shot (Which I will regret later that night) I just went backstage to get more details from Steve on where to meet and go out. The Scorps come off stage and are supposed to do an encore and some time passed but no band and the crowd is chanting and suddenly above the noise I see the band running around screaming at each other in German,now I don’t have a clue what is being said but they were pissed. Then the back doors open and the band leaves and house lights come up and that show is history. I don’t know if this is true but I was told later that it had something to do with Iron Maiden really kicking ass and Scorpions had to rise to that occasion and really play well, which I thought they were great, hell every band was on fire that night but Iron Maiden dd steal the show.
Suddenly I was told to get off the stage and go back to the wall with no explanation why. . It was really quiet and I was talking to some guys all of a sudden BOOM!!!!! The Pyro went off and scared the shit out of me. It was the pyro set to go off for the encore that never happened . So I finally settle down and look around for my Heart after it jumped from my chest I find it and gather it up and leave .
I get to the hotel and the 2 bands are in the bar. It was Iron Maiden and Kim McAuliffe, Enid Williams, Kelly Johnson (RIP), Denise Dufort from Girlschool . I suggest going to Number 1 Beale so they can eat and drink and it’s really quiet and dark and most likely won’t be disturbed. After we arrive I talk mostly to Steve Harris and Kim McAuliffe. I was thinking Kim was pretty cute so I flirted with her quite a bit and listened while she talked about missing her flat in London and how Lemmy was the guy that really helped them get a record deal and what a thrill it was to be on tour in America. And as it stands now they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more than 40 years.
So we sat there for a while and the guys suggest we go somewhere else and drink even more well by then everyone was drunk anyway and Dave Murray was really wasted and he was picking up these huge potted plants and taking them to the cashier saying he wanted to buy them. Finally the manager comes out and says we need to go. By then it was pretty late and we walk/stagger back to the hotel and I am thinking that maybe we will hang out at the bar and I can talk to Kim some more but as we neared the door Steve whispered to me that they were just going to their rooms and they all thanked me and we hugged and had a real metal moment..lol Steve looks at me and moves his eyes as to follow him and again he whispers ” I have been trying to shag Kim the whole tour and she has invited me to her room so Memphis will be the place” and he smiled and I kinda smiled and as they walked away I thought to myself ”Well if you are ever going to lose a girl there is no better a person to lose her to than Steve fucking Harris of Iron Maiden ..
In closing what a great night and what a great time I had reliving it again today and sharing with you. You know these stories are bittersweet for me because that was the best time of my life being able to actually know these musicians that I idolized for so many years . And I am amazed I kept it together and somewhat professional around them. My only regret is not taking more photos when these few and far between opportunities occur. But I also felt like this is their downtime to just relax and have some fun without someone sticking a camera in their face.
Life now has slowed to a snails pace, I am old and not the best health, the stars hardly ever line up for times like these and I sit here writing while living in a town of 3000 with 4 old cats by my side. Sometimes I feel life is cruel as it passes me by . I do feel very lucky to have grown up with the music that changed the world and know that I had a small role in capturing it to show the future. And most of all I love sharing these stories with other people that love music and these bands I saw…..ROCK AND ROLL -forever- Below are a few photos from the show . To this day I have seen almost 300 concerts in my life and this show was one of the top 5 I ever saw.
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