Roudari - Iron Maidenin kyydissä 1978-84

by Steve Newhouse

Iron Maidenin roudarin ainutlaatuinen näkökulma superbändin nousuvuosiin.

Iron Maidenin lavalle nousevat tähdet tunnetaan, mutta mitä bändin huomaamattomampi jäsen roudari Loopy
onkaan päässyt todistamaan?

Steve Newhouse, lempinimeltään Loopy, pääsi Iron Maiden -yhtyeen roudariksi vuonna 1978, jolloin bändi oli juuri nousemassa suurten joukkoon. Loopy oli yksi alkuperäisen Killer Krewin jäsenistä ja mukana jo silloin, kun Iron Maiden hioi esityksiään Ruskin Arms -pubin nurkassa ja vielä kuusi vuotta myöhemmin Powerslave-studioalbumin äänityksissä.

Loopy kuljettaa lukijan läpi lukuisten bändin jäsenvaihdosten, kiertueiden, albumeiden, ongelmien, naurun, kyynelien ja lukemattomien oluttuopillisten.

- Tämä on tositarina, joka perustuu huonoon muistiin ja päiväkirjamerkintöihin siitä, mitä teimme ja missä - ja mitä sitten tapahtui, Loopy kertoo.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

300 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2016

About the author

Born in 1957, Steve has lived in and around east London all his life. After finally leaving school in 1972 with no qualifications whatsoever, Steve had a variety of jobs in supermarkets and warehouses. In 1978, Steve met a few people that would change everything, Iron Maiden. He became a roadie for the band, and travelled the world until 1984, when he left the band and worked as a stage hand in London. After various other tours and doing some of the oddest things that came under the music banner, Steve quit the business in 1995, when he was offered a job with Royal Mail, and eventually retired in 2016 to pursue a career in writing. Steve has six children and four grand children, and he currently lives in Romford, Essex with his wife Sharron.

Reviews

[Mark Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a couple of years ago and enjoyed it from start to finish. Even before opening the book, I was hooked by the intricate cover art featuring Iron Maiden mascot Eddie the Head. As a Maiden fan since childhood (my first metal gig was Iron Maiden at Glasgow Apollo when I was 10), I suppose I'm this book's ideal reader. If you're a fan of the band, you should read Loopyworld. Period. I read the official Maiden autobiography Run to the Hills when it came out many years ago; it came across as a bit sterile and sanitised, lacking much of the nitty gritty I wanted to read about the band's early years. Bruce Dickinson's autobiography, released more recently, was more personal and more enjoyable than Run to the Hills, but Steve "Loopy" Newhouse's Loopyworld: the Iron Maiden Years is more entertaining than either the Maiden autobiography or the Dickinson one. The reason? Loopy's book holds nothing back. It's loaded with straight-from-the-horse's-mouth stories as recounted by this legendary Maiden roadie who was there in the fray during the early days of this iconic band. In his written words you can find the real truth behind Paul Dianno's exit from Maiden, which varies more than a little from the "official" explanation. Loopy portrays his old employers with affection and respect, but he doesn't pull punches.

Another reason for Maiden fans to buy this book - it contains a wealth of pictures from tours around the globe. Most of these are available nowhere else. These pictures and the stories that accompany them make this book priceless for Iron Maiden fans.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this on Ebay and had never heard of it but being a Maiden fan I had to have it. To be honest most Maiden books can be a bit dull, they're a very private band that don't like to give much away, probably why half of Bruce and Adrian's books are full of anecdotes about flying and fishing (prehaps they'll write a book together about fly fishing one day) so as this was a book written by an ex employee I thought it would give a little bit of insight I'd never read about before. The book is a little repetitive but then again that's life as a roadie I guess ,get to the show, set up, get drunk afterwards and do it all again the next day but the author does have a nice sense of humour that keeps it interesting. I was also surprised to hear about how difficult Clive Burr could be, him being my favourite drummer and a hero of mine, but the author is never nasty and I wanted some grit so I can't really complain when I get some. Rod Smallwood gets painted in a different light that I'm used to hearing too. However Dennis Stratton sounds like a great bloke and I now have a better understanding about why his sacking hurt so much, it seems like he didn't really do much to deserve it. I'm a bit puzzled as to why Maiden eventually dropped the author, again he said he was sacked for his own stupidity but I can't see how he did anything that bad. However it's obvious he's still friends with the band and talks to them so he never comes across as bitter, in fact Loopy comes across as a top bloke. A good, and different, read for Maiden fans.

[Petri Volanen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tavallaan kiehtova mahdollisuus päästä katsomaan Iron Maidenin alkuaikojen kehitystä ja toimintaa ikään kuin sisältäpäin. Vaikka itse olen kuunnellut Maidenia '80-luvulta asti, suosion todella nopea kasvu yllätti tätä lukiessa minutkin. Hyvää tässä on juuri se vähän toisenlaisesta kulmasta katsominen, jos kohta aavistuksen lystiksi tämän tekee se, että tosiasiassa kirjan kirjoittaja pyöri bändin mukana vuosivälillä 1978-1984, ja siihenkin mahtuu 2 vuoden pätkä jonka aikana mies ei kuvioissa ollut... mutta toki tuossa ajassa ehti totisesti tapahtua loikka pienestä pubibändistä Bahamalla levyttäväksi maailmanluokan yhtyeeksi.

Mutta sitten niihin huonoihin puoliin. Ajoittain touhussa tuntuu olevan ehkä hieman liikaa sellaista keikkapaikkaluetteloinnin makua. Sitäkin ärsyttävämmäksi nousee äijän kyky nähdä vikaa miltei kaikissa muissa. Vaan kyllä tällä kirjalla siltikin paikkansa on, tallentaahan tämä kuitenkin sitä alkuaikojen elämää.

[Anki Backman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Päiväkirjoihin pohjautuva muistelma on virkistävä poikkeus muista viinanhuuruisten vuosien kuvauksista, joissa tapahtumat ovat suurelta osin hämärän peitossa tai muiden muistoihin perustuvia. Sisältöä tässä on vähänlaisesti. Kuvailut keikkareissuilta jää ohuiksi. Noloa on että läpi kirjan kulkeva valitus ja ihmisten haukkuminen.
Wannabe rokkarin katkera tilitys.

[Enzo Ferlazzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ho letto decine di biografie dei Maiden... Questa continua ad aggiungere particolari, storie e curiosità sui Maiden raccontate direttamente da un roadie che è stato per anni a contatto con la band!! L'ho letto in due giorni!

[Ville Ikonen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Joutava luettelo jonkun nobodyn tekemisistä. Vahva Maidenin nimellä rahastuksen maku.

[Arto Vuori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kirjailijan otteita päiväkirjamaiseen tyyliin. Aina arvostelemassa muita, mutta itsessä ei ikinä vikaa.

[Vesa Ronkainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viihdyttävässä balanssissa asiaa ja fiilistelyä rumputeknikon hommista Maidenin alkutaipaleelta.

[Nesbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome book for any Iron Maiden fan. I just finished it for the second time. All kind of interesting facts and great stories from someone who was actually there for the early days of Maiden. A great read!