Rowdari Steve “Loopy” Newhouse destroyed his career in Iron Maiden

In 1984, Iron Maiden was recording Powerslavealbum in the Bahamas. Impressive as the group’s rower and member of the Killer Krew Steve “Loopy” Newhouse spent playing pool outside the studio.

Soon the day turned into a turning point that shattered the career of the roudar, who had been touring with the world-famous rock band for a year.

– I made a shocking mistake that I understand now. At the time I thought I was wrong, but at the same time I knew other jobs were waiting in London. Now I know I should have kept my mouth shut.

The band took a break from playing in the dark of the studio when the band’s drummer Nicko McBrain asked Loopy to make him a cup of tea. Without much thought, Loopy replied:

– What did your previous slave die of?

Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson froze in place as Nicko stared ahead. Loopy knew his game was up. His capriciousness had bored the band.

Years later

Years later, Loopy wrote a column for metaltalk.com, the popularity of which sparked the spark in him to tell his story in book form. According to him, it is a story that anyone interested in rock history should read.

– It’s my diary from the early years of Iron Maiden. Something that has never been written before and from someone who actually witnessed it all.

Over the years, he saw Iron Maiden grow from a basement band to a big arena band. Although his main task in the early years was rocking and assembling the drums, he was also asked to join when the band recorded their albums in the Bahamas or traveled to a training camp in Jersey.

– It was the band’s will that the crew was also involved. When the band started to grow, we no longer traveled with them in the same van. The backing bands went their own way and the band went their own way.

Loopy also experienced it first hand when the soloist Paul Di’Anno was replaced by Bruce Dickinson, who is still impressive and known to a larger audience.

– I really wasn’t convinced about Bruce at the beginning. The soloist change caused its own problems, but I would not like to go back to those days. But these days I’m very impressed with Bruce, he grins.

Northern night

When Loopy was fired from Iron Maiden, he continued to work for a company called stage Miracles. It produced rocking services and luckily Loopy got to work at Iron Maiden’s gigs, if the band came to play in London.

He no longer had anything to do with world tours. But Loopy had managed to get around them too. The gig trip to Finland and Oulu has even ended up in a book.

– Iron Maiden was supposed to be the main performer, but the British ska band Bad Manners was moved instead. Quite a strange mix of artists when ska and metal, isn’t it?

Although the festivals are remembered in the book mostly as a funny chapter among many similar ones, something completely memorable and magical about Finland has remained in the memory.

– I was sitting on the beach in the middle of the night and the sun was shining. I had never experienced anything like that.

Praise of Roudar

Big bands don’t work without working backing bands. Loopy definitely knows that, but so does Iron Maiden’s former guitarist Dennis Stratton. He wrote a foreword to Loopy’s book, as a thank you to the roudars and his friend Loopy.

– When growing up, many big bands forget their own roots, background crowd and even their fans. What’s unusual about Iron Maiden is that Steve Harris and the other band members really appreciate their backing band.

Stratton emphasizes that such a story is worth hearing, because behind every great band there is an even greater backing group.

– And on top of that, Loopy also signed the book for me. I don’t know if it was a couple of pints of lager or what, he laughs.

When I ask if Loopy has been forgiven for his inappropriate splurging in the Bahamas, he believes that mercy has prevailed over justice.

– Still, if the band is nearby at a gig, I get to see it. They are almost all still my friends and after the gig we might go out for a beer together.