Iron Maiden Singer Upset With Loss Of Vital Venues For Bands

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson is saddened by the closure of small music venues in the UK over noise complaints from residents that live near them.

Dickinson was asked about the shutting down of the Cardiff live music spot Dempseys in a recent interview with WalesOnline and he responded, "Sadly, that seems to be happening in a lot of places.

"It's the gentrification of the city centre, the dodgy hangouts which are really cool which kids like. We wouldn't have been able to start out if there hadn't been venues like that.

"The good thing is you don't need a lot to have a place where you can have a racket and have people turn up." Bruce then expanded on the impact it will have on musicians, "Small venues are indispensable to bands... always have been and always will be. I think we miss a trick in this country and some countries in Europe do it better in that they protect their social infrastructure. And pubs and small venues are part of that social infrastructure.

"Just because something would be worth X a square foot, that is a case of people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. These [the venues] are vital things and the reason why people come to a city centre is to keep it alive. And it's not just people who want to drink posh lattes, there are other people in the world who have cultural needs and rock and roll is pretty fundamental to people's lives these days." Read the full interview here.

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