Great music can change anyone’s life.
Even Lady Gaga’s.
The pop star (above with Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain) spoke with Rolling Stone recently about seeing Iron Maiden live in Tampa last month, and it was an eye-opening experience for her, to say the least.
"I went to see Iron Maiden the other night, and I actually watched the show from a box," Gaga tells the magazine. "And we were laughing as we walked — it was me and my two best friends… as we were walking into the box, we had a bunch of drinks, we were all going, 'This is so not metal, to be in a box.' [laughs]”
“So, we watched most of the show from the box and then we were gonna go meet the band,” continued Gaga. “And we went down during 'The Number Of The Beast'. And when we got there, I grabbed Lady Starlight and I said, 'Let's go,' and we just booked it into the center of the crowd. And we were dancing and singing and everyone was just so into it. And it was one of the first times I've been able to just be at a rock concert in a long time.”
It would be hard to miss Gaga, even at a Maiden show. “People did recognize me, but it was so kind and warm and awesome,” she said. “I mean, Iron Maiden is all about, 'We don't care who our fans are. We love everybody.' . . . I guess what I'm trying to say is the devotion of the fans moving in unison, pumping their fists, watching the show, when I see that, I see the paradigm for my future and the relationship I want to have with my fans. Iron Maiden's never had a hit song, and they tour stadiums around the world, and their fans live, breathe and die for Maiden, and that is my dream. That is my dream.”
“And not only that,” she added, “but when we got into the crowd, there was no pretension. I'm a pop singer — I didn't know what it would be like in a crowd of a Maiden [fans]; everybody was hugging me, high-fiving, fistpumps in the air… 'Oh, it's so cool you're at Maiden.' Jumping and dancing… I mean, it was like absolute no judgment, no prejudice, freedom and love for music. It doesn't matter who you are; you don't need to know anything about music to love it. And it was just so… It was just awesome… Maiden changed my life."
For her 666th tweet, Gaga wrote the following message on April 10:
"The Number of the Beast. Having' beers listening to Maiden w the New York Boys. Happy 666 Twitterland."
In other interviews, Gaga has also expressed her love of classic Black Sabbath, whose music she used to perform to as a go-go dancer.
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast
Flight 666 DVD
The Forum – Los Angeles, CA – February 19, 2008
See also:
Iron Maiden filming live DVD in South America this weekend
Iron Maiden to headline Sonisphere in Turkey
VIDEO: Iron Maiden cancels Rio gig following barricade collapse
Iron Maiden: T-shirt sales to raise funds for Japanese Red Cross
