STEVE HARRIS Is 'Proud' Of His Children For Having Successfully Opened For IRON MAIDEN

Steve Harris says that he is "proud" of his musician kids for having successfully supported IRON MAIDEN on various tours in recent years.

Over the past decade, IRON MAIDEN has become a bit of a family affair. Steve's daughter, Lauren Harris, opened shows on the "Somewhere Back in Time" and "The Final Frontier" tours, and now, his son George Harris's band THE RAVEN AGE is opening the "Legacy Of The Beast" tour.

Asked by Buffalo News what it's like having his kids carrying on the family business, Steve said: "I'm proud of them. That's a tough gig, because, as you know, MAIDEN fans are a fiercely loyal lot. I'd tell them, 'Just get out there, and don't worry about it.' On this side of the pond, they often stay out tailgating and having fun when the opening act plays; it's just the way it is. 'Just get out there and do it.' And they did.

"George's band, they've just gotten so good," Steve added. "The new album is really fantastic. They've got so much melody in their music. I hope he got that from me. [Laughs] That's the thing I'm most proud of."

In a recent interview with Kerrang! magazine, George Harris acknowledged that most people are only familiar with THE RAVEN AGE because of his connection to MAIDEN.

"I definitely sense what people are feeling about it," he said. "People are thinking, 'Oh, for God's sake, they're only getting this because of that.' I've got to just crack on and ignore that sort of thing, because the opportunity is too big for us not to do it. After that tour we did in 2016, I said, 'Now we've got to separate ourselves from the MAIDEN tag and try to stand on our own two feet, working our own name up.' But this tour came around and I think we'd be stupid to turn it down. We're just going to have to work extra hard and prove our longevity. Hopefully if people like the music, they'll ignore the family ties."

IRON MAIDEN kicked off the 33-city North American leg of its "Legacy Of The Beast" tour on July 18 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

The concept for the "Legacy Of The Beast" tour was inspired by MAIDEN's mobile game and comic book of the same name. The stage set design features a number of different but interlocking "worlds" with a setlist covering a large selection of 1980s material with a handful of surprises from later albums to add diversity.

MAIDEN's 2019 North, South and Central America trek comprises 44 shows in six countries, which, combined with the band's 2018 European dates, means that by the end of this tour, the group will have taken the "Legacy Of The Beast" show to over one and three quarter of a million fans around the globe.