Formed in East London in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris, Iron Maiden have sold more than 100 million albums across 19 studio records and performed over 3,500 live shows to date. The band’s core lineup also consists of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, guitarists Dave Murray, Janick Gers & Adrian Smith, and touring drummer Simon Dawson (following Nicko McBrain’s retirement from the road).
Pioneers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the prog rock stars have left an indelible mark on the alternative music world during their five-decade career. As part of their 50th-anniversary world tour, Run for Your Lives, which is partly supplied by Clair Global, the band descended on Knebworth House, where a fitting blend of British musical heritage and history – the Tudor period stately home and gardens have become a prestigious destination for summer rock concerts – made for a majestic occasion.
Alongside a Cohesion PA system from Clair, longtime Iron Maiden supplier ML Executives provides tour wedges and side fills (onstage only) and Steve Harris’ Monitor Engineer Steve ‘Gonzo’ Smith’s equipment. Band Monitor Engineer Kevin ‘Tater’ McCarthey and FOH Engineer Pooch Van Druten supply their own desks and outboard. All engineers receive technical support from Clair Global.
The dynamic set-up works, as Tour Director Ian Day attests: “Working with Clair is always a pleasure. Both Clair, and our Account Executive Andy Walker’s service, is the best. They always answer my requests with professionalism and a smile.”
The Knebworth team also comprised Production Manager Dave Maxwell; Production Coordinator Zippy Cooper; System Engineer, Michael Hackman; Audio Crew Chief, Trystan Forbes; Monitor and RF Tech Pete McGlynn and Monitor Tech, Michael Salathe.
The Teenage Dream
Riding the faders at FOH for the past decade, Pooch is still reeling that this is a job his teenage self would be astonished at. “When I got this gig, I was ecstatic! I was an Iron Maiden fan as a teenager, so the opportunity to work with a band that played such a significant role in shaping my early life is something that only comes along once in a lifetime.”
“I like the challenge of making them sound how I think the fans would like them to sound, which is entangled in early life memories for me. The bar is high! I know I’m getting the mix right when I’m transported back to my teenage bedroom with a Marantz all-in-one vinyl turn table/amplifier turned up to unhealthy levels!”
However, Pooch notes that: “They’re not an easy band to mix. They’re more progressive rock than they are heavy metal, and that requires nuance; they have three guitars that are similar in tone, a bass guitar that is a unique sound (and very forward in the mix), and a vocalist that is a huge presence and requires a large amount of space.”
“I create space for each band member so that you can always pick them out of the mix. I use a lot of panning and depth to keep everything separated but cohesive at the same time. It’s a juggling act and I spend hours working on the little details – they matter.”
“People come to a rock show to have their body moved by the music, to feel immersed in the experience. I overemphasize iconic parts of the show; the tom fills in ‘The Trooper’ or the guitar intro to ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ for example. I make these things louder than what is required, but these are the air drummer and air guitar moments that fans love.”
To create the perfect mix environment Pooch’s FOH setup consists of a DiGiCo Quantum 7 console equipped with a Dante64 DMI card, Waves SoundGrid, and a Waves LiveBox Dante. The system provides access to the full Waves plugin suite, along with De-Feedback VST and FabFilter VST plugins. Additional processing includes two Lake LM44s, a DiGiCo 56×56 stage rack at FOH for analogue interfacing, and a DiGiCo Mini Rack at FOH for digital interfacing. The system also includes four Mac Minis dedicated to Smaart, playback/drive, and recording, supported by three Eaton UPS units.
His outboard and audio processing comprises two Universal Audio Apollo interfaces, primarily used for reverb processing, and there are three Bricasti Design M7 Reverbs with M10 remotes in his arsenal. Additional outboard units include Hendyamps The Cooker, Stam Audio SA4000 Mk3+ and a 3A-5, Sonic Farm Creamliner, Rupert Neve Designs Master Bus Processor, Converter, and 542s, two Maag Audio EQ4 500s, and two Cranborne Audio Carnaby 500 Harmonic EQs.
In being supported by Clair, he says: “I’m very impressed by the Clair staff. They’re all highly trained and motivated, and they truly are a global brand, so I can get the same gear anywhere in the world and that is the true definition of support. As the person that holds the responsibility when things go wrong, there is a real sense of calm that Clair has my back.”
High output, small factor
The fan listening experience is key to Pooch’s drive: “Every fan deserves to walk out of a show with the same audio experience and Cohesion lends itself to heavy metal guitars. The 12-inch drivers are very reactive to that frequency range, and they hold together at distance, so even when you are 240ft in front of the PA, you’re still getting a full range representation of my mix. Cohesion sounds great even at long distances.”
“Coverage and intelligibility are the most important things to me in a PA,” he furthers. “Where Cohesion really shines is its ability to do punchy, detailed, full range audio in a 12-inch box.”
The system deployment at Knebworth comprised main hangs and side hangs of CO12, flown CP218 II subs configured in a cardioid configuration and six more subs per side ground-stacked in a staggered gradient array configuration, plus stacks of CO10 and CO8 for front fill. The delay system was two inner hangs of CO12 and two outer hangs of CO12, powered by Cohesion’s novel amplification technology.
Systems Engineer Mike Hackman describes the detailed business of Iron Maiden’s live sound as pure teamwork: “Pooch and I are in sync when it comes to system deployment. We have very similar ideology and believe every audience member is equally important, and we strive to get the best possible result to every one of them.”
“Pooch chose Cohesion specifically because it allows audience coverage at uniform level. Our show runs a powerful mix at a moderate SPL level, and it’s essential to maintain that level throughout the audience as there is an expectation that an Iron Maiden show should have a certain level of impact.”
“We ensure constant coverage by maintaining both level and frequency control. At Knebworth in particular, it’s important to cover the area required by the concert promotor, and at the same time, ensure we control off-site SPL levels to comply with the environmental noise regulations. The new Cohesion Canvas prediction software has proved very accurate in creating and finessing the final design to meet these needs, and the result is very much as predicted.”
The pair also adjust the design to aid in the final mix process. “For example,” says Mike, “Our sub bass design is specifically tailored to provide the best low-end delivery for Pooch’s mix whilst controlling the bass levels on stage – which the band are sensitive to.”
Crew Chief Trystan Forbes brings consistency to this process, making sure everything is rigged in a familiar, predictable and expected way, regardless of any site challenges. “Knebworth is a major challenge though, particularly at the front row, where the stage sits in a dip,” he explains. “The subs are positioned along a significant change in level, and I’ve had to chock the sub stacks to compensate for the uneven ground.”
Aided on site by PA Techs Maciej Sliwinski, Maximilian Lautenschlaeger, Ellie Miller, Marcin Mlodawski, Brandon Gaewhiler, Vinnie Perreux and Michel Haeusermann, he adds: “Mike also has a gradient sub array, which reduces the low end on stage. Combining the unusual sub arrangement with the sloping ground made the setup at Knebworth particularly tough for us. But… the result was fantastic!”
Dual monitoring
Steve ‘Gonzo’ Smith, Monitor Engineer for founding member Steve Harris, goes back over 30 years with Iron Maiden, making him the longest-serving crew member.
“Not many people get to celebrate something like this, being part of a band’s 50th anniversary when you’ve known them for so long,” he says. “I’m 74 now, but they keep giving me work, and I keep wanting to do it! There’s something about it I just love, and the people I work with, the reason all this crew are all doing Iron Maiden shows, is because they’re good at their jobs. It’s as simple as that. We all knit together like a family. Everybody looks after and looks out for each other.”
Gonzo did mix monitors for the whole band some years ago, and following health issues, temporarily came off the road. However, his phone kept ringing…. “Steve Harris called me up and asked me to work with British Lion, his other band. After my first tour with them, I got another call saying he wanted me to come back and do his monitoring here too. The boss does like to keep me busy!”
Gonzo’s rider, provided by ML Executives, comprises a DiGiCo SD12 console, in-ears, wedges, and side-fills.
Like Gonzo, ML Executives and Iron Maiden, go way back. Managing Director, Gary Marks, who works alongside Director Martin Hale, furthers: “In 1984 I was mixing FOH for [German heavy metal outfit] Accept. We did many tours in the US with Iron Maiden, and I toured with Motley Crew who were Iron Maiden’s special guests in Europe. It was during this period that I first met the legendary [Iron Maiden Production Manager] Dickie Bell, a man for whom I have the utmost respect. Since that introduction 24 years ago, both ML Executives and our Systems Engineer Mike Hackman have worked with Iron Maiden on all subsequent tours.”
He continues: “And now, the integration between, Clair Global and ML Executives with Maiden is seamless. This really exemplifies how more than one audio contractor can work together on the same tour.”
This blended vendor family doesn’t stop there. Kevin ‘Tater’ McCarthy mixes the rest of the band, and like Pooch, supplies his own equipment; a DiGiCo Quantum 7 console alongside Waves, Klang, Shure Axient IEM systems and 24 channels of Rupert Neve RMP-D preamps.
“Everyone is using in-ears. I have eight ear mixes and 12 wedge mixes – the wedges are part of the stage furniture now – but they’re all equal members of the band and as a monitor engineer you must make them feel that they’ve got your attention all the time.”
Tater is supported by Stage / Monitor Tech, Pete McGlynn, who notes: “There’s a huge amount of mutual respect here, and that’s a lovely thing. There’s a great level of support from all sides. Even though the engineers have their own equipment, they’re still supported by the vendors. For example, we had a slight issue with a piece of equipment, and the Clair machine stepped into action so by the time we got to the next venue, there was a spare waiting for us on site!”
“ML Executives have also been hugely supportive. Anything that’s amplified belongs to ML, and what’s nice is establishing those relationships, then being able to rely on them when you need to. It makes a big difference.”
Pete looks after Taters RF using the Shure Wireless Workbench system. The team also has a Clear-Com Comms system which integrates FOH and the moving parts on stage.
It may not be a typical vendor set up, but nothing the Beast of heavy metal does is typical. As international fans filled historic gardens in the British countryside, ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’ began proceedings before the audience heard ‘Infinite Dreams’ for the first time live in 38 years. Ironically, ‘Wasted Years’ closed the show.
At 50 years and counting, undoubtedly Iron Maiden have wasted none. EddFest was a huge success according to Production Manager Dave Maxwell: “It’s always a pleasure working with Clair, and the show at Knebworth was no exception. The way this entire team operates is a real success story, and they all pulled together to create a lasting impression for the band and their fans.”
