During a recent discussion about the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Alice Cooper said he wanted Iron Maiden to be inducted next.
Cooper shouted out the British heavy metal legends – who are set to head out on the road this summer with their ‘Run For Your Lives’ tour of the UK and Europe – during a Q&A session on last month’s Rock Legends Cruise.
The band have been eligible to join the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame since 2004, although they’ve only been nominated twice, in 2021 and 2023. Cooper, meanwhile, Cooper was inducted by Rob Zombie in a 2011 ceremony.
When the ‘Poison’ singer was asked which artists he’d like to see inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Cooper mentioned Maiden, saying: “I mean, come on – Iron Maiden. How can you diss Iron Maiden? They have their own army out there.”
The band’s frontman Bruce Dickinson touched on interactions with their army of fans recently, relating it back to wanting to “bow out with dignity” rather than succumb to backing tracks and becoming “Disneyland Maiden“.
“Only recently this guy, a big fan, said to me, ‘It’s so great to see Maiden still doing it,’” he explained. “I said, ‘Yeah, and we’re doing it for real!’ There’s no detuning. This guy said, ‘Lots of bands use backing tracks now…’ I said: ‘No! No, no!’
“[If we use backing tracks,] that’s the day I quit,” he added. “Or the day we stop. If it’s not real, it’s not Maiden.”
Meanwhile in the cruise discussion, Cooper commented on the Rock Hall’s pivot to include non-rock acts. “It’s really hard for me to put somebody, let’s say, like Missy Elliott in with The Who,” he admitted (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Cooper added: “I was in there going, ‘Come on. It’s rock and roll bands – that’s what rock is. But then I kind of loosened up that idea. Even Dolly Parton said, ‘I don’t belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame,’ (…) but then she made a rock record. I don’t think anybody begrudges her that, but I would still I would prefer to see an Iron Maiden in there before I would see some of these other ones.”
Elsewhere, Dickinson has also said the band will be “doing stuff we’ve never, ever done before” on the upcoming tour: “So for those of you who have bought tickets, which is like all of you, it’s gonna be really, really cool. I’m really looking forward to it.”
In other Maiden news, earlier this month they announced a new documentary film to mark the 50th anniversary, which will include the final interview with their former frontman Paul Di’Anno, who died last year at the age of 66.
An official title and release date have not yet been shared, although it is predicted to arrive in the autumn. Malcolm Venville (Churchill At War) has been named as director, and production has come from Dominic Freeman (Spirits In The Forest – A Depeche Mode Film).
They will also be releasing a new visual book, titled Infinite Dreams, in the autumn. It will be packed with images of iconic album and single artworks, the band’s instruments past and present, stage props, hand-written lyrics and archival artefacts. There will also be photographs taken of the band, including some that were previously unseen.
Cooper meanwhile has confirmed two upcoming shows for the UK later this summer, marking his only performances in Scotland and Wales for 2025.
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