While passionately praising the fan experience at phone-free concerts, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has explained in detail why a strict, Ghost-style phone ban is a logistical and philosophical impossibility for a stadium-level band like Maiden. In a new interview, he detailed the immense challenges that led the band to opt for a “polite request” over a mandatory ban on their current “Run For Your Lives” world tour.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Dickinson shared his personal admiration for the atmosphere at concerts that utilize locking phone pouches, a system famously employed by the Swedish band Ghost.
“I’ve witnessed the Ghost thing now two or three times, and it is a totally different experience,” he said. “People talk to each other. They behave like human beings with each other… They’re concentrating on each other and the joy of being with a band and the experience and in the moment. It’s what music should be, of bringing people together, not having somebody just like focused on ‘me and my little narcissistic two-inch screen.'”
Despite his love for the concept, Dickinson outlined several key reasons why it’s not a viable option for Iron Maiden. The primary obstacle, he argued, is the sheer scale of their shows. “Where it gets difficult is when you start going to football stadiums and things like that,” he explained. “You go to a festival. As soon as you end up in a festival situation, there’s no way on on God’s green Earth you’re gonna be able to put a hundred thousand or fifty thousand people, who are coming in and going out and sleeping in tents… How are you gonna police that? You can’t.”
Beyond the logistical nightmare, he also raised an issue of fairness to the fans. Because the tour was not advertised as a phone-free experience from the beginning, he feels it would be wrong to enforce it after the fact. “It’s not fair if people have bought a ticket expecting they’re gonna be able to use their phones to try and then say, ‘Oh no, you have to put your phone in the baggie,'” he said.
Ultimately, Dickinson also wants to avoid an overly authoritarian atmosphere at their concerts. “You don’t wanna get to the point where you’re feeling like there’s some sort of guards at some concentration camp looking to see if the guy’s got his phone out. There’s that fine line,” he explained.
Instead, Maiden has opted for a “polite request,” a strategy initiated by their manager, Rod Smallwood, urging fans to stay in the moment. According to Dickinson, the approach has been largely successful, particularly with the “diehard fans” down front. He’s even witnessed fans policing each other, telling offenders to “Put it away. We’re trying to have fun here. It’s not all about you.”
