Bruce Dickinson has spoken out against the closure of small music venues in the United Kingdom due to noise complaints from people living in properties built next to existing clubs.
The IRON MAIDEN frontman was talking to WalesOnline when he was asked about Cardiff pub and live music venue Dempseys, which announced its closure in January.
Bruce said: “Sadly, that seems to be happening in a lot of places. It’s the gentrification of the city centre, the dodgy hangouts which are really cool which kids like. We [IRON MAIDEN] wouldn’t have been able to start out if there hadn’t been venues like that.
“The good thing is you don’t need a lot to have a place where you can have a racket and have people turn up.”
He added: “Small venues are indispensable to bands… always have been and always will be. I think we miss a trick in this country and some countries in Europe do it better in that they protect their social infrastructure. And pubs and small venues are part of that social infrastructure.
“Just because something would be worth X a square foot, that is a case of people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
“These are vital things [small music venues] and the reason why people come to a city centre is to keep it alive. And it’s not just people who want to drink posh lattes, there are other people in the world who have cultural needs and rock and roll is pretty fundamental to people’s lives these days.”
IRON MAIDEN‘s headlining U.K. tour is scheduled to kick off on May 4 at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena.
