Iron Maiden Aid Former Drummer Clive Burr
By
Frank Meyer,
Contributing Editor
Thursday, January 10, 2002 @ 10:57 AM
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Iron Maiden have announced that they will be performing two special benefit gigs at London's Brixton Academy on Wednesday, March 20th and Thursday, March 21st to raise funds for former drummer Clive Burr, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis. All profits from the gigs will go to the Clive Burr MS Trust Fund and most everyone involved are participating for free. All merchandising profits will also be donated to the fund. As of now, these are the only concerts the band will play in 2002.
The band was planning on taking a break in the spring to take some time off before preparing for another studio effort, due out in 2003. However, they unanimously decided to leap into action when they heard news of their mate’s health while filming The Number Of The Beast Classic Album documentary. "We were gutted to hear of Clive's condition," commented founding Maiden member Steve Harris in an official statement. "It must be a very scary prospect for him to face. It seemed natural that we should try and help Clive by trying to improve his future quality of life. We are setting up a special trust, The Clive Burr MS Trust Fund, and are keen to help him as much as we possibly can."
"Maiden has always been a family and, even after all these years, we still consider Clive to be part of that family and as such we feel we should help him in any way possible,” said Maiden manager Rod Smallwood of Sanctuary Management. "We are sure the fans will agree and add their support to this."
There is no known cure for MS, though Burr is helping test new drugs in the hope that his body response may contribute to a cure. In the meantime, his disorder is causing him intermittent numbness and can affect his balance.
Burr joined Iron Maiden at the very end of December 1979 and played on the group's first three groundbreaking albums, Iron Maiden, Killers and Number of the Beast. Burr toured with the band throughout their early career before leaving in early 1983.
Tickets for this special fund raising event cost £25.00 and will go on sale Friday, January 25th. Iron Maiden fan club members can get tickets before going on sale to the public.
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