Iron Maiden has been releasing albums since 1980, playing shows since even before that (in various incarnations), and isn't planning on retiring anytime soon. According to vocalist Bruce Dickinson in an interview with Full Metal Jackie, the band will "probably drop dead onstage."
"We're not planning to retire at all, really. I think we'll probably drop dead onstage. I can think of worse places to drop dead. But no, we're not planning on retiring. We're all still firing away [with] loads of energy and loads of enthusiasm, so I can't wait to get back together [with the other guys to start rehearsing for the upcoming tour].
Dickinson also touched on how the metal community has grown over the decades, adding that he sees people across a wide range of ages attending both Maiden shows and his solo spoken word shows.
"With respect to our fans, we've got generations of fans now. Even at [my] spoken-word shows, I can crack jokes about the age of the audience only because half the audience is, like, my age, but the other half of the audience is often way, way younger. So it's brilliant. We've got this whole intergenerational thing going.
"And, obviously, at the Maiden shows, it's even bigger, the emphasis on that. And huge numbers of women. It's fantastic. 'Cause it always used to be cliché, back when I was starting in the early '80s, that heavy metal was just, like, misogynist, male-dominated stuff… But no, it's not true. There's loads and loads of heavy metal fans who are girls."
