Metallica's Kirk Hammett and Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith might have wildly different guitar-playing styles, but ultimately they both have great ideas in places where they can't record them. So they each break out their phones and record the riffs for later usage… until they both lose their phones.
Smith's story ended up being a little different than Hammett's though, as he's told Music Radar. Smith's phone was eventually returned to him by a fan who found it, which is incredibly lucky for Smith! Unluckily, he's got plenty of videos of him playing riff ideas in his underwear. So surprise, mysterious phone-finder!
“I’ve got tons of song ideas on my phone. But it was a bit embarrassing, really, because in America we do runners from gigs, so we jump offstage, jump straight into the cars and go haring off, and we stop at a gas station or a lay-by and change in the dark on our way to the airport. It sounds crazy, but I actually lost my phone in America doing that and it was full of ideas. I had no password on my phone, so this guy found it and he went through my ideas, and there’s me sitting in my underpants in a hotel room on video singing and playing guitar!”
But at least the story has a good ending: “I got a letter [from him] and he sent it back to me,” says Smith. “He said he was a fan and said he loved my little performances on the phone! Of course, I thanked him and sent him a load of merch.”
That's awesome that Smith sent the guy a load of free merchandise as well- as simple thanks would've probably been more than enough for the guy. Though I really shouldn't be surprised, given that everyone in Iron Maiden seem ridiculously nice.
