Former Samson drummer Thunderstick recently addressed the rumor of him falling asleep on an Iron Maiden show. During a recent interview with The Metal Voice, the rocker revealed whether or not he fell asleep while playing with Iron Maiden during his earlier days.
In the interview, the rocker made it clear that even he didn’t know where the rumor first came from and assured that it was wrongly interpreted. The drummer explained with the following:
“I mean, how ridiculous, I don’t know where that came from. I mean, it’s just so stupid, it’s so stupid I have actually got a copy of that gig that I did, the one that they were talking about, that I supposedly fell asleep, and I am right on everything. I really am.”
The drummer explained the misconception of him being intoxicated after he was seen dropping something during the set and revealed whether or not he was intoxicated:
“I mean, I listen to it. In the video [documentary] of the early days [of Iron Maiden], Steve [Harris] talking about it, and he went, ‘Oh Barry or Thunderstick must have dropped something, and it wasn’t his drumsticks.’ So it was interpreted as the fact that I was out of it or whatever, but as I say, I have a copy of the live performance that we did, and there is no way that I’m out of it.”
Over ten years ago, Thunderstick revealed additional details about the same show but left out the falling asleep part. The drummer talked about whether or not he was intoxicated and what he dropped during the set.
Apparently, the drummer had an affair before the show, and he also had to play with a new drum kit on which he couldn’t rehearse, leaving him nervous and dropping his barbiturates, a kind of drug to prevent anxiety and muscle spasms, in the middle of the set.
It’s unclear where the rumor first came from, but it’s now sure that he did not fall asleep during the show.
Below, you can watch the interview.
