IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris spoke with Portugal's CheckSound about his side-project BRITISH LION when the band hit town on February 20th. Check out the interview below:

British Lion made its debut at a special charity show at The Moto Clube in Faro, Portugal on the same night. A review of the show courtesy of Ironmaiden.com can be read below:

The Moto Clube de Faro’s new 600 capacity clubhouse was packed to the rafters as fans saw Steve Harris and fellow band mates perform a 90 minute blistering set of album tracks, new songs and covers.

The band burst onto the tiny Faro stage and launched immediately into a mesmerizing performance of album opener 'This Is My God', followed by Lost Worlds and the electrifying 'Karma Killer', vocalist Richard Taylor proving a natural front man with wonderful command of the crowd, working an already-hyper audience into a virtual frenzy. So much so, that the barrier in front of the stage looked in serious danger of giving way under the throng and had to be stabilised by the Moto Clube security team. With Steve Harris centre-front with Richard Taylor, flanked by guitarists Grahame Leslie and David Hawkins, and Simon Dawson on drums behind, band and crowd seemed to all merge into one swirling, sweaty, seething, rocknroll mass.

A new song, 'Father Lucifer', came next, catching the crowd’s imagination with its sensuous hypnotic beat, the entire audience now under singer Taylor’s spell, including Steve who was mouthing every word and looking absolutely in his element. Next up came 'The Chosen Ones' intensifying the super-charged atmosphere, the whole crowd singing along with Richard Taylor’s soaring, melodious vocals, complemented by the twin guitars and the whirling-dervish movements of Grahame Leslie who often looked as if he might simply spin clear off the stage and disappear into the crowd.

After a stirring performance of 'These Are The Hands', came three new songs ('Guineas and Crowns', 'The Burning', 'Last Chance') all equally well-received before delving back into the British Lion album for the most recent single 'Us Against The World', and 'A World Without Heaven'. Then came the first cover song of the night, a take on the catchy 'Do Ya Do Ya Want Me', for which Taylor once again had the crowd eating out of his hand, singing along with the chorus and obeying his every command.

Not until the band broke into dreamy, reflective Judas, the last song of the set, did the frenetic pace slightly abate before once again gathering momentum for the song’s climax. The band left the stage momentarily then reappeared to break into the second cover of the night, UFO’s 'Let It Roll' which sent the by-now delirious audience into overdrive, the whole venue by now in meltdown. The biggest cheer of the night came for closing song 'Eyes Of The Young' which, if this opening night is anything to go by, is sure to become THE anthem of this tour. Last night, British Lion came, saw, conquered and very firmly stamped their seal .

Video footage can be viewed below:

Steve Harris British Lion LIVE Moto Clube de Faro from Steve Harris on Vimeo.

Steve Harris' British Lion performed the following set-list:

'This is My God'

'Lost Worlds'

'Karma Killer'

'Father Lucifer'

'The Chosen Ones'

'These Are the Hands'

'Guineas and Crowns'

'The Burning'

'Last Chance'

'Us Against the World'

'World Without Heaven'

'Do You Want It'

'Judas'

Encore:

'Let it Roll'

'Eyes of the Young '

Check out more live photos at this location.

Steve Harris British Lion tour dates:

March

9 Germany Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall

10 Germany Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club

12 Sweden Malmo, Sweden - KB

13 Sweden Gothenburg, Sweden - Brewhouse

14 Norway Oslo, Norway - Rockerfeller

16 Sweden Stockholm, Sweden - Klubben

18 Finland Helsinki, Finland - Cirkus

22 Holland Amsterdam, Holland - Melkweg

23 Belgium Vosselaar, Belgium - Biebob

24 France Paris, France - La Trabendo

26 - London, England - O2 Academy Islington
27 - Birmingham, England - O2 Academy 2,
29 - Glasgow, Scotland - Garage
30 - Manchester, England - Club Academy

"Metal" Tim Henderson from BraveWords caught up with Harris at Maiden's Toronto stop of their Maiden England Tour, at the Molson Amphitheatre. The chat about British Lion can be seen in two parts below: