Steve Harris stated that Iron Maiden never really considered down-tuning for vocalist Blaze Bayley, reports Ultimate Guitar.

In an appearance on the Scars and Guitars podcast (listen below), Harris was asked about Blaze Bayley's tenure in Iron Maiden, and how things were handled. The Iron Maiden founder was asked if the band ever considered down-tuning to accommodate Bayley's voice.

Harris stated that the members never really thought about it and that they didn't notice any issues with his singing until they were on stage (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

"Not really, no. Maybe on some things in retrospect, we could have done, but no we didn't really think about it. It wasn't really till we got out and played live that we realized it was a couple of things. The weird thing is that he was really confident when we were rehearsing, and then a couple of times on a couple of songs, we got out live, and there was maybe an issue or two here and there. But in general, he just handled it really well."

Harris continued: "It is what it is, I suppose. In retrospect, you can do all kinds of things, but Blaze helped keep the band alive through that period, so we owe him a lot."

Steve Harris' British Lion recently announced new tour dates including first-ever tour stops in Australia and New Zealand starting in Perth on August 31 with dates in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and a stop in Auckland, NZ on September 15.

The band will then return to Japan for the first time in six years with shows in Osaka and Tokyo before returning to the US for their long-awaited live debut on the West Coast with shows at San Diego’s Brick By Brick on October 3, the world-famous Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles on October 7, and an appearance at Aftershock Festival in Sacramento on October 10. Tony Moore’s Awake will be the special guest on all dates with the exception of British Lion’s performance at Aftershock.

"We're really excited to be able to play our first ever shows in Australia and New Zealand” says Steve Harris. “We've been to the U.S. before, but this is our first time to the West Coast! And to top it off,” continues Harris, “we'll also be returning to Japan to complete what I'm sure will be a fantastic tour! We look forward to seeing you all on the road!"

Tickets can be purchased here.

Dates:

August
31 - Perth, AUS - Magnet House

September
3 - Adelaide, AUS - Lion Arts Factory
5 - Melbourne, AUS - Croxton Bandroom
9 - Brisbane, AUS - The Triffid
11 - Sydney, AUS - Manning
15 - Auckland, NZ - Paraoa Brewing Co
23 - Osaka, JAP - Big Cat
25 - Tokyo, JAP - O-East

October
3 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
7 - Los Angeles, CA - Whisky A Go Go
10 - Sacramento, CA - Aftershock Festival