Stephen Percy Harris is unquestionably an icon in the heavy metal music world. As the founder and leader of Iron Maiden, he has been the lone constant member since 1975. His creative touch and bass-playing abilities have been featured on every Iron Maiden album to date. In particular, his distinguished style of gallop bass playing is renowned among the Iron Maiden fanbase. Not only a bass guitarist, Harris plays a litany of additional roles within the band, such as writing music and lyrics, producing albums, directing and editing live videos, and performing studio keyboards and synthesizers. Notably, his contributions have been credited in making Iron Maiden one of the most successful heavy metal bands in history.
Keep reading this article to know more about steve harris, including his early and personal life, career and his net worth.
Steve Harris’s Early life
Harris was born in 12 March 1956 at Whipps Cross University Hospital, in Leytonstone. As a child, Harris was born with the dream of becoming a pro-footballer and was even scouted by Wally St Pier for West Ham University. However, Harris’ aspirations took a different turn when, in his teen years, he developed an interest in rock music – particularly the Beatles. Making the decision to translate his passion into a career instead of football, Harris attended Leyton Senior High School for Boys where he studied architecture. To pursue his musical dreams, Harris opted to play bass as it would take up less space than drums in his home. Thanks to his self-taught technique and budget-friendly choice of a Fender Precision model costing just £40 in 1971, the now legendary bassist soon began making strides with the instrument.
After acquiring his first bass, it didn’t take long for Harris to demonstrate his talent as he instantly joined a band called Influence and later known as Gypsy’s Kiss. Although they only did a few gigs at two different pubs, the band split thereafter. This allowed Harris to then audition for another group called Smiler where he began writing his own songs. Sadly, it was not to be with this particular outfit as they chose to abandon his compositions due to the complexity of the songs. Even so, Harris managed to still collaborate with future Iron Maiden members Dennis Wilcock and Doug Sampson before leaving the group.
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Steve Harris’s Personal life
Harris’ kids have all followed in their father’s footsteps, pursuing impressive music and creative career paths. His eldest daughter, Lauren, is a singer and classically trained actor who supported Iron Maiden with her solo outfit in 2006 and 2008, as well as participating in an band called Kingdom of I. His oldest son, George, has gone even further by being a part of the opening act in Iron Maiden’s The Book of Souls World Tour 2016 as well as the Legacy of the Beast Tour in 2019. Kerry, his second-oldest daughter works right alongside him on Iron Maiden’s Production Team. Finally Harris’ third-oldest daughter Faye is a fashion writer for HuffPost. It looks like this family definitely has some serious musical talent!
Steve Harris’ divorce in 1993 was a difficult time for him, but it was also a catalyst for the thematic material of Iron Maiden’s 1995 album, ‘The X Factor’. This wasn’t Harris’ first relationship, however. 16 years prior to his divorce, he had met psychotherapist Lorraine Jury and together they had four children: Lauren, Kerry, Faye and George. Now Harris is happily remarried with current partner Emma; the pair have two children together. Clearly Harris has gone through some major changes since 1993, but it seems these experiences have enabled him to further explore his creative potential.
Steve Harris’s Career
After leaving Smiler and forming Iron Maiden on Christmas Day 1975, Steve Harris went through a period of significant transition. Although greatly inspired by the movie The Man in the Iron Mask to name his new band and determined to pursue music full-time, he still had his obligations to keep up with. To make ends meet during this time, Harris took a job as an architectural draughtsman in the East End of London. When job security became an issue, Harris resorted to working as a street sweeper – that is, until 1979 when Iron Maiden signed their contract with EMI and everything changed. In becoming a professional musician, Harris had finally achieved the dream that first brought him into rock n’ roll years earlier.
Steve Harris, the founder and bassist of Iron Maiden, has been the principal composer and lyricist since the band’s beginnings. His songwriting is characterized by distinctive galloping bass patterns and complex time changes, which make it stand out from other heavy metal bands. Even as Iron Maiden’s sound evolved over time, Harris remained a key influence in their music with his signature patterning. His lyrics about mythology, history or literary figures, showing off his knowledge and appreciation for progressive rock music. After decades of writing on his own, usually contributing lyrics and melodies to members’ songs instead of writing alone, Harris’s contributions to Iron Maiden have left an impact on metal music over the years.
Steve Harris’s Net worth
Steve Harris, the iconic bassist from the popular rock band Iron Maiden, is one of the most successful and notorious rock stars in music history. With a net worth of $30 million dollars, according to celebritynetworth. Harris has made an impressive fortune through touring with Iron Maiden.
