The prog icon who blew Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris’s mind

Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris holding a bass guitar — (Image credit: Mick Hutson/Redferns)

Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris is one of the most successful songwriters the UK has ever produced. The prolific bassist has written dozens of classic metal anthems for Maiden, including Run To The Hills, Hallowed Be Thy Name, and the song Iron Maiden itself, helping turn them into one of the biggest metal bands of the last 50 years.

Harris himself has always been open about his influences, paying tribute to the musicians who inspired him as a songwriter. The bassist has cited Free’s Andy Fraser, Martin Turner of Wishbone Ash and British rockers UFO as formative influences. But there’s one iconic prog musician who Harris holds up as the songwriter who towers above all others.

“I think Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is one of the most gifted writers that ever lived,” Harris told Classic Rock in a 2011 interview. “He’s a fantastic musician and his lyrics can be anything from humorous to thought-provoking. What can I say? I’m not worthy!”

Jethro Tull were a huge inspiration to the future Iron Maiden man when he was young. Formed in the English seaside town of Blackpool by Scottish-born singer and flute player Anderson, they emerged in 1967 as a blues-rock band before drastically expanding their sound, helping shape the emerging progressive rock movement in the later 1960s.

Thanks to albums such as 1971’s Aqualung and the following year’s Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull became superstars on both sides at the Atlantic – at one point they even played a five-night run at New York’s Madison Square Garden. As well as being their leader and chief songwriter, Anderson was also the band’s focal point, famously playing the flute onstage while standing on one leg. But it was Anderson’s songwriting which help shape the London-born Harris as a musician - particularly the Aqualung album.

“I’d have to say Locomotive Breath [from Aqualung] was Jethro Tull’s greatest song,” Harris told Classic Rock. “Maiden recorded another song from that album, Cross-Eyed Mary [released as the B-side to Maiden’s 1983 single The Trooper], and I could see us doing Locomotive Breath as well. It’s a great song. It’s got power. I could envisage Bruce [Dickinson, Iron Maiden vocalist] singing it.”

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Jethro Tull are still going strong nearly 60 years after forming, with their most recent album, RökFlöte, coming out in 2023. As Harris told Classic Rock, they continue to inspire him as a songwriter.

"I think you can hear Ian and Tull’s influence all over the Maiden stuff,” said the bassist, whose own band celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2025. “If people suddenly discover Jethro Tull, they discover Maiden as well, to a certain degree. Blood Brothers [from 2000’s Brave New World] is probably the Maiden song that has the biggest Tull influence. It’s not a rip-off. It’s not like we sat down and thought, right, I’m gonna nick this bit or that bit. It’s just a very heavy influence. I’m proud to admit it.”

However, Harris’s fandom does have its bounds. “Mind you, trying to stand on one leg like Ian Anderson… with my heavy bass, I don’t think I’d be up there long!”

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