Members of Iron Maiden and Tool have formed a surprise supergroup for a one-off performance of a Jeff Beck classic, and video footage has made its way online.
Two Iron Maiden alumni, guitarist Adrian Smith and retired drummer Nicko McBrain, united with Tool bassist Justin Chancellor for a cover of “Going Down”. The trio were suited and booted for the show, which took place during the wedding of Smith’s daughter, Natasha.
As one fan noted, "What a wedding band!"
Smith, who also handles vocal duties, employs a sunburst Fender Telecaster for the spot, with Chancellor also playing a Fender, in the form of a Precision bass.
This is one of the first clips of McBrain, who retired from touring last year, behind a kit since the announcement. Steve Harris’ British Lion bandmate Simon Dawson is assuming the vacant drum throne for live dates. The 73-year-old, who first appeared on 1983's "Piece of Mind," will remain “firmly part of the Iron Maiden family,” with the belief that he will still feature on studio material.
Released in 1972, "Going Down" featured on the Jeff Beck Group album, which featured Cozy Powell on drums and Bobby Tench on vocals. It was the guitarist's second attempt at a supergroup in the wake of a failed attempt to start a band with Jimmy Page. Their one jam session resulted in what Beck believes to be the first ever heavy metal riff, and he and Page have since argued over who penned it.
The pair had endured a short and fairly tumultuous partnership in the Yardbirds together, with Beck ultimately rejecting the chance to join John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers later on as he turned his back on being in someone else’s band.
After the Jeff Beck Group disintegrated, he turned to Beatles super-producer George Martin to create Blow by Blow, his breakthrough instrumental record. But the pair often argued over his guitar solos. Those arguments usually ended with Beck yielding to Martin’s wisdom.
Speaking of his love of Strat-shaped electric guitars in 2020, Smith had used Beck, whose Yardburst and Oxblood LPs have become the stuff of legend, as an example for how the Strat will always come calling.
“The great players to me all use Strats, and even if they played a Les Paul like Jeff Beck, they'll go back to a Strat because it has so many options,” he had said (via Ultimate Guitar). “A Les Paul is probably better built, but I think a Strat just has something about it.”
“Fenders are cheap in feel,” Beck had told Guitar Player in 1973, at a time when the Les Paul was the highest in his rankings. “You pick up a Les Paul and it's heavy and it really means something – it means business.”
By the turn of the decade, however, Beck had become disenchanted with the Les Paul, and after a brief sojourn with Ibanez and aborted plans for a signature guitar, returned to Fender's flagship axe.
When asked to compare the two in 2009, he said, “It’s a totally different animal. One is for very subtle and, I would say, more musical things that you can distract and abuse. You can’t do it with a Les Paul. It’s too delicate. It’s got a very delicate tone.”
His 2014 Custom Shop white Strat has since ended up in the hands of John Mayer, who played it with Dead & Company last year.
Elsewhere, Smith has recently spoken about the Ibanez Destroyer that he got for free and still plays live to this day, and how two lucky breaks resulted in him writing Iron Maiden classics.
