Former Iron Maiden member Dennis Stratton says he didn't expect to be included in the band’s just-announced nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

He joined the band in December 1979 and appeared on their self-titled debut album, before disagreements led to his departure in October 1980. Yet Stratton found his name alongside Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris and others in the prospective listing for the Class of 2021.

“The first reaction … is that I thought, ‘Well, it’s not going to include me,’” Stratton told Total Rock Radio in a new interview. “I’ve never had a lot of luck when it comes to Maiden and certain things that have gone on over the years, like the gold discs from the first album. … I think I got two, three gold discs, and there should have been about 20.”

He added that the only reason he’d heard about Iron Maiden’s 40th anniversary release was because he kept in touch with Harris — mainly because they’re both big soccer fans. “It was only down to Steve texting me … that they actually, the office actually sent me a copy,” he said.

Stratton described his appearance in the nomination, alongside fellow former members Clive Burr and Paul Di’Anno, as “a bit of a shock,” continuing: “[T]o include me and the other two … it’s quite a nice gesture … very, very exciting in my point of view.”

He wondered if previous comments from Dickinson and Harris — both of whom have dismissed the idea of the Rock Hall’s importance in the past — would be used to “punish” Maiden in the official voting process. But he was much more positive on the subject of the public poll, saying: “I imagine once South America starts voting … the votes will mean a lot … they will just go absolutely potty.”

 

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