Stjepan Juras
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EKSKLUZIVNA PREMIJERA NA PERUN.HR OVU BESPLATNU E-KNJIGU POKLANJAM SVIM FANOVIMA GRUPE IRON MAIDEN I LJUBITELJIMA GLAZBE OPĆENITO, KAO SVOJ MALI DOPRINOS DRUŠTVU U OVIM ČUDNIM VREMENIMA KADA SMO SVI PRISILJENI OSTATI U SVOJIM DOMOVIMA. ČUVAJTE SE! UP THE IRONS! NAPOMENA (PROČITATI OBVEZATNO PRIJE ČITANJA KNJIGE) OVU KNJIGU NISAM NIKAD NAMJERAVAO IZDATI NA HRVATSKOM JEZIKU. ONA JE SAMO IZVORNO I BEZ PRETJERANE PAŽNJE PISANA NA HRVATSKOM JEZIKU U 'RAW' OBLIKU I DA BI KASNIJE BILA PREVEDENA NA ENGLESKI. NEKE CITATE I IZJAVE RADI TOGA NISAM NI PREVODIO NA HRVATSKI, NEGO JE U KNJIZI OSTAVLJEN IZVORNI OBLIK. SAMO ZA OVU PRILIKU KNJIGA JE BRZINSKI ADAPTIRANA ZA HRVATSKU BESPLATNU E-BOOK VERZIJU, ŠTO ZNAČI DA NIJE ODRAĐENA PROFESIONALNA, VEĆ SAMO POLUOSNOVNA BRZINSKA LEKTURA. TAKOĐER, ISTA STVAR JE S 'TYPO' GREŠKAMA. MOLIM VAS ZA RAZUMIJEVANJE I OKO SITNIH GREŠKICA, JER U ENG. VERZIJI JE SVE ISPRAVLJENO. NEKE IZJAVE I DJELOVE INTERVJUA I SL. NAMJERNO SAM OSTAVIO NA IZVORNIKU, ENGLESKOM JEZIKU, JER TEK JEDNOM, AKO SE ODLUČIM NA OBJAVLJIVANJE KNJIGE NA HRVATSKOM JEZIKU, ONDA ĆE BITI NAPRAVLJEN CJELOKUPAN POSAO. OVAKO ĆETE IZRAVNIJE URONITI U SAMU SRŽ KNJIGE I DUŠU OVOG LEGENDARNOG ALBUMA. VJERUJEM DA VAM TO NEĆE PREDSTAVLJATI POTEŠKOĆE U ČITANJU. DO SADA SAM NAPISAO VEĆ 15 KNJIGA (OD 100, KOLIKO ĆE IH BITI U KONAČNICI) I NJIHOVI VLASNICI SU NA TISUĆE MAIDEN FANOVA NA SVIM KONTINENTIMA, A JEDNAKO TAKO U POSJEDU SU NEKOLIKO ČLANOVA GRUPE I NJIHOVOG MANAGERA. HVALA VAM NA DOWNLOADU. STJEPAN CERTIFICATE This book is unique, one of a kind and printed in one copy only! Proud owner is: Serial book number is written on rear cover: Confirming this information with my signature: STJEPAN JURAS Stjepan Juras THE X FACTOR Translation, adaptation and proof-reading Ana Marija Abramović Cover design and illustration Violeta Juras /Marijan Čuklin Layout Stjepan Juras Print ITG d.o.o., Zagreb Copyright © Stjepan Juras 2019 Published by Stjepan Juras. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication (pictures, photos illustrations and graphics are excluded) may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Stjepan Juras in his office in Zadar, Croatia: phone: 00385(0)99 4186 308, e-mail: [email protected] Research Library of Zadar in Croatia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Cataloguing-in-Publication data available in the Online Catalogue of the Research Library in Zadar under CIP record 160212019 ISBN 978-953-48280-1-4 For information on all Stjepan Juras publications please visit his website at www.maidencroatia.com Printed in Croatia Zagreb, July 2019 STJEPAN JURAS Zadar, July 2019 THERMO EDITION TABLE OF CONTENTS AFTER THE WAR 9 BLAZE OF GLORY 21 YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED 37 1994/1996 81 FRYING SOON 145 SIGN OF THE CROSS 167 HUGH SYME'S VISION 203 TOUR INTO THE UNKNOWN 213 EVIL VIRUS 219 IRON CHAIR (AND MORE...) 231 IRON MAIDEN CLASSIC 241 UNFINISHED STORY 252 PHOTO CREDITS 254 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 255 WARNING! Fantastic Iron Maiden fan websites such as Ironmaidencommentary, Maidencroatia, Maidenlive, Maidenfans, Maidenrevelations, Ironmaiden-bg, ironmaiden666, Maidenthebeast, MaidenSpainFC various other fan websites and all their contributors deserve utmost hats down for all they did to preserve the great legacy of Iron Maiden for all future generations. Iron Maiden would have NEVER been so massive if there were no loyal fans willing to spend months and years exploring all aspects of this amazing band's history. As an author, they ALL have my immense gratitude for making it quite easy for me to find certain facts, old interviews, lost photographs and other bits and pieces all of which helped to make this book. However, 'The X Factor' is not, nor was it initially intended to become an official printed document which would unite all of this trivia and priceless knowledge. If that was the case, I could not nor would I want to call this book my original piece. This book is a series of exclusive observations, cross-references and brave speculations while delving into the most hidden secrets and motives behind Maiden's album 'The X Factor', thoroughly discussed from all points of view, considering all the selected segments that could have affected the creation of the album. Given that more than twenty three years have passed since 'The X Factor' came out, I tried to give it a cool-headed evaluation it clearly deserved, while taking into consideration both its strengths and weaknesses. Here you will find a large number of new theses and speculations never heard before, sometimes even shocking conclusions, while some old puzzles will be uncovered for the very first time. I am convinced that this piece will be the harbinger of discussion and controversy, quite possibly dismissing some of the statements given in this book, but my answer to that is simple. I'm a fan, and this book is the content of my direct observations of the album. This is my tribute to it, for it introduced me to the epic world of Iron Maiden, a world without which my life would surely be dramatically different. So here's to a happy twenty-third birthday 'The X Factort'! STJEPAN JURAS HEAVY METAL'S QUASIMODO When it comes to bands and performers, various book authors try hard to make their audience believe that while they aren't in possession of the official product, they are buying something equally legit. The use of misleading PR is common, trying to lure people into thinking they are actually paying for some of the exclusive and never before seen materials seeping with deep insider info about to shake the foundation of everything they believed they knew about their favorite band or performer. But what if the book is about an album that was destined from its inception to be the underdog, the ugly duckling, or even better phrased – Quasimodo – in terms of both Iron Maiden’s opus and of heavy metal? An ominous, gloomy, depressive release on the outside, yet hiding a noble, aristocratic soul on the inside. If you don’t listen to it with an open heart and mind, ‘The X-Factor’ is everything the media and the “well informed” have told you it is. The truth, however, is something else: ‘The X-Factor’ is a classic Iron Maiden album and perhaps the breaking point of the entire genre of 90s heavy metal. It’s an album that gave heavy metal back its dark soul and saved it from the well-traveled paths of 90s mainstream glamour and dazzle. It is for this reason that I feel a responsibility to tell you the story of ‘The X-Factor’ in a way the album deserves for it to be told. The story even the band no longer tells, even though I’m not so old as to forget how staunchly they defended it then, as staunchly as I do now... In the most sensitive period of my growing up, that of my teenage years and the cruel war ravaging my country, Iron Maiden and their songs gave me strength and showed me that I must fight and win in spite of heavy loss. That is why I’m proud to conclude: this is not an official book, nor is it intended to act as such, it does not feature insider info, and neither is it trying to pile up all of the available Wiki articles and Maiden-related fan sites info. It was not written encyclopedically, factually, statistically, it’s not trying to create a timeline of all the shows, bootlegs, various album editions, awards, interviews and everything else. This book is a piece of my soul, a story of an album whose tour was the first time I attended an Iron Maiden concert, and as such became permanently engraved in my most wonderful memories. Even now, almost a quarter of a century later, it elicits from me feelings of only the utmost respect. To the fans by a fan AFTER THE WAR Ne želim biti taj koji će vam već u nekoliko knjiga pametovati o ratu koji je početkom devedesetih nametnut Hrvatskoj, jer svijet je velik i moje knjige čitaju se i u zemljama koje su trenutno zahvaćene strašnim ratovima, no odrastanje u svojim najboljim teenagerskim godinama u zemlji u koji je svaki odlazak u školu mogao biti ujedno i zadnji nije baš najidealnije odrastanje koje neko dijete može zamisliti. U trenucima kda je Bruce Dickinson otišao iz benda i kada se u njega došao Blaze, moj rodni grad Zadar, star preko 3000 godina svakodnevno su zasipale granate, a mi djeca (jer djeca su takva) neoprezni i s 'glavom u torbi' tražili smo gelere netom rasprslih granata koje su do prije nekoliko trenutaka pale pored naših domova, pronalazili smrtonosne zvončiće kazetnih bombi, učili raspoznavati letove dolazećih i odlazećih MIG-ova i 'Galebova' u brišućem letu, brojali sekunde od svjetala detonacije do njihovog zvuka, kako bi izračunali koliko blizu je pala granata i neke slične stvari koje sada niti ne mogu zamisliti, a koje smo radili, mahom nesvjesno, a mahom da potisnemo da je ono što nam se tad događalo zbilja i da nam se to uistinu događa. Da, nevini ljudi su umirali, djeca su stradala, provodili smo zime s mjesecima bez struje, a Novu 1993. godinu dočekali smo napadnuti točno u ponoć. Sa sirenama zračne, a kasnije opće uzbune, kada se slavlje pretvorilo u pokolj. Da, to se događalo u srcu Europe i da, to je ta ista Europa dopustila. No, svakodnevno granatiranje moga grada, kao i ostalih gradova i svakodnevno pogibanje nevinih ljudi (jer granatiralo se sustavno i namjerno pune tržnice s ljudima kada su ujutro odlazili kupiti namirnice, crkve, bolnice, škole, sportske dovrane i sl.), nije još bila najgora stvar; u unutrašnjosti i malim gradićima i selima, stradalo je na tisuće ljudi, mučena i pogubljena su cijela sela i manji gradovi, a neki koji su čudom preživjeli, prognani su, a kuće su im ili zapaljene do temelja ili su preotete.