British Lion at Blackbox, Hastings - Tuesday 23rd January 2024

British Lion are an English hard rock band formed by Steve Harris, best known as the bassist for Iron Maiden.

Steve Harris formed the band to play in small venues, as opposed to the large arenas typically played by Iron Maiden,and as an outlet for shorterhard rock-oriented songsin which he can experiment with different bass guitar styles.The band also includes singer Richard Taylor, guitarists David Hawkins and Grahame Leslie, and drummer Simon Dawson.

Harris had first met Leslie in the early 1990s after Leslie sent him a demo tape, and Harris mentored the careers of Leslie and Taylor for several years until deciding to include them in the British Lion project.The band's tours are typically scheduled after the conclusion of Iron Maiden tours, when Harris becomes interested in playing in clubs and theaters as he did in Iron Maiden's early years.

The albumBritish Lion, released in 2012, was marketed as a solo album by Harris with the other musicians described as his backing band. The project was then re-positioned as a self-contained band with most songs written by Harris, Taylor, and Hawkins.Their second albumThe Burningwas released in January 2020.The album was voted Album of the Year byPaul StenningforBraveWords.