STEVE HARRIS’ BRITISH LION MAKE DEBUT EXETER LIVE APPEARANCE

LIVE REVIEW | BRITISH LION w/ Tony Moore, Stray | PHOENIX, EXETER | 7th December 2025 by Ollie Hayman

British Lion aren’t a household name in the rock scene – but they’re extremely well known for being Steve Harris‘ side project – who’s most known for being the bassist of the legendary Iron Maiden. Supported by founding member of said Iron Maiden – Tony Moore, and scene mainstays Stray – we got down to their debut Exeter show at the 600-cap Phoenix to document the show!

Tony Moore

Tony Moore might be one of the lesser known members of Iron Maiden, however, he is best known for being the keys player in Cutting Crew, famous for ‘(I Just) Died in Your Arms!’. After this, Moore went on to produce his own work. Hailing from Bristol and watching the likes of Pink Floyd, David Bowie and Alice Cooper, he wanted to be like them. Musically you can hear all his many different influences within his work, obviously with a hint of originality. Moore wrote a lot over *THAT* dreaded COVID era but has recently made it a reality and is making music. He’s been on tour with British Lion since 2024 and still has good relations with Steve Harris. A quick costume change before his finale of ‘Crazy in the Shed’ – which still has me humming to it to this day!

Stray

Stray have been a part of the scene for over 50 years now – showing how far back the headline act’s contacts go! Although they’ve been around for years, they seem relatively lesser known – which is surprising bearing in mind their style resonates with your heavy hitters in this era, such as your Black Sabbath’s, Judas Priest’s and obviously, Iron Maiden’s. If that sort of music clicks something in your brain, Stray are definitely a band to check out! Their song ‘1600 Pennsylvania Avenue’ was a song written about the Iraq War – but is also very with the times, being about how innocent lives are severely affected by wars, whether they want it to or not. Although their songs were very politically motivated for the time written, they seem to come full circle and be relevant even now in 2025. They might be a band from the 60s, but they have the energy of a band who started in the 2020s – showing age has nothing on these guys, proper showmen.

British Lion

Then came the main act – British Lion. A flurry of Iron Maiden shirts lined the walls of Exeter’s Phoenix – with Steve Harris coming out with his West Ham coloured bass strap and sweatbands to monmentous cheers likely heard across the entirety of the city. Formed in 2012 by Harris in order to experiment with different sounds to that of Iron Maiden and play the more intimate venues after their tours. Featuring a lot of familiar faces in the lineup such as guitarist Grahame Leslie (who the crowd sang happy birthday to as it was his birthday!) and dummer Simon Dawson – who has recently joined Maiden as their official touring drummer. British Lion don’t have a huge backlog of music – but they managed to do well and fill their 90 minute slot at the end of the night. Hits such as ‘Lightning’ and ‘The Burning’ come off their latest album of the same name – and others coming off of their debut and later self-titled album.