Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson recalled being so terrified during the first Iron Maiden performance that he couldn’t even open his eyes.

However, he admitted that even the audition process for the band was uncomfortable enough.

“The first day when I went to do the tryout, for auditioning for them, it was in a rehearsal place,” Dickinson told RTBF (via Blabbermouth). “The old singer was still with them; they still had two more shows to do with him. So I thought, ‘Well, the atmosphere’s gonna be a little bit strange.’ ‘Cause, obviously, he didn’t know, but everybody else did know that he was gonna be fired. I wasn’t terribly comfortable with it.”

Read the full story on Ultimate Classic Rock.