![]() Released in 2009, that stunning document of life on the road (and in the air) hit the No.1 slot in the music DVD charts in 25 countries, the same year the band picked up their first ever Brit Award for Best British Live Act. 3 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT BAND TVEd Force One made TV news headlines around the world and the coverage of that tour was subsequently turned into an award-winning film and DVD Flight 666. This brave new Maiden era reached an astonishing zenith during the band’s Somewhere Back In Time Tour that began in February 2008 and initially took the band 50,000 miles around the world in 45 days, flying in their own specially chartered Boeing 757, Ed Force One, piloted by Bruce Dickinson, a qualified airline captain, traversing the planet, from India to Costa Rica, Australia to Argentina, Sao Paulo to Tokyo. With each successive tour, whether revisiting classic songs from their first few albums or refusing to succumb to a nostalgia by playing A Matter Of Life And Death in its entirety, Maiden have accrued countless new young admirers by never being predictable while remaining predictably brilliant. With both 2003’s diverse and ingenious Dance Of Death album and its dark and daring follow-up, 2006’s A Matter Of Life And Death, they dazzled fans and critics alike. However, it was the return of Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith (who originally left the band in 1990) in 1999 when Iron Maiden became a six-piece, that established the ultimate Iron Maiden line-up of Bruce Dickinson on vocals, Steve Harris on bass, Nicko McBrain on drums and “the three amigos” – Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers - on guitar, heralding a new golden age with the release of Brave New World album in 2000. The band made two strong albums with new singer Blaze Bayley and continued to honour their commitment to intensive touring. The ‘90s proved to be a difficult time for heavy metal bands in general, but Iron Maiden ploughed forward, notching up yet more success with albums like 1992’s acclaimed Fear Of The Dark and even weathering the departure of Bruce Dickinson in 1993. From groundbreaking performances in Poland behind the Iron Curtain in 1984 at the height of the Cold War, around South America in 1991, through the Middle East and India in 2007, and Indonesia in 2011 among many others, Iron Maiden’s relentless forward momentum has left an indelible impression on the globe. But it’s really Iron Maiden’s iron-clad resolve to always push the boundaries that gives their career such astonishing distinction. While celebrity culture and the next big thing occupied the airwaves, Iron Maiden were embarking on the marathon 192-date 1984/5 World Slavery tour, playing at Rock In Rio in 1985, and mounting a command performance at the biggest-ever Monsters Of Rock festival at Donington in 1988 with 107,000 fans in attendance. What makes these qualities even more notable is that they developed almost entirely without the acknowledgement of mainstream media. That marvellous decade would also yield seven new studio albums, one live album, seven World Tours, as well as the creation of Eddie - one of the most iconic and recognisable figureheads of our age and the calling card of the most impassioned fan-bases anywhere. It would kick off a decade of classic releases and dogged touring that would come to epitomise the unrelenting, uncompromising, unswerving commitment they are now so well known for. ![]() A story of gritty determination and courageous defiance of the naysayers, theirs has been an adventure like no other.įounded by bassist Steve Harris in the mid ‘70s, Iron Maiden were already firmly established as heavy metal’s brightest hopes when they stormed the world with their third album (and first with vocalist Bruce Dickinson) The Number Of The Beast in 1982. Over the course of 46 years they have come to embody a spirit of fearless creative independence, ferocious dedication to their fans, and a cheerful indifference to their critics that’s won them a following that spans every culture, generation, and time-zone. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |