Photo Credit: Maryleen Guevara
After touring around Europe for the last month Iron Maiden finally brought their long awaited Run For Your Lives tour to the UK. Starting in Birmingham the night before, the band has landed at the CO-OP Live in Manchester, the biggest arena in the country.
The tour is a treat for veteran Maiden fans just as much as for newer ones. The theme of the show is a celebration the iconic band’s 50th anniversary with a career spanning setlist. For the first timers in the crowd, all the biggest hits are here – Run To The Hills, The Trooper, Fear of the Dark – but there is also plenty of surprises for the hardcore fans. Opener Murders in the Rue Morgue is played for the first time since the Early Days tour in 2005 and the title track from 1981 album Killers is dusted off for the first time this century.
Visually, this is the most an Iron Maiden show has changed in at least twenty years. The traditional painted backdrops and physical props are retired in favour of modern video screens bringing their iconic artwork to life throughout the show. Throw in a new drummer, Simon Dawson, and this feels like a refreshed band to the one we saw two years ago. Fifty years in, Iron Maiden can still keep up with any live act in the scene. Whilst they might be closer to the end of their career than the start, on the evidence of this tour, Maiden are still at the top of their game.
