As The Future Past Tour concludes after 81 shows to over 1.4 million fans, from Ljubljana to the Coachella Valley and from Western Australia to Sao Paulo, Iron Maiden are delighted to announce that stepping in behind the kit for 2025 is a name familiar to many of our fans – Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and Steve’s rhythm section partner of the past 12 years with British Lion.
A native of Suffolk, England, Simon first teamed up with Steve Harris back in 2012. He debuted on three tracks on the first British Lion album and all of the second critically acclaimed ‘The Burning’, plus the many subsequent tours in the US, UK, Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and, most recently, both Mexico and South America.
Iron Maiden celebrate their 50th Anniversary next year with the Run For Your Lives Tour starting in Budapest on May 27th.
Statement from Nicko McBrain:
After much consideration, it is with both sorrow and joy, I announce my decision to take a step back from the grind of the extensive touring lifestyle. Today, Sat, Dec 7th, Sao Paulo will be my final gig with Iron Maiden. I wish the band much success moving forward.
I will, however, remain firmly part of the Iron Maiden family working on a variety of projects, my long time managers, Rod Smallwood and Andy Taylor, have in mind for me. I’ll also be working on a variety of different personal projects and focusing on my existing businesses and ventures, including The British Drum Company, Nicko McBrain’s Drum One, Titanium Tart, and of course, Rock-N-Roll Ribs!
What can I say? Touring with Maiden the last 42 years has been an incredible journey! To my devoted fan base, you made it all worthwhile and I love you! To my devoted wife, Rebecca, you made it infinitely easier and I love you! To my kids, Justin and Nicholas, thank you for understanding the absences and I love you! To my friends that are always there for me, I love you! To my bandmates, you made it a dream come true and I love you!
I look into the future with much excitement and great hope! I’ll be seeing you soon, may God bless you all, and, of course, “Up the Irons!”
Nicko
Statement from Rod Smallwood on behalf of Iron Maiden:
Nicko,
And we all love you too!!
Thank you for being an irrepressible force behind the drum kit for Maiden for 42 years and my friend for even longer. I speak on behalf of all the band when I say we will miss you immensely!
Ever since Rock in Rio in 1985 we have had a special relationship with Brazil so to bow out of touring in front of 90,000 fans here in Sao Paulo over 2 nights is poetic and you are deserving of all the accolades I am sure these marvellous fans will give you on this last show.
Phantom look forward to many more years of working with you on the projects you mentioned and I am sure we can find a few more special ones around the Maiden family and FC!
The band and I all have a thousand great memories of the past 42 years, great gigs, copious platinum and gold discs and awards, love from the fans and one beer too many on too many occasions! Such a bond is forever! And, as Steve Harris says, ‘Nicko is and will always be part of the Maiden family’.
Rod, Andy, Steve, Bruce, Davey, Adrian & Jan
P.S. Maiden always get their man and our already chosen new drummer will be announced very shortly.
Source: ironmaiden.com
Former IRON MAIDEN vocalist and solo artist Paul Di'Anno has died at 66 years old.
Di'Anno's death was reported on his Facebook page by Conquest Music.
Di'Anno fronted IRON MAIDEN between 1978 and 1981, and sang on both IRON MAIDEN's 1980 self-titled and 1981 record Killers. Di'Anno also fronted legendary metal band PRAYING MANTIS between 1989 and 1990, as well as BATTLEZONE for a handful of years between 1985 and 1998.
Di'Anno has had a lengthy solo career under his own name since 1997, and most recently released his cover of IRON MAIDEN's "Wrathchild". Di'Anno was also currently fronting WARHORSE, who just released their new album Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse this past July.
Di'Anno was a staple in metal history and will be missed. This story will be updated as details emerge.
Iron Maiden will start their Run For Your Lives World Tour on May 27th next year in Budapest followed by 27 stadium, festival & arena shows around Europe. The tour marks 50 years since Steve Harris formed the band in late 1975 and to celebrate this Maiden fans are promised a very special set list, spanning the nine studio albums from ‘Iron Maiden’ to ‘Fear Of The Dark’, with their most spectacular and elaborate show ever!
MAY 2025
27 Budapest, HUNGARY – Budapest Aréna *
31 Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC – Letnany Airport *
JUNE 2025
01 Bratislava, SLOVAKIA – TIPOS Arena *
05 Trondheim, NORWAY – Trondheim Rocks (Festival)
07 Stavanger, NORWAY – SR-Bank Arena *
09 Copenhagen, DENMARK – Royal Arena *
12 Stockholm, SWEDEN – 3Arena *
13 Stockholm, SWEDEN – 3Arena *
16 Helsinki, FINLAND – Olympic Stadium *
21 Birmingham, ENGLAND – Utilita Arena ^
22 Manchester, ENGLAND – Co-op Live ^
25 Dublin, IRELAND – Malahide Castle *^
28 London, ENGLAND – London Stadium *^
30 Glasgow, SCOTLAND – OVO Hydro ^
JULY 2025
03 Belfort, FRANCE – Eurockéennes Festival
05 Madrid, SPAIN – Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano **
06 Lisbon, PORTUGAL – MEO Arena **
09 Zurich, SWITZERLAND – Hallenstadion **
11 Gelsenkirchen, GERMANY – Veltins-Arena **
13 Padova, ITALY – Stadio Euganeo **
15 Bremen, GERMANY – Bürgerweide **
17 Vienna, AUSTRIA – Ernst Happel Stadium **
19 Paris, FRANCE – Paris La Défense Arena **
23 Arnhem, NETHERLANDS – GelreDome **
25 Frankfurt, GERMANY – Deutsche Bank Park **
26 Stuttgart, GERMANY – Cannstatter Wasen **
29 Berlin, GERMANY – Waldbühne **
AUGUST 2025
02 Warsaw – POLAND – PGE Narodowy **
*Halestorm | ^The Raven Age | **Avatar
Special Guests for the first half of the tour, including the London & Dublin outdoor shows but not the UK arenas, will be American rockers Halestorm. The second half of the tour sees Sweden’s Avatar as guests. And, finally, British metal band, The Raven Age, will open all UK & Ireland shows. The festivals will of course be festival billing.
Fan Club Presales begin Monday 23rd September – details here.
Tickets go on general sale next week – check the tour dates page for times and dates.
Trooper VIP packages will be available at all shows.
Says Bruce Dickinson, “Next year is a very special one for IRON MAIDEN and we’re going to be giving our fans a once-in-a-lifetime live experience. This is a tour that’s gonna put a smile on your face and a cheer in your throat. If you’ve seen us before, then get ready to take that experience to a whole new level. If you’ve never seen us before, then what the hell have you been waiting for? Now’s your chance to find out what you’ve been missing! IRON MAIDEN’s definitely gonna get ya!”
Manager Rod Smallwood adds, “50 years of Maiden and I have seen 46 of them! With well over 100 million albums sold and almost 2500 shows in 64 countries and counting, to countless millions of fans, we are all still loving every second and consider every tour a new challenge to bring something different and exciting to our fans. And for this very special one we’re pulling out all the stops!
We will cover classics and fan favourites from the first nine albums, from IRON MAIDEN to FEAR OF THE DARK, many of which we haven’t played in years and many we will likely never play again in the future. We have already been hard at work for months putting together an even more spectacular and elaborate new show which will bring the songs to life more than we have ever been able to do before. This is going to be a huge couple of years for IRON MAIDEN, and Eddie of course, and we are very excited about what we have up our sleeves for you fans throughout the whole of our 50th year. I promise you are all going to be very happy indeed!”
On Saturday June 28th the band will perform at the London Stadium, home of West Ham Football Club – the team that band founder Steve Harris has supported throughout his life, and with whom IRON MAIDEN have a long and storied history.
This concert in front of over 60,000 fans, will be the first time that IRON MAIDEN have performed on the club’s hallowed turf. A true homecoming show – with Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith & Nicko McBrain all born in the surrounding area – it will also be the biggest UK venue the band have ever headlined outside of their festival appearances.
Steve Harris says, “My love of football and my support of West Ham is no secret, and I know many of our fans around the world have shared that with me too. So we’re all very excited to be playing at the London Stadium as part of the RUN FOR YOUR LIVES tour. We can’t wait to see you all there!”
2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Iron Maiden's iconic 5th album, "Powerslave". It is considered by many fans to be the absolute peak of the band's golden era. With its atwork, sound and compositions, "Powerslave" and the subsequent live recording “Live After Death” set the benchmark for how a band's energy should sound on record and how it should be presented live.
The Bulgarian Iron Maiden fan club will honor the 40th anniversary with a special concert by the tribute band RAISING HELL. The event will be on March 23 (Saturday) in the Live & Loud club. We'll hear the"Powerslave" in its entirety - live, as well as other songs from the band's long discography.
The start of the event is at 21:00, and the entrance will cost BGN 15. For more information, follow the Facebook event.
LONDON December 1st: Bruce Dickinson last night unveiled the dramatic, action-packed video for ‘Afterglow Of Ragnarok’, the first single to be taken from his upcoming solo album The Mandrake Project. In front of a packed audience on the opening day of CCXP23, Brazil’s huge Comic-Con event in Sao Paulo, he premiered the spectacular film and revealed further details about the album and forthcoming comic series in partnership with Z2, including releasing 2,000 CCXP-exclusive versions of the comic to the delight of the international comic community.
The Mandrake Project will be released on March 1st, via BMG on Double Vinyl, Deluxe CD, Digisleeve CD & Digital formats. Across ten inventive, expansive and absorbing tracks, Bruce Dickinson and his long-term co-writer and producer Roy Z, have created one of 2024’s defining rock albums. Sonically heavy and rich in musical textures, it sees Bruce bring to life a musical vision long-in-the-making, and features some of the finest vocal performances of his career.
Recorded largely at LA’s Doom Room with Roy Z doubling up as both guitarist and bassist, the line-up for The Mandrake Project was rounded out by keyboard maestro Mistheria and drummer Dave Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce’s last solo studio album, Tyranny Of Souls, in 2005.
The Mandrake Project - Tracklisting
1. Afterglow Of Ragnarok (5:45)
2. Many Doors To Hell (4:48)
3. Rain On The Graves (5:05)
4. Resurrection Men (6:24)
5. Fingers In The Wounds (3:39)
6. Eternity Has Failed (6:59)
7. Mistress Of Mercy (5:08)
8. Face In The Mirror (4:08)
9. Shadow Of The Gods (7:02)
10. Sonata (Immortal Beloved) (9:51)
Fans of both Bruce Dickinson and Iron Maiden will notice that the album features the curiously-named ‘Eternity Has Failed’, which first appeared in a different form entitled ‘If Eternity Should Fail’ on Iron Maiden’s 2015’s album The Book of Souls, illustrating how long the creative process for The Mandrake Project has been in the works.
Bruce has previously described lead single, ‘Afterglow Of Ragnarok’ as, “a heavy song and there’s a great big riff driving it…but there’s also a real melody in the chorus that displays the light and shade that the rest of the album brings.” And the track is brought vividly to life in the cinematic video which premiered last night.
Directed by award-winning director Ryan Mackfall, written by Bruce Dickinson and acclaimed British writer Tony Lee (whose lengthy credits include 2000AD, DC and Marvel ranging from Dr Who & Star Trek to Spider Man & X-Men), the film unveils Dr Necropolis, the main protagonist at the heart of The Mandrake Project. It also sets the scene for the story to come, reflecting the dark narrative contained in the 8-page comic book prequel which features in the 7” gatefold vinyl release of the single.
Ryan Mackfall comments, “Many years before I was a director, I have fond memories of various music videos that spoke to me and one of those was ‘Can I Play With Madness’ by Iron Maiden. For me it defined what a music video is. Little did I know, many years later I’d be on a call with one of the stars of that video, Mr Bruce Dickinson, discussing ideas for a music video. Bruce has felt like a kindred spirit from that moment and it was therefore only right that we attempted to bring the story of ‘Afterglow Of Ragnarok’ to life in a live action form. Naturally the music is a big part of the engine of the music video and this track was a heavy hitter from the first play. But beyond that I firmly believe it’s also the passion of the artist that defines the results - Bruce’s passion is unmatched. I really hope the fans find themselves taking Necropolis’ journey with the mandrake juice time and time again. This is just the start of something very special!”
The Mandrake Project is not just an album, but a dark, adult story of power, abuse and a struggle for identity, set against the backdrop of scientific and occult genius. Created by Bruce Dickinson, the comic series is scripted by Tony Lee and stunningly illustrated by Staz Johnson for Z2 Comics, released as 12 quarterly issues that will be collected into three annual graphic novels. The first episode will be released in comic shops on January 17th, 2024.
Bruce Dickinson and his phenomenal band will bring the music of The Mandrake Project to life with a major headline tour next spring and summer - full dates here.
The acoustic tribute project Maiden United will play for the first time in Bulgaria on April 14th. A special guest for the show will be the original guitarist of Iron Maiden – Dennis Stratton.
Maiden United is a project of Joey Bruers who wanted to do a special tribute show for The Dutch Iron Maiden fan club; something other than the regular tribute or cover band. With musicians from several bands he performed a set of rearranged acoustic Maiden songs. The reactions from the crowd were overwhelming.
The idea that became a show then became a project. A project to bring all kinds of musicians and fans from all over the world together to celebrate the music. With 5 studio albums and live shows through Europe this project presents classic Iron Maiden songs in a re-imagined form. Acoustic re-arrangements that transform the songs into something that Iron Maiden fans would have never imagined hearing. Over the years some 40 musicians have joined us on stage or in the studio.
During the 1980 shows the band will play all songs from the legendary first Iron Maiden album (1980) in special acoustic rearrangements featuring Dennis Stratton (Iron Maiden Guitarist 1980) on guitar. Of course some more tracks of the previous Maiden uniteD albums will be played live. Dennis will play along with some other tracks as well like 'The Trooper' and 'Wasted Years'
The band is extremely exited for theirs first ever show in Bulgaria. Th concert will be on April 14th at Live & Loud Club (Sofia, 8 Pozitano str.)
100 tickets are available in the EsayPay ticket network and online on epaygo.bg https://epaygo.bg/1569285834
On the day of the event tickets will be sold at the door on a price that will be announced further.
More information will be announced soon in the facebook event and the club’s facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/1023193985595866
Maiden united are:
Vocals: Marios Karanastasis
Guitar: Dennis Stratton
Guitar: Jim Katsaros
Bass: Joey Bruers
Piano: Johnny Thermos
Drums: Renos Lialioutis
Maiden uniteD discography:
Studio albums:
Mind the Acoustic Pieces (2010) | Across the Seventh Sea (2012) | Remembrance (2015) | The Barrel House Tapes (2019) | 1980 (2022)
Live albums:
Sailors of the Sky - Live in Europe (2021)
EPs:
Empire of the Clouds (2018) | DCLXVI (2022) | The Black Sea (2022) | The Atlantic Ocean (2023)
Singles:
The Trooper (2010) | Strange World (2015) | The Duellists (2020) | Transylvania (2023)
Running Free:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ_qwJ9_q-w
Maiden uniteD - Children of the Damned - Live (acoustic Iron Maiden tribute project):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj230yVaEAc
Maiden uniteD - Alexander The Great:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JaIuSjrAxQ
Strange World (official audio) - Maiden united:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG-I4LYGe3w
Maiden uniteD The Number Of The Beast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a145IkumFyU
Links:
http://www.maidenunited.com
https://www.facebook.com/MaidenuniteD
https://www.instagram.com/maidenunited
Back… with the Future! Iron Maiden will return to the USA, Canada & Chile with The Future Past Tour in 2024.
The dates are as follows:
October 2024
04 North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA, USA
05 Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA
08 Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
12 Aftershock Festival, Sacramento, CA, USA (on sale now)
14 MODA Center, Portland, OR, USA
16 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA, USA
18 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
19 Ball Arena, Denver, CO, USA
22 Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, MN, USA
24 Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL, USA
26 Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON, CANADA
27 Videotron Centre, Quebec, QC, CANADA
30 Centre Bell, Montreal, QC, CANADA
November 2024
01 Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
02 Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
06 DCU Center, Worcester, MA, USA
08 PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
09 Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, USA
12 CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, MD, USA
13 Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC, USA
16 Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX, USA
17 Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX, USA
27 Estadio Nacional, Santiago, CHILE
Iron Maiden Fan Club presales – check the presale page for more info
Chile – Monday 30th October | USA & Canada – Tuesday 31st October
Tickets go on sale (Local times)
Chile – Thursday 2nd November at 12pm
USA & Canada – Friday 3rd November at 10am
Trooper VIP will be available for most shows in the USA & Canada.
Steve Harris says, “We’re really excited to be continuing THE FUTURE PAST TOUR next year. We know from the reaction of our fans at Power Trip and the shows we played in Canada recently that they really enjoyed hearing new songs from both Senjutsu and Somewhere In Time, and we’ve really enjoyed playing them. So it’s going to be a great experience for us to visit many other cities and bring this new show to those fans who’ve waited patiently to see it. See you all in 2024!”
Rod Smallwood comments, “THE FUTURE PAST TOUR is one of the most exciting tours we’ve ever done and to be performing both brand new material and songs that haven’t been played for many years with a mix of fan favourites has been a great experience for both the fans and the band. The energy has been incredible and we can’t wait to continue bringing this amazing and innovative show to fans around the world next year.”
Further dates for 2024 will be announced in due course
Source: ironmaiden.com
IRON MAIDEN will continue The Future Past tour into 2024, and here are the first dates to be announced:
1st September - RAC Arena, Perth, Australia *
4th September - Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia *
6th September - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia *
10th September - Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia *
12th September - Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia *
16th September - Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand *
22nd September - Sky Hall Toyota, Aichi, Japan
24th September - Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka, Japan
26th September - Tokyo Garden Theater, Tokyo, Japan
28th September - Pia Arena MM, Kanagawa, Japan
* Killswitch Engage will be Special Guests in Australia & New Zealand.
Steve Harris says: “We’ve really enjoyed playing all the shows on The Future Past Tour this year, and the reaction from our fans has been incredible. Being able to play some of these songs for the very first time has made the tour even more memorable and we can’t wait to continue it next year. We’re all really excited to finally be able to return to Australia, New Zealand and Japan as we know our fans have waited so patiently for us over the past few years. It’s going to be great to get back there, especially with this new show. We promise you all, it’ll be worth the wait!”
Rod Smallwood comments: “All our best-laid plans to bring the Legacy Of The Beast Tour to Australia, New Zealand and Japan were derailed by the shut-down of the live music industry during Covid but we assured everyone at the time that we would come back and, as our fans know, we always keep to our promises. So, as you would imagine, we’re very much looking forward to bringing this amazing new show to you all and giving our loyal fans the best Maiden show we can. You can be assured it’s worth the wait. See you all in 2024!”
IMFC presales (Local times)
Australia & New Zealand - Wednesday 18th October
Japan - Friday 20th October
General onsale (Local times)
Australia & New Zealand - Tuesday 24th October at 11am
Japan - Saturday 9th December at 10am
Trooper VIP will be available for shows in both Australia & New Zealand.
Further dates for 2024 will be announced in due course.
The Bulgarian fan club of Iron Maiden and Live & Loud invite you to a tribute evening dedicated to IRON MAIDEN. After several great tribute gigs celebrating the anniversaries of the albums "The Number Of The Beast", "Piece of Mind", and the fan club itself, it's time for RAISING HELL to return to the stage of club Live & Loud for another great show. The guys have once again prepared an over two-hour setlist, the highlight of which will be the twentieth anniversary of the release of "Dance Of Death" (2003). We will also hear very rarely live performed songs from the 80s and 90s.
The date is october 21st. The start of the event is at 21:00, and the entrance will cost BGN 15.
Link to the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1634056467118446 
Renowned around the world as one of the greatest and most distinctive heavy metal vocalists of all time, Bruce Dickinson will be releasing a brand new solo album in early 2024 on BMG Records. Entitled The Mandrake Project it sees him reunited with long-time musical collaborator and producer Roy Z.
The Mandrake Project will be Dickinson’s seventh solo album and his first since Tyranny Of Souls in 2005.
Dickinson explains, “This album has been a very personal journey for me and I am extremely proud of it. Roy Z and I have been planning, writing and recording it for years, and I am very excited for people to finally hear it. I’m even more excited at the prospect of getting out on the road with this amazing band that we have put together, to be able to bring it to life. We’re planning to play as many shows as we can in as many places as possible, for as many people as we can!
“As for what The Mandrake Project actually is… all will be revealed soon!”
The first live shows to be announced are in Mexico and Brazil in April and May 2024, with further touring plans to be revealed in due course.
Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project Tour
18 April - Diana Theater, Guadalajara, Mexico
20 April – Pepsi Theatre, Mexico City, Mexico
24 April – Live Curitiba, Curitiba, Brazil
25 April – Pepsi On Stage, Porto Alegre, Brazil
27 April – Opera Hall, Brasilia, Brazil
28 April – Arena Hall, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
30 April – Qualistage, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
2 May – Quinta Linda, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil
4 May – Vibra, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Tickets for Brazil go onsale September 25, and for Mexico on September 28.
For ticketing links, or to join the mailing list for updates, visit www.themandrakeproject.com
British Lion return to the UK for a 16-date winter tour to kick off the new year, starting on January 4th at London’s famed Cart & Horses venue in Stratford, where Steve played his very first gigs. Tony Moore's Awake (one man show) will be their very special guest on the tour.
They will also be performing on the 2024 Monsters Of Rock Cruise, which sets sail from Miami on March 2nd for six nights.
Harris comments, “We’re all excited to announce an extensive tour of the UK in January, kicking off with a special warm up show at the Cart and Horses in London. Tony Moore's Awake (one man show) will be our very special guest for the tour. Tony was, of course, in Iron Maiden back in 1977 so it is great to have him on the bill. 2024 will also see us make our third appearance on The Monsters Of Rock Cruise in March. We can't wait to see you all out on the road!”
Tickets for the tour are on sale now and can be purchased here.
The full list of dates are as follows:
Jan 04 – London, Cart & Horses
Jan 05 – Milton Keynes, Craufurd Arms
Jan 06 – Bradford, Nightrain
Jan 07 – Liverpool, Furnace
Jan 09 – Aberdeen, Lemon Tree
Jan 10 – Edinburgh, Liquid Rooms
Jan 12 – Carlisle, Brickyard
Jan 13 – Colchester, Arts Centre
Jan 14 – Margate, Ballroom
Jan 16 – Merthyr Tydfil, Redhouse Cymru
Jan 17 – Frome, Cheese & Grain
Jan 18 – Bournemouth, Old Fire Station
Jan 20 – Isle Of Wight, Strings Bar & Venue
Jan 21 – Gravesend, Leo’s Red Lion
Jan 22 – Southend, Chinnerys
Jan 23 – Hastings, Black Box
Mar 02-07 - Monsters of Rock Cruise 2024
Hello Boys and Girls,
I hope this message finds you all well!
The reason I'm writing to you all today is to let you know of a very serious health problem that I have been through. In January I had a stroke, thank the Lord it was a minor one referred to as a TIA. It left me paralyzed on my right side from my shoulder on down, of course I was very worried that my career was over but with the love and support from my wife, Rebecca and family, my doctors, especially Julie my OT (Occupational Therapist), and my Maiden family I was able to bounce back to somewhere near 70% recovered. After 10 weeks of intense therapy it was almost time to start rehearsals for our tour. I feel it's important to let you know about this now instead of earlier as I was mainly concerned with doing my job and concentrating on getting back to 100% fitness. I'm not there yet but by the grace of God I'm getting better and stronger as the weeks go by.
Thank you all for a most wonderful and magical tour so far, you have all been so amazing.
Well that's it from me. God bless you all, stay safe and well and I look forward to seeing you all somewhere in time. :-) :-)
Nicko
Manager Rod Smallwood adds -“The rest of the band and l think that what Nicko has been able to achieve since his stroke shows incredible belief and willpower and we are all very proud of him. With this new and musically very complex set to learn ahead of him, he just got his head down and concentrated on recovery. We honestly did not know if he would be able to play a whole show until band rehearsals started in May and there was just so much support for him from the band and then genuine relief for all when we saw he was going to be able to do it!”
"Nicko being Nicko he did not want to make a fuss and cause any distraction to the tour at the time but, now that he is sure he will soon get there, he thought you fans should know straight from him rather than by any rumours!"
"We are all of course delighted he battled through this so well and look forward to many more tours together starting with the three Western Canada shows and Power Trip in California coming up in a couple of months time. We can’t wait! This tour is that good!”
Last night Iron Maiden had started their Future past tour in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
We have no words and will leave you with the following video, pictures and setlist
See you somewhere…. We are on our way to Prague.
Setlist:
Intro: Blade Runer Theme
01. Cought Somewhere In Time
02. Stranger In A strange Land
03. Writing n The Wall
04. Days Of Furure Past
05. Time Machine
06. The Prisoner
07. Death Of The Celts
08. Can I Play With Madness
09. Heaven Can WaIt
10. Alexander The Great
11. Fear Of The Dark
12. Iron Maiden
Encore:
13. Hell On Earth
14. The Trooper
15. Wasted Years
Photos: John McMurtrie
Source: Facebook
It's been more than 3 months since our Facebook page with 6.5k Followers was taken down without any reason or warning. It's still sitting somewhere there with the Facebook admins in "In Review" mode. All attempts to get it back or to find out why it was removed have been unsuccessful. We decided to start over and move forward!
You can now find our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/maiden.bulgaria
We will keep you busy with cool stuff around the band and as always we thank you for your support.
By the way, we are already on Instagram. Follow us there too!! (https://www.instagram.com/fc.iron.maiden.bulgaria/)
Trooper Beer, the hugely successful and award-winning beer produced in collaboration between British music icons Iron Maiden and Stockport-based Robinsons Brewery, celebrates its 10th birthday this year on Tuesday 9th May, 2023.
To celebrate the milestone, and the achievement of over 35 million pints sold worldwide, a brand new 10% ABV Trooper X Imperial Stout has been created by Bruce Dickinson and the Robinsons team. Each 660ml bottle of Trooper X comes in a presentation box and will be available to order online from IronMaiden.com and Drinks Aisle from 9th May.
The new brew has again been created by Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce, alongside Robinsons’ Head Brewer Martyn Weeks.
Martyn said: “Trooper X is packed full of roasted malt flavours which perfectly balance the complex and delicious aromas. This is the ultimate super smooth sharing beer which, if you can resist drinking straight away, will mature in the bottle and get even better with age. “
In further celebrations, the original Trooper Beer, which kickstarted Iron Maiden’s foray into the brewing world ten years ago, will feature a special anniversary label to mark the occasion.
Launched in 2013, the 4.7% ABV Premium Ale has proved a runaway success around the world and is now firmly established as one of the leading British ales globally, being exported to 68 countries worldwide.
Trooper was recently awarded a further Gold Medal by the British Bottlers’ Institute, adding to awards at the World Beer Awards, Global Beer Masters and International Beer Challenge, making a total of 18 awards for Trooper Original to date and 23 across the Trooper family of beers.
Along with the core beers – Trooper Original and Trooper IPA – the Trooper family includes a range of seasonal and limited edition beers that have joined the charge over the last ten years, including popular brews such as Fear of The Dark stout, Sun And Steel sake-infused pilsner, Red N’ Black porter, Trooper 666 ESB, Hallowed Belgian-style beer, as well as annual Day Of The Dead special edition versions. Trooper X Imperial Stout joins this growing stable.
Bruce Dickinson has also taken the Trooper brand worldwide, identifying like-minded brewers overseas who can bring unique local versions of Trooper to the legions of Iron Maiden fans and Trooper drinkers around the world. Iron Maiden have partnered with Brewdog in the US to produce Hellcat, an IPL; Nils Oscar in Sweden to produce a local Trooper as well as Running Free, the first zero alcohol Trooper; Crew Republic in Germany with Trooper Progressive Lager; Bodebrown in Brazil with a local Trooper and Aces High lager; and Nomad in Australia to produce Trooper XPL.
Bruce Dickinson says: “I’m immensely proud that Trooper has reached this milestone. To get to 10 years is a brilliant achievement, and I’m having a great time working with Robinsons and our partners around the world coming up with some fantastic beers! Thanks to our fans, Trooper has become a permanent feature with beer lovers around the world, and it’s still growing.
“We are delighted to add ‘Trooper X’ to the roster and there’ll be more beers to come as our Trooper family continues to expand and provide new beers and choices to our fans everywhere.”
Oliver Robinson, Managing Director of Robinsons said: “Our collaboration with Iron Maiden and TROOPER continues to go from strength to strength each year. When we started brewing with Bruce in 2013, I don’t think any of us could have anticipated the success of TROOPER. Fast-forward 10 years and with over 8 limited edition beers, 35 million pints sold worldwide, and drinkers enjoying TROOPER in over 68 countries worldwide we’re incredibly proud to have TROOPER as part of the Robinsons family.”
The legendary game Monopoly will be available in I IRON MAIDEN version. Details below:
Celebrate nearly 50 years of heavy metal history with the ultimate game for Iron Maiden fans! Iron Maiden Monopoly lets players relive the prolific English metal band's worldwide live performances as they buy, sell, and trade the most memorable performances over the decades, such as Legacy of the Beast Tour, Somewhere Back in Time Tour, and more! Give the band's equipment a go and take custom tokens like Flying Helmet or Steve's bass around the board to set up Arenas and Stadiums. Open the Box and Feeling Lucky? Cards will test your dedication on the road for the most Eddie Bucks in the end to win! Ages 8 and up. For 2 to 6 players.
The Iron Maiden Monopoly game includes:
- 1x Game Board
- 6x Collectible Tokens
- Dead Albatros
- Guitar Amp
- Pilots Helmet
- Nicko’s Drum Kit
- Wasted Years Computer
- Steve Harris Bass Guitar
- 28x Title Deed Cards
- 16x Feeling Lucky Cards
- 16x Open the Box Cards
- Money
- 32x Houses renamed Arenas
- 12x Hotels renamed Stadiums
- 2x Dice
- Rules
Presale links will follow soon..
It is the year when we celebrate 40 years of Piece of Mind. Let’s do it properly with this limited fan club shirt. The shirts will be available at the Tribute concert on April 8th at Club Live & Loud. After the event if there are any shirts left, they will be available on the website for grabs.
Blaze Bayley's managment had posted the following message:
We sincerely regret to announce that Blaze had a heart attack at home yesterday evening & is now in hospital in a stable condition, awaiting news of further surgery/treatment. He is in good spirits in the circumstances but utterly disappointed to have to postpone our imminent shows due in March & April. Ticket refunds will be available at source but we truly hope you will keep your tickets & make it to the new dates which we will be announcing as soon as they are scheduled.
Regarding shows already booked for June-November this year, we understandably have to wait a short while to see how quick Blaze’s recovery will be, so please stay tuned & meanwhile most importantly we're sure you will join us in wishing him a complete & speedy recovery.
Blaze misses you, cannot wait to regain full health & see you all again.
Every Storm Ends… ‘your heart will heal’
Thank you so much everyone for your understanding & support.
Everyoune at Fan Club Iron Maiden Bulgaria wishes Blaze a speed recovery
May 16 th marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Iron Maiden's iconic 4th album, Piece Of Mind. The songs for which were composed and recorded only a few months after the release of "The Number Of The Beast".
“We felt like we were on a high, and you can hear that mood on the album. Most of all though, it was just the songs. Between us, I thought we’d really come up with the goods this time.”
- Steve Harris
Piece of Mind also marks the debut for Nicko McBrain with the band and what would become the iconic Iron Maiden line-up.
The Bulgarian Iron Maiden fan club will honor the 40th anniversary with a special concert by the tribute band RAISING HELL. The event will be on April 8 (Saturday) in the capital's Live & Loud club. The boys from RAISING HELL have prepared over a two-hour “best of” set, including the entire "Piece Of Mind" album . The start of the event is at 21:00, and the entrance will cost BGN 10.
For more information see the official Facebook Event: 40 YEARS OF BRAIN DAMAGE with RAISING HELL | Facebook
