On Saturday, June 28, British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN performed at the London Stadium, home of West Ham Football Club — the team that MAIDEN founder and bassist Steve Harris has supported throughout his life, and with whom IRON MAIDEN has a long and storied history.
This concert in front of an estimated 70,000-75,000 fans was the first time that IRON MAIDEN had performed on the club’s hallowed turf. A true homecoming show — with Harris, MAIDEN guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith and retired MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain all born in the surrounding area — it was also the biggest U.K. venue the band had ever headlined outside of its festival appearances.
The London show, which was part of the “Run For Your Lives” tour celebrating 50 years since MAIDEN‘s formation, marked the band’s 15th live appearance with new drummer Simon Dawson, who replaced McBrain last December.
When the London Stadium concert was first announced last September, Harris said in a statement: “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!”
MAIDEN‘s setlist for the London show was as follows:
01. Murders In The Rue Morgue
02. Wrathchild
03. Killers
04. Phantom Of The Opera
05. The Number Of The Beast
06. The Clairvoyant
07. Powerslave
08. 2 Minutes To Midnight
09. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
10. Run To The Hills
11. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
12. The Trooper
13. Hallowed Be Thy Name
14. Iron Maiden
Encore:
15. Aces High
16. Fear Of The Dark
17. Wasted Years
The London concert will be followed by 17 further stadium, festival and arena shows around Europe. With over a million tickets already sold, and most shows sold out, fans are advised that additional tickets will be made available closer to the show — and on the day — with the release of venue and production holds.
Last month, MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood took to the band’s web site to share a post titled “Put away your phones and get ready to Run For Your Lives!” in which he urged fans to experience the shows “in the moment” rather than on smaller screens at a later date.
“We really want fans to enjoy the shows first hand, rather than on their small screens,” Smallwood wrote. “The amount of phone use nowadays diminishes enjoyment, particularly for the band who are on stage looking out at rows of phones, but also for other concertgoers.
“We feel that the passion and involvement of our fans at shows really makes them special, but the phone obsession has now got so out of hand that it has become unnecessarily distracting especially to the band. I hope fans understand this and will be sensible in severely limiting the use of their phone cameras out of respect for the band and their fellow fans.”
“Run For Your Lives” world tour is one part of IRON MAIDEN‘s 50th-anniversary celebrations and will feature many fan “meet-up” events in the cities the band is playing. As was debuted successfully in Australia on the last tour, these will include Eddie‘s official pop-up dive bar which will be open for pre-show and post-show gatherings in 20 cities on the tour. They will be serving Trooper beer and Darkest Red wine, with food, exclusive merch and further entertainment. Details are available on ironmaiden.com. But please note the band will not be at these events. Additionally, there is both a feature-length documentary film coming to cinemas worldwide later this year, via Universal Pictures Content Group, and an official hardback book providing a magnificent visual celebration of 50 years of IRON MAIDEN, being published by Thames & Hudson.
Dawson previously played with MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris as a member of his BRITISH LION project.
McBrain played his last-ever gig with MAIDEN six months ago in São Paulo, Brazil.
The 73-year-old British musician, whose real name is Michael Henry McBrain, announced his retirement on December 7, 2024 in a statement on MAIDEN‘s web site and social media. He also said that night’s concert at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil would mark his final show with the iconic heavy metal act.
Despite the fact that he was stepping away from touring, McBrain said that he would remain closely connected to IRON MAIDEN and continue to be involved in “a variety of projects” with the band, while also focusing on personal ventures and his existing businesses.
On December 8, 2024, IRON MAIDEN announced Dawson as its new touring drummer.
