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For nearly half a century, Iron Maiden have been singing about how they’re gonna getcha, regardless of how far. Tonight, their followers have saved them the difficulty of looking. 75,000 have descended upon London Stadium, grounds of bassist Steve Harris’ beloved West Ham and a stone’s throw from the place he fashioned his heavy steel titans, to witness a homecoming for the ages.
’Arry and the boys have returned as a part of their Fiftieth-anniversary Run For Your Lives tour, which is seeing them pull out materials from their first 9 albums, 1980’s Iron Maiden to 1992’s Worry Of The Darkish. As nostalgic as which means this night’s setlist will likely be, it will likely be carried out by a band refreshed. Simon Dawson joins them behind the package, filling in for longtime drummer Nicko McBrain after his retirement from the stage final yr, and the slideshow of large posters they used to haul alongside has been changed with a high-tech video backdrop.
It takes some time for Maiden to understand the total, larger-than-life potential of their new manufacturing. With opener Murders In The Rue Morgue, they start a trilogy of cuts from second album Killers, throwing again to their East London, punk-flecked roots. Late frontman Paul Di’Anno’s lyrics, relayed by way of the air raid siren that’s present singer Bruce Dickinson, are streetwise and semi-autobiographical: a far cry from the fantasy the band would totally embrace as soon as Dickinson got here aboard in 1981.
It’s with Phantom Of The Opera that proceedings hit their theatrical stride. Dickinson is jokingly exhausted as he acknowledges the “50 bloody years” on him and his colleagues’ mileometer. Then, the ‘curtain’ on the backdrop behind them peels away to disclose photos of a ghostly theatre stairwell. For all his banter about getting older, Dickinson powers by every little thing with a grace and quantity that belie his age, though a hyper-passionate crowd retains up with him throughout megahits The Quantity Of The Beast, Run To The Hills and Worry Of The Darkish.
In addition to time-defying vocal cords, the singer has packed his most sturdy wardrobe thus far. In fact, he sports activities the traditional Crimean Struggle uniform for The Trooper, plus that masks he purchased at a intercourse store for Powerslave (google it), however Hallowed Be Thy Title finds him aptly locked in a cage as he sings from the angle of a prisoner en path to the gallows. The backdrop takes over after he disappears side-stage, depicting a digital Dickinson being chased to his demise by a shadowy ghoul.
As for Dawson – with no disrespect to McBrain, who powered by Maiden’s earlier tour after struggling a mini-stroke in 2023 – his presence re-energises everybody else. The extra direct assaults in Maiden’s repertoire land with a drive unfelt in a while, particularly The Clairvoyant and the anthemic 2 Minutes To Midnight. The principle set ends with a thrashed-up tackle the band’s namesake observe, throughout which an avatar of Eddie The Head dominates the display screen and ‘pulls the plug’ to ship sparks flying.
Issues energy again up for an encore, and finale Wasted Years lets Dickinson disperse London in excessive spirits. “Realise you’re dwelling in your golden years!” the lyrics command, earlier than the singer makes it clear that he’s doing simply that, grinning whereas calling tonight’s viewers his “finest mates”. After returning to Maiden’s birthplace for a mammoth present and enjoying in magnificent kind, it’s simple to know why he’s so bloody pleased.
Iron Maiden setlist: London Stadium – June 28, 2025
Murders In The Rue Morgue
Wrathchild
Killers
Phantom Of The Opera
The Quantity Of The Beast
The Clairvoyant
Powerslave
2 Minutes To Midnight
Rime Of The Historic Mariner
Run To The Hills
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
The Trooper
Hallowed Be Thy Title
Iron Maiden
Encore:
Aces Excessive
Worry Of The Darkish
Wasted Years