Somewhere Back in Time World Tour
 |
| Tour by Iron Maiden | |
| Start date | February 01 2008 |
|---|---|
| End date | August 19 2008 |
| No. of shows | 69 |
| Iron Maiden concert chronology | |
Somewhere Back in Time World Tour was a concert tour by Iron Maiden in 2008 to support the DVD release of their 1985 concert video Live After Death, as well as their 2008 greatest hits compilation CD Somewhere Back In Time - The Best Of: 1980-1989. Being a re-creation of the band's 1985 World Slavery Tour, the stage is designed with an Ancient Egyptian theme and the set list primarily consists of songs from the 1984 album Powerslave. Songs from Iron Maiden (1980), The Number of the Beast (1982), Piece of Mind (1983), Somewhere in Time (1986) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) Fear of the Dark (1992) also comprise the set list.
Tour commentary
The first leg of Iron Maiden's Somewhere Back in Time World Tour opened in Mumbai, India on Feb 1st, and will continue through Australia, Japan, Los Angeles and Mexico, followed by the band's first ever concerts in Costa Rica and Colombia, and then on to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Puerto Rico and New York, before finishing in Toronto, Canada, on March 16th. Over the 55 day period it is anticipated that Maiden will play to well over 1,500,000 fans in 21 cities in 10 countries, flying close to 50,000 miles in the specially refitted plane.
EMA Telstar announced that the Maiden tour will be the biggest rock tour that any band has ever undertaken in these Nordic regions. Comments tour promoter Thomas Johansson of EMA Telstar:
"We are all very proud to be making history by giving our rock fans the biggest Nordic Rock Tour there has ever been and certainly one of the most spectacular. Maiden is so hugely popular with the Nordic peoples that we wanted to ensure that as many fans as possible got the opportunity to see this very special show next year as we expect demand for tickets to be enormous.",[1]
Maiden had also announced that they would be returning to cities that they hadn't returned to for years. Western Canada is included, as their five city run through Western Canada had sold out the very day they went on sale. Calgary and Regina had sold out in just under an hour. Edmonton sold out completely in a few hours. Winnipeg and Vancouver sold out within two hours. Calgary also had the highest pre-sale ever for the band, in which they sold out half the tickets. Edmonton and Regina were not far behind. Says Dickinson about the results: "We are truly overwhelmed by this response, especially as some of these cities we haven't played in 20 years!! Being Brits we are always very comfortable with Canadians and it will be a great pleasure to get back on the prairies again. It was always a LOUD response there! We look forward to this immensely and hope to give you all a show to remember."[2] Most recently they played at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tickets to this show were sold out. During the performance of "Powerslave" the band's instruments lost power for a brief period of time and they passed time by playing english football on the stage. Once the equipment was fixed they returned and asked the audience if they should play the last verse of the song or do the next one. The band opted to play the next song which was "Heaven Can Wait". Rarely ever have Maiden been canceling gigs in the past 2 years, but due to storm damage to the PA and lights at the Metalway Festival in Zaragoza, Spain, Maiden had to cancel their July 12th date. The Metalway Festival in Zaragoza could be rescheduled, but it seems unlikely that Maiden can appear for their fans in Zaragoza.[3]
Opening Bands
Opening bands for this tour are:
- First Leg: Lauren Harris, Vanishing Point, Behind Crimson Eyes, Parikrama.
- Second Leg: Lauren Harris[4]Anthrax (May 30 and 31 only) and Trivium (June 14 only)[5].
- Third Leg: Lauren Harris , Within Temptation (just at Twickenham Stadium and TT in Assen), Kamelot (just at TT in Assen),Avenged Sevenfold (not at every gig), Made Of Hate (Warsaw show only), Salamandra (Prague show only) and Slayer (Lisbon show).
Setlist varied
- Intro.Doctor Doctor/ Transylvania/Churchill's Speech
- "Aces High" (From Powerslave, 1984)
- "2 Minutes to Midnight" (From Powerslave, 1984)
- "Revelations" (From Piece of Mind, 1983)
- "The Trooper" (From Piece of Mind, 1983)
- "Wasted Years" (From Somewhere in Time, 1986)
- "The Number of The Beast" (From The Number of the Beast, 1982)
- "Can I Play with Madness" (From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1988)
- "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (From Powerslave, 1984)
- "Powerslave" (From Powerslave, 1984)
- "Heaven Can Wait" (From Somewhere in Time, 1986)
- "Run to the Hills" (From The Number of the Beast, 1982)
- "Fear of The Dark" (From Fear of The Dark, 1992)
- "Iron Maiden" (From Iron Maiden, 1980)
- "Moonchild" (From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1988)
- "The Clairvoyant" (From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1988)
- "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (From The Number of the Beast, 1982)
(the last three being the encore)
Personnel
- Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals, guitar on Revelations
- Dave Murray – guitar
- Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals
- Janick Gers – guitar, backing vocals
- Steve Harris – bass, keyboards, backing vocals
- Nicko McBrain – drums, percussion
- Michael Kenney – keyboards
Tour Dates
External links
Sources
- ^ 06.11.2007 Dates for the Nordic tour
- ^ Iron Maiden Official Website - Maiden Mania now hits Western Canada
- ^ Iron Maiden Official Website - Zaragoza cancelled today
- ^ Iron Maiden Official Website - Lauren Harris debut album and tour details
- ^ "TRIVIUM To Support IRON MAIDEN In New Jersey". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved April 14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2008/07/23/541528.html
- ^ http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2007/11/05/517274.html
- ^ http://www.ironmaidenforum.com/showthread.php?t=39837
