Maiden World Forum

Snake · Fri Dec 15, 2006 10:41 am

Rod Smallwood has issued another tour diary, this time from the show in Zurich:

"It seemed as if every person in the hall knew every word and were belting it out for all they were worth. I have never seen/heard this before – not even in Quebec, Rio, Paris or Spain. And what made it all the more special was the following..."

ZURICH WED DEC 6 2pm

So we had got to the second Milan show in my last instalment. This too had been sold out for months. However unlike Stockholm where both the first 2 shows went on sale simultaneously this (like Earls Court) was an added show. This is where we think we can do 2 shows so hold the second and put the first one on sale and if it goes according to plan (ie sells out quickly) – we will announce the second one. The first one sold out in a few weeks – and Italy is usually a market where ticket sales are late and leading up to the show – so we announced the second one some time ago which also sold out within a few weeks. Quite often the second night audience is not as good as the first as of course the core fans tend to rush out and get the first tickets. However it was not the case here!! Although at first they seemed slightly quieter than the first night – perhaps as they weren’t as familiar with the new album as the hard core fans of the first night – they made up for it in other areas.

During Bruce’s mid album talk the oway oway Mai-den etc hit 113db – one more than the previous night, but even more special was the start of Fear of the Dark. When Bruce commenced his spoken intro they were SO loud saying the words that Bruce left them to it right through to the four “fear of the darks” at the end of the intro. It seemed as if every person in the hall knew every word and were belting it out for all they were worth. I have never seen/heard this before – not even in Quebec, Rio, Paris or Spain. And what made it all the more special was the following. You all know how on the last 2 FoDs in this intro section Bruce sort of gives a throaty haha or something to that effect, well……so did ever one of the audience. It was just perfect mimicking – great stuff!!! Two absolutely wondrous shows – thank you so much Milan and the rest of Italy – we know there were lots of you from Rome too so we will have to get down there and see you all sometime!!

After the show we did a “runner” – straight off stage into the cars to change at the airport and fly home. The traffic getting out of the gig is terrible and if we had stayed around to shower as we usually would in the winter we would have been caught right up in it. We got back to UK in the early hours and l was half an hour from home at about 1.30am on the M23 just before the Gatwick turn off when we came up to 3 solid lanes of stationery traffic. After a few minutes got out of the car as had many others who were chatting and having a smoke in groups dotted around. We find out that someone was on the next flyover bridge threatening to jump and we could just make out the flashing lights of police and ambulances. The former to talk him down the latter to deal with the mess if the former failed!! As time dragged on the waiting motorists were getting less sympathetic as they wanted to get home. “Push him off” could be heard regularly for the last hour. Anyway we were there for 2 hours before the traffic got moving again and l finally got home at 4am!! Watched a bit of cricket test match – we were still doing ok at this point. As you will all know we collapsed on the last day to 129 all out and lost the test going 2-0 down in the process. What a disaster. We were in a possible position to win for the first 4 days – and certainly a draw which would have halted Australia’s momentum at least after the Massacre of the Gabbattoir (which is in Brisbane by the way not Perth as l stupidly said before). Lack of a good tight exciting Ashes series will certainly take a bit of the thrill out of Xmas. Will now have to look forward to England rugby beating the Scots on feb 3 – l will definitely be there for that. Cant see England coming back from 2-0 down in the land downunder.

Got up late the next day and worked in my home office. Quiet night watching a movie with the kids. Up the next day to fly out to Zurich.

We were presented with gold discs before the show = this was excellent as it’s a rare occasion for us here and over 10 years since our last Swiss Gold they told us. So thanks EMI Switzerland and our Swiss fans. The show at the majestic Hallenstadion was sold out at 12,800 but unlike a lot of the tour only did so in the week preceding the gig. This was very satisfying for me as with this and Stuttgart – with increased capacity – selling out in the last week all the continental euro shows were totally sold out, every one of them, and that is something we have never ever done before. And it was all the very biggest arenas with some multiple dates so the biggest arena tour we have ever done. We still don’t really get much radio or TV support in most places so how can you explain this phenomenon. We just seem to get more and more popular and it appears to be nearly all by word of mouth or the internet maybe. I guess the thing is though is to enjoy it and try not to analyse it too much.

The show went very well and after the show most of band went into hotel bar for a while – Jan then went off on his usual trip around the downtown bars with some friends from here. After a while it left Steve, Bruce, Nicko, Gaddsy, Ian, one of our pilots and our gorgeous german stewardess and myself. The bar was supposed to close at 1 but they took pity on us and kept it open a bit later. Even got Gaddsy to buy me a drink – though after l got him one!! There was a woman of a later but glamorous age playing some really quite good jazz on the piano. I was chatting to Steve before Nicko came down and he told me she looked and sounded a bit like a piano player in Stuttgart about 10 years before when Nicko was so pissed (yes wild young youth then!!!) he sat down next to the lady and played and sang along. Except he cant play piano - or at least couldn’t then. And he certainly cant sing!!! So it really was quite memorable. So just as Steve finishes the story Nicko comes in and his jaw drops. Yes it was the same lady. She may have relieved to see Nick perfectly sober and having abslolutely no intention of joining her again and after she finished her stint she came over and joined us and she and Nick had a good old rabbit !!!

Anyway they finally closed the bar so it was off to bed, up the following am – ie now today – at about 10.30 , a bit of breakfast and out comes the laptop. Maybe l wil get out of the room later!!! Anyway all for now. More after the last 2 shows in Germany.

Maiden croatia · Fri Dec 15, 2006 2:21 pm

"It seemed as if every person in the hall knew every word and were belting it out for all they were worth. I have never seen/heard this before – not even in Quebec, Rio, Paris or Spain. And what made it all the more special was the following..."

Meni više ništa u životu ne treba lipoga reći, nakon što je Rod ovo rekao za Milano..... A na koncertima je s Maidenima od prvog...

PONOSAN SAM NA SVIH NAS KOJI SMO IŠLI...

Snake · Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:52 pm

Swedish Radio SR P3 are going to play Iron Maidens concert from the 18th November in Stockholm on their station.

P3 is going to air it on the 28th December at 20.03 Swedish time.

P3 are promising to play the whole 2 hour show.

Iron Maiden Sweden FC will have a direct link to the station at the December 28 so all the fans can listen too it. We'll bring you more information if we get it.

Additionally, IronMaiden.com reports that, tonight (Friday 15th) on VH1 UK there will be a one hour special featuring Maiden in Stockholm.

Starts at 11.00pm and will be repeated on Saturday and Sunday (check listings for times).

Snake · Sat Dec 16, 2006 4:21 pm

"Well, we played in Milano last night and I have to say that the audience, were at one time louder than us. They came in at 112 DBs and we are at around 107/110. ‘Kin loud I can tell you. I still feel that Barcelona was...."

Hotel room Milano Italy
Time: 6:15pm
December 3rd 2006

Well, well, well, hope you’re all doing well today?
We had a fantastic day yesterday.

I had a very quite day off on Friday. We arrived back into Blighty after our show in Barcelona. We landed at 1am and I was at me drum by 2pm. Had a shower and went to bed. Got up at noon and pottered around at the flat. Later on, I went down the village for a late breakfast and picked up a paper some fresh milk and a loaf of bread.
When I got back I just sat and watched the telly. I didn’t feel much like doing anything today. I do feel completely ‘Kin knackered after the show even more so when we have a day off.

I have been feeling a lot better since I have completed me course of antibiotics. I had an early night and was a bit upset as I had been on the phone with Rebecca and our dog, Miss Tatum, is going to have to be put down. Bless her, she’s an old Labrador. She has had a good life, she was 13 years old. I’m devastated I will not see her again. She has had a problem with her health for quite a while so it is best for her I’m sure.

Well, we played in Milano last night and I have to say that the audience, were at one time louder than us. They came in at 112 DBs and we are at around 107/110. ‘Kin loud I can tell you. I still feel that Barcelona was a bit better though. That’s my opinion.

We hit the stage at 9:50pm and it was a brilliant show. Not may I add my best performance but we still rocked the place. After the show I met with me mates from Anthenora and I had the opportunity to give my friend, Bepee from EMI, a copy of their new album, you never know they may get a deal with EMI soon. Let’s pray for that happening boys and girls.

After a few glasses of wine, it was time to head back to the hotel. I had an early-ish night and slept well.

I got up at 1pm this afternoon, obviously needed the rest. Went for a walk over to a magnificent railway station here in Milan. It’s not the central station I know that but what a building.
After a stroll around the local streets I headed back to me hotel.
Watched some skiing on the telly, and then decided to do this diary.
We have another show here in Milano tonight. It is sold out again. The capacity for the Filaforum is 12,500, but I reckon there were at least 14,000 in last night.
So, I’m going now as we are leaving in half an hour for the venue.

Stay safe and well
God bless you all

=Nicko=

PS I love the twelve days of Christmas thread. Very funny!!! TEEHEE.

Ivan · Sat Dec 16, 2006 5:40 pm

Ivan · Sun Dec 17, 2006 4:36 pm

to je taj kolodvor

Snake · Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:41 pm

MaidenNorway.com has posted a following update from Rod Smallwood, who checked in from Manchester, UK on December 15th:

"Sorry about delay in my diary – been a bit of a blur this last week or so. I am sat in the bar at Manchester Airport. I arrived here about midday to get the 13.05 to London Gatwick to go home to Brighton following the show here last night. The flight (so far) has been delayed to 3.35 – pathetic isn’t it. No explanation given at least that l am aware of. Should have taken the train. By the time l get home l could have been in New York!!! At least its giving me time to catch up here!!"

Read on for more...

nyway lets go back to where l left off – Stuttgart December 7. Met up with an old school and uni mate Cookie in the bar at 5 – haven’t seen him in years so great to have a few drinks and catch up. A bit of a day off for me. Went to Schleyerhalle in time for Maiden and took Cookie and his wife and friends up on the desk.

We have played the Schleyerhalle (capacity 13,000 – sold out) a number of times before and always been great shows. But there l am on the desk and getting this weird feeling. The band don’t seem very focussed and a bit out of phase. Also Bruce hadn’t got his usual power which makes it tough for Dougie to get a great sound as he has to push to keep the vocal above the band. With all this it made the audience a bit subdued. And that is unusual for Stuttgart.

Went back to see band straight after show to see if there was any problem. There was. Apparently it was freezing on stage. You know from my diary how distracting it is when there are cold drafts across the stage – this particularly affects Bruce and is never really a problem for Nicko say as he is well hidden and obviously doing a particularly physical job. But tonight they all complained that it was bloody freezing – even Nicko said he was so cold he didn’t even break out into a sweat at any stage – and that’s with all the physical exertion and all the lights!! The Schleyerhalle has built an ice rink behind the stage and it must have been that. It was reasonably ok on the desk otherwise l would have emailed back to Dickie to check it out. It was so cold on stage as l guess the stage area backed on to the ice rink. Bruce had real problems with vocals – you try singing those songs when you are bloody cold – and everyone had problems concentrating as they were so cold. In a way l was quite relieved to find a real reason for the strange gig. It’s a shame for the audience as although it was a guess still a good show. It just wasn’t right on due to the circumstances and the Stuttgart audience deserved more. If we are to play here again will have to check this out carefully as to us it really ruined the gig. Reaction after from people l saw and talked to was still very very positive but l always then think what it would have been if the band and Dougie had been able to be full on!!

Had a few drinks in hotel bar with friends and band after show – pretty lively there!!!!

Following day December 8 we flew up to Dortmund – this sold out weeks ago about 11,500. Before the show EMI Electrola and our old mate Erik the head of marketing presented us with gold discs for Dance of Death, promising gold for AMOLAD very soon. A gold disc in Germany is 100,000 (and for EMI that is over the counter sales as opposed to ship out) but it used to be 250,000 just a few years ago – it just shows the decline in record sales. As everyone knows record sales worldwide are considerably down for all sorts of reasons too complex to go into here (but yes including illegal file sharing, piracy etc etc) but Germany has been hit harder than most for some reason.

Anyway the show was terrific and so was the audience so we all felt a bit better about the night before as at least our second show in Germany was a cracker. The promoter ensured that the hall was draught free following the “discussions” the previous night – not that we could fault the promoter for the iciness, wasn’t his fault they built an ice rink.

Flew home straight after the gig getting back to Brighton about 2.30am.

Day off on the Saturday – well for some. Caught up with emails in home office, tried to do this but didn’t get time, caught up with some personal stuff. And of course saw some rugby on tv.

On Sunday it was back on the train to London for a C4 TV recording Live at Abbey Road. We don’t do much TV as you know - indeed we don’t get offered much !!! – and there is not a lot we would want to do anyway but this was a bit special and it was good to have metal included in a show like this. It was recorded in the big Abbey Road studio but more with a documentary feel than video. The list of artists appearing is very impressive and we are to close out the whole series being the last band on the last show. We did 2 songs both recorded fully live as if we were in rehearsal – most others did 3 but our songs are a bit longer than most!!! Also a bit of interview stuff. I wont go into it more as Val will soon be putting the full news of this on the site so you will get all the full details but we think it will come out really well.

Had a few drinks with Nicko after the recording and stayed in London that night. Off to Cardiff the next day - Monday, December 11 – for the first of the UK run. I will leave it here for now as l need to go to the gate – if its still more delayed l will come back to it!!"

Gul_Ranek · Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:55 pm

Se samo meni cini da fali Rodov dnevnik iz Milana? Samo je ukratko spomenuo drugu noc, o prvoj nije rekao nista...

Snake · Mon Dec 18, 2006 3:20 pm

For men fast approaching 50, Iron Maiden have a surprisingly strong bond with teenagers. Two-thirds of the NEC audience appeared to be under 20, a fact not lost on the singer Bruce Dickinson. “You left your dads at home,” he barked, midway through a furiously energetic set. “Next time, bring them, and see if they remember how to rock.”

Keep reading for the full review.

For men fast approaching 50, Iron Maiden have a surprisingly strong bond with teenagers. Two-thirds of the NEC audience appeared to be under 20, a fact not lost on the singer Bruce Dickinson. “You left your dads at home,” he barked, midway through a furiously energetic set. “Next time, bring them, and see if they remember how to rock.”

Iron Maiden’s renaissance is remarkable. In their 30-year career, the original gods of British heavy metal have never stopped selling records, yet recently their appeal to young fans has mushroomed. Released this autumn, their 14th album, A Matter of Life and Death, has been their fastest selling since the Eighties and their first to break the Billboard Top Ten.

Their current tour, however, has caused controversy. Bravely, Iron Maiden play every song from their new album, in order, every night, before closing with just a handful of classic tracks. Some older fans claim to be boycotting the shows, but from the moment the opening chords of a Different World came crashing in, thousands of arms saluted the group and hundreds of bodies bounced up and down. Many didn’t stop for over an hour.

The typically extravagant stage set suited the war theme of the album. Shaped like a bunker, boarded up with sandbags, with the drum kit in a dugout, a body hung by the neck on high ground and a backdrop that showed a combats-clad, machinegun-toting mascot Eddie, it provided plenty of room for the quartet of ludicrously attired Spinal Tap-like guitarists to throw shapes and shake their long hair. Their playing, though, was crisp and clean, driving adventurous songs that persistently changed tack and tempo.

A short-haired, besuited Dickinson never stopped moving all night. Between climbing stairs and striking wide-legged poses, he acted out lyrics with his arms and turned searchlights on the crowd. Nevertheless, towards the end of the set, even the kids needed a kick to keep going and it came courtesy of a giant robotic Eddie, driving a tank on stage. The effect was explosive, but one song on and it was gone.

Eddie appeared again in the encore, this time 10ft tall and possibly with a human beneath. By then, the band were delighting even the fans their own age with Iron Maiden, Fear of the Dark and The Evil That Men Do. Which was better, old or new? There was nothing in it.

Thanks to Lisa Verrico of the Times Online for doing the review!

Snake · Mon Dec 18, 2006 3:21 pm

From the Glasgow Herald:

"It would seem inappropriate not to quote Spinal Tap in the circumstances – but on this evidence, Iron Maiden embody the "majesty of rock / the pageantry of roll" – a 30-year-old institution undergoing a serious revival.

With their classic three-guitar line-up and Bruce Dickinson back on vocals, this is a far cry from the down-at-heel Maiden shows of the mid-1990s, resulting in the kind of full-blown pantomime spectacle that suits them well.

It is a predictably pompous, loud and energetic spectacle. Dickinson even takes time to admonish the crowd for being too boisterous, yet their enthusiasm combined with hero worship and beer could hardly be expected to produce any other kind of response."

Read on for more.

Maiden appeal to a certain type of male mentality, which on the outside may appear disturbing (violence, war and a kind of Satanism-lite) but in its home environment is more comical and good-natured than particularly threatening or sinister.

With an audience of aged disciples and new converts, the choice to concentrate on their most recent album, A Matter of Life and Death, is either a brave or pig-headed one. It is epic (at nearly 80 minutes for 10 tracks), played in sequence and at times verging on progressive rock.

In part hideously overblown, it is also, in flashes, memorable and even contemporary – think Muse meets Queens of the Stone Age.

By the time their mascot Eddie appears (in a tank) for a handful of greatest hits (Fear of the Dark, Evil That Men Do and Two Minutes to Midnight) the truncated nod to their back catalogue is explained by Dickinson, who promises another tour next year.

With another 5000 T-shirts sold, Iron Maiden remain the masters of commercial hard rock.

Snake · Tue Dec 19, 2006 4:52 pm

According to Bruce himself at the Newcastle gig on Sunday, Maiden plan to "take 150,000 fans to a muddy field in the middle of England" next year. I didn't hear him say where but Donnington is the obvious choice but whether it would be part of the Download festival or not remains to be seen. Bruce did seem to imply that it would be a Maiden gig and not part of another festival.

axy · Thu Dec 21, 2006 12:30 am

Snake · Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:18 pm

He's a pint-sized guy leading a stadium-sized band. And Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson is heading "home" next week, writes David Dunn of the English newspaper Sheffield Today. The story reads as follows:

It has to be said that Iron Maiden foghorn Bruce Dickinson is a man of many colours. No sooner had the Worksop-born singer finished addressing 18,000 screaming Spanish fans in Barcelona and he was informing The Star of how tennis elbow soured his passion for fencing.

Not that the tiresome condition prevented the frontman of one of Britain's biggest and most enduring heavy metal bands from reaching international competition standard, or authoring two books, a script, acting in a film, presenting radio shows - or flying his planes. These days this restless father-of-three cites his role as a pilot for a charter airline as his main job...

Read on for more...

Not that you would know it to watch his hyperactive leadership of this UK rock institution. More than 25 years since they became a major force in the music business, Maiden's A Matter Of Life And Death album and world tour have conspired to create one of the most successful periods in their history. In Barcelona they became the first band to sell-out the massive Palau Sant Jordi arena.

"By the time we've got to Earls Court we'll have done the show plenty of times in biggish places," says the 48-year-old son of a car dealer. "Once you get to a certain size you have to go to a huge order of magnitude bigger before it becomes intimidating just because of the sheer size.

"The worst bit of the tour in terms of like 'Aargh' is always the first two weeks. And particularly the first three or four shows, because it doesn't matter how much you rehearse and what you do it's just like there's always that 'oh s***'. You hope you open your mouth and the right stuff is gonna tumble out at the right time. But there's always this fear that it won't."

Come Christmas the band will have played 44 shows to 500,000 people in 18 countries. Bruce brings them to Sheffield's Hallam FM Arena on Monday the 18th.

Snake · Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:19 pm

As Bruce Dickinson carefully reminds us, 2006 has been Iron Maiden's most successful year, with the heavy metal monsters selling out bigger venues than in their Number of the Beast 1980s heyday. This, Dickinson tells us, may have something to do with the less-than-rocking competition. Reality TV and such are "Bollocks, basically," he says, to cheers, before leading the band (named after an instrument of torture) into "a good old-fashioned power-ballad. Get your lighters out, set fire to the ashtrays!"

Read on for more.

As pop moves forward, there is something reliably out of sync about the Maiden. Comeback album A Matter of Life and Death has a war theme, which enables the boys to trot out more anthems about death. The stage set features sandbags, searchlights and newspaper headlines from 1944. It seems to have escaped their attention that a war is currently raging, but no one ever accused heavy metal of being topical.

The band defy time in every way, sporting preposterous rock barnets (a trimmed Dickinson aside) at ages when they should concern themselves with gardening but, crucially, they still rock like beasts. With Dickinson operatically wailing, the new album is played in full before the group delight rockers of all ages with the venerable classics Iron Maiden and Fear of the Dark. Sensitivity prevents the inclusion of Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter, but disappointment is banished when band horror mascot "Eddie" appears as a polystyrene tank commander and then a 12ft walking soldier. Dickinson suggests the band will celebrate their renewed popularity by taking 150,000 fans "to a muddy field in the middle of England" next year. It will probably look just like the Somme.

The review is written by Dave Simpson from The Guardian, who gave the gig four out of five stars.

Snake · Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:19 pm

Iron Maiden has been confirmed as the first headliner of the Desert Rock 2007 festival, set to take place March 9-10, 2007 at the Dubai Country Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Also newly added to the bill is Lauren Harris, daughter of Steve Harris. The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

March 9, 2007:

Iron Maiden, The Prodigy, Stone Sour, Mastodon, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Lauren Harris, Junkyard Groove (Winners of the Battle to Desert Rock)

March 10, 2007:

Incubus, Prime Circle

More bands for the second day will be announced soon.

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