{"id":207349,"date":"2025-06-23T09:50:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T09:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/207349\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T09:50:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T09:50:20","slug":"iron-maidens-50th-anniversary-tour-exceeds-expectations-in-birmingham-and-manchester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/207349\/","title":{"rendered":"Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary tour exceeds expectations in Birmingham and Manchester"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iron Maiden showed why they are one of the greatest live acts of all time as they took to the stage in Birmingham and Manchester this weekendAmy Walker<\/strong> Court reporter and Megan Archer-Fox<\/strong><\/a> What’s On Editor & Affiliates Lead<\/p>\n

09:55, 23 Jun 2025<\/p>\n

\"BruceBruce Dickinson(Image: Stephen Farrell)<\/p>\n

Iron Maiden have been rocking out for a solid 50 years, and they marked this iconic milestone with two rip-roaring gigs at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on Saturday and Manchester’s Co-op Live on Sunday on their Run For Your Lives world tour.<\/p>\n

BirminghamLive did not receive a response from music company Live Nation when we asked to review the performance at Utilita Arena – but our sister site Manchester Evening News reviewed the band when they were at Co-op Live on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Telegraph and The Guardian were able to review Iron Maiden in Birmingham<\/a>, with writer Michael Hann saying it took just four songs for lead Bruce Dickinson to shout ‘Scream with me Birmingham!’ into the crowd.<\/p>\n

The evening in Manchester, as reported by Amy Walker,<\/a> kicked off to the thunderous beats of ‘Doctor, Doctor’ as fans were whipped into frenzy, with even a father-and-son duo clad in matching Eddie tees partaking in raucous headbanging just three rows ahead.<\/p>\n

But before the iconic six-piece made their entrance, fans were transported to the storied lanes of old East London via an immense LED screen \u2013 a spectacle reserved for later in the performance.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>Everything tourists in Birmingham must know with 200,000 heading to the city<\/a><\/p>\n

Report below by Amy Walker<\/p>\n

In a throwback to days past, Iron Maiden opened with ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’, a number they’ve not taken live since the Ed Hunter tour back in ’99.<\/p>\n

Not long after, the hulking Eddie sprang up on stage, brandishing an axe and dispensing some seriously sinister vibes.<\/p>\n

\"EddieEddie of Iron Maiden(Image: Stephen Farrell)<\/p>\n

Bruce Dickinson then took a moment to acknowledge the band’s journey, sharing, “It’s been 50 years – I’m not sure we’re going to be around for another 50. We’re not going to forget anybody here and we hope you aren’t going to forget us.”<\/p>\n

With a promise of a ‘greatest hits show,’ Iron Maiden revved up the crowd further with enduring hit ‘Phantom of the Opera’. The night was filled with legendary tracks from their catalogue including ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’, ‘Run to the Hills’, and ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’.<\/p>\n

Then came the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. A breathtakingly beautiful tale of a doomed ship at sea was displayed on the massive screen.<\/p>\n

No spoilers, but visually it was nothing less than spectacular. This theme would persist throughout the evening.<\/p>\n

At one point, Bruce emerged from the ground, trapped in a cage and dressed as a prisoner. As Hallowed Be Thy Name echoed, he suddenly appeared on the screen, swiftly ascending a staircase towards a noose.<\/p>\n

\"IronIron Maiden at the Co-op Live(Image: Stephen Farrell)<\/p>\n

His performance and showmanship were top-notch. He was constantly on the move, either darting from one side of the stage to the other or climbing the stage, all while singing his heart out AND dominating the room.<\/p>\n

He is truly a master of his craft, and a joy to watch.<\/p>\n

The rest of the band was equally impressive. Guitarist Janick Gers and Bassist Steve Harris moved with such vigour and grace.<\/p>\n

I lost track of how many times a guitar was swung around a neck.<\/p>\n

Eddie was always front and centre – where else would he be – much to the fans’ delight.<\/p>\n

For the encore, the iconic Churchill’s speech accompanied by videos of spitfires, lasers and searchlights led us to Aces High.<\/p>\n

The finale had everyone standing, even those in the God tier were rocking out to the legendary Wasted Years.<\/p>\n

As a first-time viewer of the band live, it completely surpassed expectations. While a hundred words could be used to describe the show, here’s just one – legendary.<\/p>\n

From every young fan to old, newbie to veteran, it truly felt like a gift.<\/p>\n

Iron Maiden’s latest tour has proven a huge success, with all UK and Ireland dates completely sold out, and over a million tickets snapped up for their European shows. And it’s little wonder why.<\/p>\n

In a fitting finale, frontman Bruce bid farewell with a smile, saying: “You’re the only friends we’ve got in the world. It means the world. See you later!”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iron Maiden showed why they are one of the greatest live acts of all time as they took…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,64543,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-207349","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-music-festivals","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114732061719871046","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}