Maiden Also Playing Sonisphere Sweden/Finland

December 10th, 2009 § 0

Further from IronMaiden.com, Maiden are also doing the following Sonisphere shows in Europe. Expect further festival announcements (I imagine for Germany, Italy and Spain at least) in the next month or so, if previous years are any indication.

Sweden
Saturday August 7th 2010 at Stora Skuggan Park in Stockholm.

Other confirmed acts so far Heaven & Hell, Motley Crue, Iggy & The Stooges, Slayer, Anthrax and Alice Cooper.

Tickets on sale from 10.00am CET (9am GMT) on 14th December 2009.

880 SEK + booking fee. Available from: www.livenation.se and Eventim sales points.  Eventims call centre: +46 771 651 000

Finland
Two Day Festival Saturday August 7th & Sunday August 8th 2010 at Pori’s Kirjurinluoto.

Other confirmed acts so far for this two day Festival are HIM, Heaven & Hell, The Cult, Alice Cooper, Motley Crue, Iggy & The Stooges, Slayer, and Anthrax

Tickets on sale from 9am EET (7am GMT) on 15th December 2009

Two-day ticket: 125 euro + possible service fee
On sale starts on Tuesday 15.12.2009 9am at Lippupalvelu ticket outlets, call center 0600-10-800 (1,83 euroa/min + pvm) ja 0600-10-020 (5,99 euroa/puhelu + pvm) ja online athttp://www.lippupalvelu.fi

NB!! Ticket limit is 10 tickets per customer. Age limit 14yrs. Under 14-year-olds must be accompanied by an adult.
Camping ticket: 20 euro + possible service fee from Lippupalvelu starting from Tue 15.12.2009 at 9am EET.

Maiden To Headline Sonisphere

December 10th, 2009 § 0

Well, the news was released last night, and is as suspected:

Having established itself as the “Best New Festival” at the 2009 UK Festival Awards,SONISPHERE FESTIVAL KNEBWORTH moves from strength to strength with the announcement of our phenomenal 2010 headliners, as well as the first of many great bands for the three day event over July 30, 31 and Aug 1.

With the power to rock the very foundations of Knebworth Hall itself, the weekend headliners, both renowned for sensational live shows, are British Metal titans IRON MAIDEN – for whom KNEBWORTH will be their only UK appearance of 2010 – and German industrial rock monsters RAMMSTEIN, who make their first – and only 2010 – UK Festival appearance.

The legendary IRON MAIDEN, whose last UK concert was a sold out show to 50,000 fans at Twickenham Stadium in July 2008, are the biggest selling British Metal band of all time, with album sales in excess of 80 million based on a huge following around the planet built on extensive and spectacular World Tours and the sheer excitement of their live performances. Brit Award winners for BEST BRITISH LIVE ACT earlier this year, Maiden have been at the forefront of Metal for over twenty-five years and continue to go forward with ever increasing success both critically and commercially. Their last tour alone visited 38 countries and played to 2 million passionate fans, with the recent award winning DVD “Flight 666″ of this tour making it to No 1 in 25 countries including the UK and USA, where it is still the top selling music DVD so far this year.  We are delighted to present a rare opportunity for Sonisphere fans to see one of the world’s truly unique and legendary bands in the magnificent setting of the grounds of Knebworth.

Prior to playing a few selected dates next summer, Maiden are currently working on a new album expected to be released late next year. Iconic frontman Bruce Dickinson took time out to comment:

“Knebworth has been the home of so many legendary concerts going back many years it really will be a privilege to play there. We enjoy the camaraderie of playing great festivals and are very much looking forward to getting back out to do some shows next summer and, as it will be over two years since we played the UK, we will certainly be looking to deliver a memorable and spectacular night for our fans!”

What this means for UK fans, of course, is that Maiden will return in 2011 for a UK tour – their ‘only UK date of 2010′ is the standard framing of it being simply part of their European festival calendar, with a further tour to be scheduled after North American and Asian/Australasian dates.

Also, I would imagine this also means their next LP will be scheduled for a September/October release.

Big News Coming Dec 9

December 8th, 2009 § 1

Update: Looks like Nudgoo in the comments has it: Maiden to confirm they’re headlining Sonisphere next year. (Blabbermouth) This was tipped back in October by Virtual Festival.

The Official Maiden site has a new banner, telling people to come back on Dec 9 at 6PM (GMT). WATCH THIS SPACE, it proclaims:

Iron Maiden Announcement

What could it be?

My guess is an announcement for shows next year, particularly summer festival dates. Classic Rock magazine is hosting a festival next  year, and Maiden would be a natural fit, however they may also be too big for the show.

Another Donnington appearance? Or special one-off Clive Burr charity show?

We’ll know tomorrow night!

Bruce Dickinson’s Iron Maiden Audition – Killers

October 21st, 2009 § 0

I don’t think I’ve heard this before; definitely worth a listen.

Moshing Monday: 22 Acacia Avenue (1982)

October 19th, 2009 § 0

Today, a clip taken from the ‘Live At Hammersmith’ collection, which I originally saw on the 12 Wasted Years video, but is also on the DVD ‘The Early Years’.

Friday Fave: Another Life

October 16th, 2009 § 0

Following on from this morning’s profile of Killers, here’s a clip of Maiden performing ‘Another Life’ (which features on that album) way back in April 1980, around the time their debut was released. Absolutely awesome. Note: this is an old home video, and naturally the quality is not top notch! It also includes a rather… meandering drum solo from Clive Burr.

A Look Back: Killers

October 16th, 2009 § 3

The one thing that has always confused me in my study of Iron Maiden’s history – ok, ONE of the things that has always confused me – is the band’s continual ignoring of their second album Killers except for two songs (namely ‘Wrathchild’ and ‘Killers’).

(Listen to this album on Spotify: Iron Maiden – Killers.) » Read the rest of this entry «

Bruce Urges Sponsorship of Missing-Persons Phone Line

October 14th, 2009 § 0

From Community Newswire:

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald and actress Helen Baxendale urged companies to sponsor one of the phone lines run by a missing people’s charity, at an event last night.

Missing People, which works to find and safeguard missing people and support their loved ones, wants firms to show their support by sponsoring a phone for £10,000. It has 12 lines available for sponsorship.

Blaze Bayley Last Minute Addition to Hellfire II

October 13th, 2009 § 0

Blaze Bayley, the band and man himself, has stepped in at the last minute to perform at Hellfire II after Evile dropped out.

Hellfire II is on at the Birmingham NEC on November 6-8. Check out their site for ticket information.

Moshing Monday – Phantom of the Opera

October 12th, 2009 § 0

(Moshing Monday is a weekly celebration of Iron Maiden live)

This week’s Moshing Monday is from Sweden, with Maiden performing Phantom of the Opera. Includes a nice introduction from Bruce.