More USA Tour Dates Announced
The "SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME -- WORLD TOUR 08" was inspired by Maiden's recently released DVD, LIVE AFTER DEATH (New Door Records/Ume). Filmed and recorded over four spectacular nights at Long Beach Arena on the "Powerslave Tour" in 1985, this has long been a benchmark for rock concert videos and live albums, and the CD remains one of the biggest-selling live albums ever with sales in excess of six million worldwide. With the video having been largely unavailable for many years, the fans' massive interest in this legendary concert continues to this day with the DVD debuting at No. 1 on charts around the world (including The UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Finland), as well as No 2 on the Billboard USA Chart and in Canada.This tour revisits the band's history by focusing almost entirely on their classic 80's period in both choice of songs played and the stage set, which is based around the legendary Egyptian Production of that 'Powerslave Tour' as portrayed on the Live After Death DVD. This will arguably be the most elaborate and spectacular show the band have ever presented. Furthermore the band intends to bring along for this summer leg of the tour the colossal mummy of Eddie, as featured on the Live After Death DVD, along with various other elements of the show that would not fit on their 757 on the first leg of this tour, which included the shows at the Forum and Izod Centre.
Says vocalist Bruce Dickinson ; "For this summer tour we will be able to bring along all of Eddie's toys which we couldn't get on our plane during this first leg. We are all having a great time on this tour and really can't believe the excitement it is creating around the world and the huge numbers of people who are turning out to see us. It makes for a really very exciting time for all of us, fans and band alike"
'Maiden Mania' has been gripping countries around the world as tickets for the 2008 World Tour flew out of box offices everywhere when they went on sale. On the first leg in Feb/Mar alone, tickets in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the 42,000 capacity Palmeiras Stadium sold out in just a week ; Mexico City's 22,000 capacity Sports Arena sold out in a record-breaking four days leading to the show being moved to the 52,000 Foro Sol Stadium; a first ever visit to Colombia, where first day ticket sales were the biggest for any music event there ever, saw the Simon Bolivar Stadium in Bogota sell out the 30,000 original capacity in 10 days and being been extended to 50,000; 14,000 capacity arenas in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, sold out in less than half an hour with second shows being added in both cities and the band playing to 70,000 fans there; 25,000 fans in each of Argentina, Chile and Costa Rica quickly snapped up all available tickets.
The story continues in North America where shows in major arenas in LA, New York, Toronto sold out weeks in advance; and in the summer, when Maiden take the show around the stadiums of Europe, 125,000 tickets were sold in just over 2 hours last November for three stadium shows in Sweden and Finland!
Being able to tour the Southern Hemisphere in such a concentrated way is all due to the band taking their own plane -- along with their entire 50-man crew, 12 tons of equipment and stage set -- around the world with Astraeus Airline Captain Bruce Dickinson at the helm. As The Age in Australia reports:
"Some bands achieve such colossal levels of success that they get to ride in their own jet. But very few actually fly the damn things themselves. British heavy metal kings Iron Maiden have taken the DIY ethos to a new level -- albeit with a much bigger budget than most heavy metal bands -- when singer Bruce Dickinson flew his band into the country this week in a specially refitted Boeing 757."
1 Comment
I was there when he announced them... he was wearing his "talking hat"