Iron Maiden: In aid of Clive Burr

Written by The Rock Radio staff, September 2005 © The Rock Radio

Fresh from concluding their European and American tour in support to the greatly successful The Early Days DVD released in late 2004 covering the history of the band until 1983, Iron Maiden were back in town where it all started in the first place. Friday night, September 2, 2005, was a unique opportunity to catch the band in action in the 5,000 capacity Hammersmith Apollo in London's West End in support to the Clive Burr Multiple Sclerosis Trust Fund; a trust set up in 2002 to support their ex-drummer Clive Burr (1980-1982) and other people who suffer from MS.

This is a band that managed to build from their humble roots of pub gigs in London's East End to having some of the most loyal following in music business the world over. 65 million records and 25 years on from the debut album their army of fans is now bigger and stronger than ever no matter what Sharon Osbourne says.

As the time drew closer, the fans' chant Maiden…Maiden could be heard louder and louder. UFO's Doctor, Doctor entertaining the tightly-packed crowds reached its conclusion, the lights went off and the band stormed in with the opening set of The Idles Of March and Murders In The Rue Morgue. This was no ordinary gig. This was the past revisited with classic songs drawn entirely from their first four albums of Iron Maiden (1980), Killers (1981), The Number Of The Beast (1982) and Piece Of Mind (1983). Another Life and the amazing Prowler paved the way for the timeless favorite The Trooper. Dickinson introduced the slow-burning Remember Tomorrow as the first song he ever played with Maiden when he was auditioned back in 1981 and based on his in-your-face performance of the song we can only dream on how he sounded 24 years ago.

Were Eagles Dare, Run To The Hills, Revelations, Wrathchild and Die With Your Boots On typically sounded as good as ever, proving once again that Maiden will be on top form for at least another decade. By that time most of the crowd had already gone ballistic. However, the song that followed was surely the highlight of the night. At over seven minutes long, the power and energy of the band on Phantom Of The Opera was simply phenomenal. You would be forgiven for thinking that this was the year 1980. Whilst the fans were going mental, Maiden were as cool as ever. It is not every day that you see a bunch of 45+ year olds having more energy and enthusiasm than most of us can ever hope for.

The band had no time to waste as the crowd booed Sharon Osbourne's pathetic acts on Ozzfest; the magic trio was coming up. The Number Of The Beast, Hallowed By Thy Name and Iron Maiden boosted more killer riffs, bass-guitar galloping and drums thundering than any red-haired, surgery-sculpted TV celebrity can ever handle. Eddie had no time for this either. He stormed on stage and rocked like a beast.

As the show reached its end, Clive Burr was escorted on his wheelchair on-stage to thank the band and the fans for their support. The fans showed their respect for the man without which none of the first three Maiden albums would have happened. In no time the lights went off again and the thumping drum intro of the Clive Burr-era classic Running Free was already on its way. In traditional Running Free fashion the crowd sang their asses-off, orchestrated by the master of arena rock showmanship, Mr Bruce Dickinson. At times it felt as if the all-time classic live version of the song on Live After Death was playing on the speakers! The band delivered another deadly duo with Drifter and Sanctuary to complete their last show until next year when the band regroups to record studio album number 14.

To finish off with a famous phrase by another famous rock band... Iron Maiden - We Salute You!