“A homecoming for the ages”: Iron Maiden return to London’s East End for a gloriously flamboyant 50th birthday party

For almost half a century, Iron Maiden have been singing about how they’re gonna getcha, no matter how far. Tonight, their fans have saved them the trouble of searching. 75,000 have descended upon London Stadium, grounds of bassist Steve Harris’ beloved West Ham and a stone’s throw from where he formed his heavy metal titans, to witness a homecoming for the ages.

’Arry and the boys have returned as part of their 50th-anniversary Run For Your Lives tour, which is seeing them pull out material from their first nine albums, 1980’s Iron Maiden to 1992’s Fear Of The Dark. As nostalgic as that means this evening’s setlist will be, it will be performed by a band refreshed. Simon Dawson joins them behind the kit, filling in for longtime drummer Nicko McBrain following his retirement from the stage last year, and the slideshow of massive posters they used to haul along has been replaced with a high-tech video backdrop.

It takes a while for Maiden to realise the full, larger-than-life potential of their new production. With opener Murders In The Rue Morgue, they begin a trilogy of cuts from second album Killers, throwing back to their East London, punk-flecked roots. Late frontman Paul Di’Anno’s lyrics, relayed via the air raid siren that is current singer Bruce Dickinson, are streetwise and semi-autobiographical: a far cry from the fantasy the band would fully embrace once Dickinson came aboard in 1981.

It’s with Phantom Of The Opera that proceedings hit their theatrical stride. Dickinson is jokingly exhausted as he acknowledges the “50 bloody years” on him and his colleagues’ mileometer. Then, the ‘curtain’ on the backdrop peels away to reveal images of a ghostly theatre stairwell. For all his banter about getting older, Dickinson powers through everything with a grace and a volume that belie his age, although a hyper-passionate crowd keeps up with him during megahits The Number Of The Beast, Run To The Hills and Fear Of The Dark.

As well as time-defying vocal cords, the singer has packed his most robust wardrobe to date. Of course, he sports the classic Crimean War uniform for The Trooper, plus that mask he bought at a sex shop for Powerslave (google it), but Hallowed Be Thy Name finds him aptly locked in a cage as he sings from the perspective of a prisoner en route to the gallows. The backdrop takes over after he disappears side-stage, depicting a digital Dickinson being chased to his death by a shadowy ghoul.

As for Dawson – with no disrespect to McBrain, who powered through Maiden’s previous tour after suffering a mini-stroke in 2023 – his presence re-energises everyone else. The more direct attacks in Maiden’s repertoire land with a force unfelt in some time, especially The Clairvoyant and the anthemic 2 Minutes To Midnight. The main set ends with a thrashed-up take on the band’s namesake track, during which an avatar of Eddie The Head dominates the screen and ‘pulls the plug’ to send sparks flying.

Things power back up for an encore, and finale Wasted Years lets Dickinson disperse London in high spirits. “Realise you’re living in your golden years!” the lyrics command, before the singer makes it clear that he’s doing just that, grinning while calling tonight’s audience his “best friends”. After returning to Maiden’s birthplace for a mammoth show and playing in magnificent form, it’s easy to understand why he’s so bloody happy.

Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills (live from the Legacy Of The Beast tour) - YouTube

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Iron Maiden setlist: London Stadium – June 28, 2025

Murders In The Rue Morgue
Wrathchild
Killers
Phantom Of The Opera
The Number Of The Beast
The Clairvoyant
Powerslave
2 Minutes To Midnight
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Run To The Hills
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
The Trooper
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden

Encore:
Aces High
Fear Of The Dark
Wasted Years