The upcoming Legacy of the Beast tour will reportedly focus on the band’s most popular material, the seven albums released during the 1980s. As you would expect hardcore online fans responded with comments along the lines of "Not another 80s tour!" and were bitterly disappointed that the new tour would not be focussed on playing some of the gems from the band's 90s output, an often overlooked period for the band, although perhaps understandably since the four albums tend to come towards the bottom of Maiden album rankings.
However, a mostly 80s-based tour doesn't necessarily have to mean the that same old songs will be dragged out. Therefore, I’ve selected 10 songs I think should be dusted off to add a bit of variety to proceedings. I’ve not included songs that have never been played live but as a counterbalance I’ve also barred anything that has appeared on more than one tour since the return of Bruce and Adrian in 1999. Two of my personal favourites, Heaven Can Wait and Die With Your Boots On, are ruled out based upon the second rule even though I think they are likely candidates for the new tour.
Prowler – The first track on the first album makes a strong statement. It’s not particularly groovy nor is it an especially fast paced rocker but this difficulty to categorise the track means that it stands out.
Remember Tomorrow – Famous for being the song that got Bruce the job after he practically made it his own, the song has an extra power performed live (see Ullevi 2005 for an outstanding example). Lyrically it is a nice change of tack from the sex and street violence of the first two albums. You can see where Metallica’s 80s ballads took their inspiration from musically.
Killers – This song was surprisingly absent from both The Early Days and Maiden England tours. Despite not being a single I think many of the less hardcore fans would still see it as a classic and it would be received warmly. The song could work well early in the set with the intention of keeping the energy level high or alternatively could be placed as the middle encore song after a speech from Bruce.
22 Acacia Avenue – Probably the best song of the Charlotte series. Usually ‘the big three’ get played from ‘The Number of the Beast’ album on the non-album tours so this dynamic track would be a welcome inclusion.
Where Eagles Dare – One of Maiden’s best album openers and it boasts a fantastic riff. It also features phenomenal drumming from Nicko and would fit well with the suspected war theme of part of the new set.
Flight of Icarus – This song is probably the most confusingly ignored song out of the entire Maiden catalogue. It is still played very regularly on rock radio yet it hasn’t been played since 1986! I’m confident that there would be a great singalong if it did return and it has been heavily hinted at in the tour related artwork.
Still Life – Another song that was present on the Maiden England live album but not the retrospective tour. Despite not being a huge fan favourite I think that the eerie vibe of the song would bring an interesting flavour to the set.
Sea of Madness – A more obscure choice and a personal favourite that has not been played since the Somewhere in Time tour. The middle melodic section is quite a different to what one might expect from Maiden. The way that the guitars, bass and drums come together to make the main riff so heavy combined with how grandiose the band can make this shorter song feel is partially why it racks up the plays on my iPod.
Stranger in a Strange Land – Yet another popular single that has unusually been almost entirely absent from setlists for over 30 years (it was quickly dropped on The Ed Hunter tour in 1999 after only previously being aired on the Somewhere in Time tour). The solo is regularly mentioned when the best Iron Maiden solos are discussed but it is the groove that attracts me to this track.
Infinite Dreams – Perhaps the song that was most painfully omitted from the Maiden England tour, this single appears to be quite popular with the fans and would be a welcome alternative to some of the more common ballads like Children of the Damned, Revelations and Blood Brothers. It’s a very dynamic track and I personally really like the contrasts between the melodic and the heavier sections.
If you’re going to see Maiden on this tour then enjoy and hopefully a few of your old favourites will make an appearance.