One thing Iron Maiden fans wonder about every tour is where and when an official DVD will be recorded and filmed. Producer Kevin Shirley lets the cat out of the bag.
Maiden’s go-to-guy for all matters of production since 2000 has posted the above picture of the Spitfire that cruised over the site just prior to Maiden hitting the stage at last week’s Download Festival in Donington Park. In Shirley’s own words, “Yes, we recorded it and are going to mix it.”
(More below the picture!)
Would we like a live DVD from this tour? Hell, yes!
Of course, Maiden fans have heard this sort of thing before. The band’s previous Download performance, in 2007, was also filmed and recorded, and seems to have been mixed by Shirley as well. But it never saw the light of day.
For those that scrutinized the live broadcast of that performance, it has become pretty much accepted fact that the band did not put in their best work that day, which may explain the cancellation. People who were at Donington last week might have an idea whether this one is fit for fight…?
In any case, releasing Donington 2013 is the plan as of now. If it comes to fruition, it would mean that once again (following on from Flight 666 and En Vivo!) the band will release an official DVD that does not do the show proper visual justice. With the previous two live releases the full production was not there. This time, much of the show is filmed in daylight…
Source: Kevin Shirley’s Facebook profile.
Maiden Revelations 
“pretty much accepted fact that the band did not put in their best work that day”… I think that donington 07 was one of maiden’s finest performances in the 00s and on the tour of their best album in the 00s.. It’s due to technical difficulties it was canceled (bruce’s microphone was off at the begining guitars were down during the solos, bruce fell on wrathchild .. You can’t judge by the live broadcast cause it’s poor quality. Anyway still better than the performance on death on the road (especially on bruce’s behalf). Now about a dvd for donington’s 2013 show, it is quite good visually but pretty much every show has something missing in this tour… whether it’s bruce’s vocals or terrible guitar solo work (why not stick to the great classic solos and improvise so much?). and from footage of donington 2013 I’ve seen, the thing that’s missing the most is the crowd’s energy and involvement to the show.. plus a bit of the rest
In discussions about 2007, the overwhelming impression I get is that people felt it was a lesser performance. (Not important there and then, but in terms of documenting it for posterity). Personally, I don’t think Bruce had a very good day, with For The Greater Good Of God sounding particularly sub-par and strained. The sound levels as heard on the broadcast was pure soundboard, and would have nothing to do with the subsequent Shirley mix. Bruce’s mic is often too low (not turned off) at the start of shows, just check out the very beginning of the Ullevi 2005 broadcast for example. But this wouldn’t matter in the mix.
Another reason 2007 was cancelled could be that the broadcast bootlegs were (and still are) all over the place, so a DVD release would seem a little redundant, wouldn’t it?
I don’t think it sounded strained … Strained is Aces High nowadays … strained is can I play with madness on death on the road and lord of the flies. If you listen to rock in rio 2001 the live broadcast the band sounds mediocre – good but in the official release they’re great. It may be soundboard but there are a lot of things that affects a live recording.
My point about it being soundboard was that the sound of the broadcast isn’t a real indication of the sound that was recorded for Shirley’s mix. If audio issues was the reason for cancellation of the 2007 DVD it seems strange that Shirley mixed it for release at all…
I wish they’d film something like Stockholm’s Friends Arena or London’s O2, to get the proper vibe of the lighting and pyro. Stockholm is sure to have a revved up audience too, I’d think. Isn’t it time we got a proper indoors film of a full stage production, you think? Death On The Road was the last time…
I like the idea of something more bright from Iron Maiden … I enjoy the ullevi gig very much and some of the footage from out of the silent planet video clip with them playing at a full – naturally lighted stadium is brilliant! I get your point though. We’ll be missing much of the effect of the lights but I think it’ll be something different from those cliche dark and moody metal concert dvds. And in my opinion Seventh son stage set fits a brighter stage… At least the old one… This one seems a lot more juvenile. But we’ve talked about this before, I think..
PS: don’t forget that in the end of dance of death documentary it says something like:”if you missed maiden playing festivals this summer (2005) just wait for the dvd” and it also didn’t happen .. Maybe they thought releasing a dvd every year was to much.. But nowadays… No mercy 😛
Hehe, good point. Early Days and Donington 2007 are the two official “missing” DVDs. The reason might have a lot to do with Maiden’s problem with turnaround back then. It wasn’t really until Flight 666 that they got the hang of getting films out in about a year, through outsourcing some of the production, i.e. not having Steve edit it.
I mean, Death On The Road took over 2 years from filming to release! In the meantime, Maiden had toured Early Days and were heading into production on a new studio album. Just a year later they did Donington 2007, and this was never going to work in terms of DVD releases if they took 2 years to finish each of them…
We should have Donington 2013 by next summer, if they work it out like they did En Vivo!
Good points about daylight, hope you’re right! 🙂
By the way, were you at Donington?
nope just watched a lot of footage on YT..
What’s your verdict on the performance?
I’m betting they’re doing one full Donington ’88 Set. We know, as documented on Caveman’s site, that Donny 92 and 07 are mixed and mastered and ready for release. In addition, there is obviously pro shot footage of Donny 88, as we’ve seen a few seconds in the latest History of Iron Maiden travesty. As for 2003, maybe that was never filmed. I don’t know. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they put all the footage they’ve got from Donington over the years into one Blu Ray or box set.
I would be thrilled. But to be honest, I don’t really see Maiden doing something as solid as such a release…
Btw, isn’t the Donny ’88 footage in the latest “docu” taken from the Clairvoyant video? I mean, the show was shot for promo video footage for sure, and recorded for sure (with several songs released in late 1988), but I’m not sure there still exists anything except the Clairvoyant promo footage that was never coupled with live sound.
i think that audio files exists for sure (the bbc archives in eddie’s box set) but I don’t think there’s footage from donnington since they recorded in birmingham nec the same year..
Yeah, I’m pretty sure the audio in History part 3 is live from the Donington performance. Plus, I’d be willing to bet they simply kept the tape rolling for the whole night camera-wise. And then cut it up later for the visuals in the video. I don’t think it’s too far-fetched that a complete visual exists, but as for it seeing the light of day, that’s another story…
I’m watching the 2007 performance again. I stand by my opinion that it is somewhat sloppy by Maiden standards, on the AMOLAD songs in particular. And Bruce completely blows his voice out on the first “so tell me now” part in For The Greater Good Of God … he just barely gets through, audibly and visibly in distress. He gets his stuff together again after the solos, but the rest of his performance is hit and miss. Even Fear Of The Dark sounds like a struggle in parts, but then again he pulls of a fine Run To The Hills and The Evil That Men Do.
I don’t know … maybe it’s cause I love this songs so much I can’t be objective. But I think at least back then he was trying (for the greater is a very difficult song as you obviously know) where now it seems like he’s more interested in producing beer, or in aircraft business, than producing musing or training his “craft”. Singing and performing needs training and when in his free time he’d produce a solo record or something, nowadays it’s all about businesses and stuff. I think back in 2008 – 2009 he could manage all this activities, but nowadays he should pick a lane in order to keep his performances’ high standards.
About my verdict on the performance at donington 2013 and the maiden England tour in general, I think their holding back in order to make it possible choosing safe songs and giving a 85-90% (tempos are slower, guitar solos seem sloppy by all of them not only Janick, Bruce now certainly isn’t the Bruce he was, when in 2010-11 he still had perfect nights which gave him the benefit of doubt) and in my opinion it’s sad when in the 00s they said if we can’t give 110% every show we’ll stop to see them doing so and acting like it’s no big deal. The perfect solution for me is a well worked final studio album (with a significant writing recording timetable, unlike tff) about 25 specially selected dates, and then finish the History dvds with the 90s and 00s without touring for every one of them, though.
music not musing 😛 ( on the 5th line)
I agree about Bruce. It seems he’s being realistic, though. Maiden is coming to an end in not too many years, and he obviously wants to work out what he’ll be doing after that so he does his business and public talks and so on. It’s not to be expected that his voice can maintain the Maiden style of singing by his mid-50s. But I haven’t heard a proper soundboard recording from this tour yet, so I don’t want to judge him on cellphone videos.
I’m 99% sure there won’t be more History tours. For one, there’s only Donington 1992 left to release, and that’s it. There are no more unreleased concert videos beyond that.
Steve said last year that Maiden probably has about 5 years left. That would seem to fit nicely with one final studio album in late 2014, a tour in 2014-15, and then one final farewell throughout 2016 and 2017. I don’t think they can push it further than that.
To be honest, Bruce’s singing at Download 2013 was much better than at Download 2007. I was there and his performance was really good, not too different from 2008-2009 and better than during the last leg of “The final frontier” tour in 2011.
And Bruce’s performance was certainly MUCH better than at Donington in 1988 and 1992 too. 🙂
That’s really cool to hear! I think I have been noticing the thing Steve complained about in the 90s though, when Bruce was out of the band: He does seem to give 100% only at the most prestigious gigs. Can’t be sure about this, but it seems to me that he gives a little extra when the show is filmed and recorded, as he did for En Vivo! compared with the rest of that tour.
Chris mate, Bruce was also giving it all in Lisbon on 29th May and that was not a high profile gig. Perhaps he gave 110% at Donington, but I did not feel short-changed in Lisbon in the slightest… 😉
That is one of the beauties of Maiden: you get the same show wherever you are. I grew up in a town where gigs were not that frequent and when artists decided to play there I would get less songs played than at high profile gigs in big cities. That used to piss me off!!
i think mid-late 2014 a well worked studio album, a late 2014 album tour which in 2015 will change into a full discography- farewell tour with one song off of each album, would be the fittest.. I think that 2016-2017 is way to much for them to continue cause of the stamina needed to perform the Maiden songs live.. But now that’s obviously all about the money, I think your theory has more chances than mine to be true.. I think they’ll push it as long as they can get away with it.
(I’m glad I’m not the only one thinking about this stuff, this blog rules) 🙂
Never too much Maiden nerding! 😉
Okay, 1 song off each album. Have your pick! Tell us! That would be one hell of a setlist discussion on the official forum! For those of us who think it’s OK to discuss setlists… 🙂
hehehe well including a new album
01. The Wicker Man
02. Song from new album
03. Wrathchild
04. Coming Home
05. The Trooper
06. Dance of Death
07. Wasted Years
08. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
09. The Evil that Men Do
10. Powerslave
11. Futureal
12. The Sign of the Cross
13. Iron Maiden
ENCORE
14. Fear of The Dark
15. Bring Your Daughter … to the Slaughter (I know but it was no1 single, so..)
16. Hallowed Be Thy Name
(There are tons more of classics that I’d prefer to hear than those above, but being their final tour I think that it’d be best to play their most known classic hits. They blew their chance of exploring more rare classics with this tour IMO)
It is kind of ironic to mention that Maiden now is “all about the money” while releasing multiple versions of singles to maximise profit and chart positions during the 80s and 90s was not frowned upon.
Iron Maiden have always been a huge money making machine and, as long as they keep on putting an amazing live show night after night and recording really good albums as they have been doing since the reunion in 1999, I am happy with that. I will proudly tell my grandchildren that I was there when they did that.
Personally, I’ve always seen Maiden as a money machine, although a high quality one. And I was never one of those who bought every version of singles in the 80s and 90s, because I didn’t support that scheme.
But many would probably point to a major difference between now and then: The product Maiden put out in the 80s, whether it was albums or stage productions, was second to none. The packaging of albums is one case where it would be fair to say that they don’t put as much into it as they did before. (I liked TFF when it came to this, but the rest of the new albums are mediocre packages, imo…)
Neither do they create stage shows as diverse as the monumental efforts of 1984-1988, and although this isn’t a problem for me I do understand why some people feel a little more should be put into it. It’s obvious that Maiden have standardized their operation in order to be as cost effective as possible.
And then it’s the picture discs… 😉
Yes but the singles then were a product of new music they produced… Steve Harris told in 88 he didn’t make maiden england a double album but just a vhs cause he thought not many years have passed since live after death (1985-1989!!!!)
Nowadays Rock In Rio (2002) Death on The Road (2005cd2006dvd) Live after death(2008) flight 666(2009) en vivo (2012) maiden england (2013) don’t get me wrong I bought all of them and loved em, but i’m just saying.
I believe that back then it was quality first and then money..
I didn’t say that it’s all about the money about that anyway I said it for how far they’re pushing it tour wise, with some bad performances for their high standards, as a result, when in 2003 adrian said they’d pase the tours up better so they could give 100%.
Aaaahhh, the nerding. I’m gonna go:
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
BRING YOUR DAUGHTER…TO THE SLAUGHTER
THE WICKER MAN
COMING HOME
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
RAINMAKER
new song 2014
KILLERS
THE CLANSMAN
FLIGHT OF ICARUS
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT
RUN TO THE HILLS
IRON MAIDEN
FEAR OF THE DARK
WASTED YEARS
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
Sorry, could only find room for 1 Blaze track, and I agree that the major hits will HAVE to get played on the final round. Like you said, they didn’t HAVE to this time around, but now that opportunity for variation has come and gone… Still, if they found room for Stranger and Killers on their 1999 reunion tour, they could find room for them on the farewell tour too without getting too many complaints. 😉
PS: Couldn’t stick to 1 song pr album!
PPS: With 7th Son getting so much light now, I left it out… Only songs they might ever do again are Madness, Evil and Clairvoyant, and I’m not sure I’d replace any in this set with one of those… Well, obviously I would (FOTD), but I’m not sure Steve would. 😉
A farewell tour, eh? 😀 😉
“Iron Maiden announce the ‘Somewhere Back In Time Again Brought To You By The Fine People At Trooper Brand Ale’ World Tour 2016!
Says bassist Steve Harris: ‘We’ve had lots of fun on our past couple tours revisiting some of our fans’ favorite tunes like Run To The Hills, Two Minutes to Midnight, The Trooper, Number of The Beast, Run To The Hills… um… Two Minutes To Midnight and, er… Run To The Hills. This time ’round we’ll be sure to give the fans what they want, along with some rarer old tracks like Can I Play With Madness, Running Free, Aces High, Moonchild, and Wrathchild! Some of those songs are over 30 years old, and we haven’t played Wrathchild since 2010! In addition, a lot of our younger fans weren’t even born when albums like Somewhere In Time, Killers, and No Prayer For The Dying came out, so we’ll make sure to play as little as possible from those albums.” Comments singer Bruce Dickinson: “TROOPER BEER! Full-bodied, smooth, and refreshing, and it tastes EXACTLY the same every time! No surprises, nothing new, and no palpable excitement after the first taste: the same consistency our fans have come to expect of us on our recent tours! Make sure to pick up a sixer on your way in and one on your way out for the ride home!”
“We want to make sure our fans get the best possible value for their money”, adds manager Rod Smallwood, “So we’ll be upgrading everyone’s fanclub membership to the new TROOPER BEER DRINKERS CLUB level for an additional $99.99 a year! For that price you’ll get a free sixer mailed to your house with each bottle signed by one member of the band, and passes for a lifetime of free tours of Robinsons’ Brewery in the UK! Oh, and, paperless tickets.”
ACES HIGH
TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT
THE TROOPER
WRATHCHILD
RUN TO THE HILLS
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
WRATHCHILD
RUN TO THE HILLS
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
WASTED YEARS
RUN TO THE HILLS
FEAR OF THE DARK
IRON MAIDEN
MOONCHILD
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
RUNNING FREE
The stage set will be the Trooper Ale label repeated in a pattern on the fabric, every song will have two walking Eddies, eight pyro flame towers, fireworks, sparklers and a fog machine. And then they’ll sell T-shirts with Killers, Flight of Icarus, Women In Uniform, Be Quick Or Be Dead and Different World on them!
hahahaha, sorry, I had to have a laugh…
hehehehe… Unfortunately not too far from reality 😛
If this was the official forum, I’d tell you to fuck off for not being a real fan. Hehe…
Hahaha. Well, if it’s any consolation, I MUCH prefer this blog to the official forum, for that reason and many others.
Me, too! 😉
Not to pat my own back, but I have to admit that the official forum always puts me in a bad mood, so I’ve simply had to quit it. Not worth the headaches.
Not at all. Ditto here.
In the spirit of nerdiness, here’s my “one song per album” setlist (making an exception for Hallowed-because it’s Hallowed!)
WHERE EAGLES DARE
FUTUREAL
EL DORADO
KILLERS
SIGN OF THE CROSS
TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT
PASCHENDALE
LORD OF LIGHT
THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
TAILGUNNER
FEAR OF THE DARK
IRON MAIDEN
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
THE WICKER MAN
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
As for the Donny 88 show, as Adam says it was certainly filmed and it was certainly recorded. If the band still owns complete footage it’s strange that it wasn’t included on Maiden England ’88, like Rock In Rio ’85 was included on Live After Death. The only reason for holding it back would be a plan to release a Donington box set, as Adam speculates. This would be so awesome that I don’t dare to hope for it…
I think we’re looking at a case of Stranger in a Strange Land video clip that was professionally recorded by them, but only the song not the full concert at odeon.. If there were more it would sure be leaked already, or footage of it would be used on the documentary of maiden england dvd, where they only used parts of the clairvoyant clip
True, but Maiden seem to be milking every release they can get while putting on less and less actual content. From Early Days to Live After Death to Maiden England ’88, the number of extras and running times have done nothing but decrease. This is why it wouldn’t surprise me if Donny ’88 ended up existing in whole, and was going to be released sometime in the future, perhaps in a post-active Iron Maiden world…
The thing that really bothers me about the Maiden England ’88 documentary is the increasingly megalomaniac Rod Smallwood. I am still wondering why he decided to scrap all the interviews made for the original documentary (we must not forget they had planned to release this in 2008, so the documentary should have been completed when they started the Somewhere Back in Time tour). I can understand interviewing the band members again, but getting rid of othe key players from that era that were probably interviewed (Martin Birch, Ross Halfin, members of the crew and record company) is ridiculous.
I agree with Ghost. Not having Martin Birch in a documentary about SIT and SSOASS is completely off… But I don’t really know if they filmed interviews for this one way back. They might not have for all I know.
In any case, the docu we got leaves A LOT to be desired, and it’s disappointing because, as Adam says, the Early Days set was really good. I also think Live After Death is good, 1 hour of discussions about Powerslave and LAD is cool, and adding the Rock In Rio show is great. Maiden England is a great concert feature, but the rest of the package is below par.
I want to hear Birch’s perspectives on the making of two of the most important albums in Maiden’s catalog. It’s a horrible omission.
I think that Martin was a lot skeptic bout those 2 albums and the direction the band was taking with the sound and especially the b-sides… so I think he might have had harsh words to say, which didn’t fit the high class image that maiden have nowadays..
But the more possible reason is simply quick and low budget reasons. Ross halfin was sure to be sacked from the interviews cause they replaced him as a photographer. But the interviews seem very rushed, (damn Nicko is even talking on the road outside of a building xD) and even though the documentary touches dark and secret things in IM history, it seems like it leaves everything unfinished.. When they were talking 1 hour about Powerslave basically they talked only 40′ bout 2 of their also greatest and more controversial albums. And we all know what this “documentary” looks like visually LOL
Martin was a skeptic when it came to SIT and SSOASS? That’s news to me. He’s on record saying he thought Bruce and Adrian could pull Maiden too far away from the proper path, which is why he nixed Bruce’s songs for SIT. But there’s the point – those songs are not on the album. In other words, Martin got the Maiden record he thought was right.
Sonically, his criticism in the official bio is that he thought they should have used a better studio for Piece Of Mind and Powerslave, to get better technical results. No word about SIT or SSOASS going the wrong way.
He wasn’t negative about the B-sides either, but he has stated that putting Reach Out on the record and not a single B-side would have been wrong. He got what he wanted.
I have never heard or seen Martin being negative about the direction the band was taking in the late 80s. The only album he did for them where there was clear friction was No Prayer For The Dying, which he wanted to do in a real studio and not a mobile outside a barn. What he thinks of it is also reflected in his comment about Fear Of The Dark, that he thought the band was now “back on track”.
But Martin Birch being negative about SIT and SSOASS? That would be Maiden revelations indeed.
That’s exactly what i meant… he might have to say bad things bout the ideas that members brought in.. I know that the end result is partly his opinion but still he thought that it could easily go wrong… I don’t think he thinks the albums are bad or anything.
But then he wouldn’t have to say anything but what the band themselves are saying and have been saying for years and years, so what would be the problem?
Yes but it’s different to hear it from within the band (they can hide certain details :P) than from the producer … I know that’s too pushy to be the reason why but it’s just a speculation
Fair enough. I would want to hear from mr. Birch about these records, whatever he might have to say about it. 😉
Hey lads
Any of ye maiden fans on Skype ?
eoindalybsc if yer interested in Ireland maiden
I’m not Skyping much, but do you have a website for Ireland?
TV broadcast footage from Download, mixed by Kevin Shirley. The band sounds fucking phenomenal, despite the boring song choices by the TV network. http://youtu.be/jiVTAs1TyYg
Fits with my impression in Stockholm. The band sounds really good right now, so I pray we get a kick-ass DVD from this tour. Shame that they didn’t do more to dress the stage. Visually, that’s the only thing missing. The Eddies are great.
One thought: If they do release a DVD from this tour, as soon as possible, which they must, we finally have an official DVD release featuring Phantom Of The Opera.
That’s true. Might do something to offset the hilarity of the similarity between this DVD and Flight 666! 😉 I’m also looking forward to Afraid To Shoot Strangers, as I’ve never been fond of the ’92/Blaze live versions.
Speaking of Flight 666, am I the only one who felt like they were watching a 1 hour commercial? It was so over-edited and cleaned up…
No, I personally find Flight 666 to be a very good Maiden live document. I always prefer it if everything is from the same concert, but the performances and editing is actually top-notch in my opinion.
Adam, I think this tour’s version of Afraid To Shoot Strangers is easily the greatest they ever did. Just a shame that Infinite Dreams didn’t get its greatest ever rendition in place of a song that wasn’t meant to be there. 😉
Well, in terms of the overlap between the next live DVD and Flight 666, the songs that were not on the previous history concert film are The Prisoner, Afraid To Shoot Strangers, Phantom Of The Opera, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, The Evil That Men Do, and Running Free. Meanwhile, the latter two were actually in En Vivo! so it brings the amount of “new songs” down to 4, if we’re kind.
But some of the tunes could have their best ever rendition here.
I’ve wished for years they had enough on film of the MOLAD Tour to give it a proper release. Download 2007 is fine and all, but the tour set list is what I prefer. The Legacy was often one of Bruce’s finest hours on that tour. A shame that the only document of it are several phone, and shaky cam clips. I love that album, and tour so. Maybe they do have enough culled away somewhere to do a Flight 666 type concert presentation one day. I hope.
As it stands, the AMOLAD tour could turn into the modern version of Somewhere On Tour. Why the FUCK didn’t the show get a proper recording…?
Kevin Shirley is present for the Sao Paulo and Rio concerts. That would most likely mean live recordings.
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Well, I didn’t follow the whole post and the replies, but it has being said that they would record the Rock in Rio version for this tour.
Anyway, I can’t wait for my second gig of this tour here in The Netherlands.
UP THE IRONS!
been* instead of being. Sorry, mates!
Rio, Sao Paulo and Donington were recorded by Kevin Shirley last year.
Could someone please answer this question for me?
The article said we would have another Maiden live release that didn’t have the full stage production as Flight 666 & En Vivo! What stage production was missing from En Vivo! exactly?
Probably just details to most people, but stuff like the lights along the top of the backline were missing in the shows that were filmed for En Vivo!.