In 1983 Iron Maiden released their fourth album Piece of Mind, followed by the magnificent World Piece Tour, a tour that saw the band headline in North America for the first time. Here is a glorious bootleg video from Uniondale, New York.

About the show: Filmed at the 16 000 capacity Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on 25 August 1983. Footage of full shows from the World Piece Tour are rare and the quality is not that great, but the vibe and intensity of this performance is absolutely incredible. This is proof of the power of Maiden’s early classic era.

Bruce Dickinson is on fire throughout and his in-between song banter is hilarious. It also includes Dave Murray‘s very own take on the national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. Stand-out performances include Where Eagles Dare, To Tame a Land and even The Number of the Beast. You can absolutely tell that this is a band setting out to conquer.

SETLIST:

Where Eagles Dare
Sanctuary
Wrathchild
The Trooper
Revelations
Flight of Icarus
Die With Your Boots On
22 Acacia Avenue
The Number of the Beast
To Tame Land
Guitar Solo
Drum Solo
Hallowed Be Thy Name  
Iron Maiden
Run to the Hills
Drifter

Phantom of the Opera, Still Life and Prowler were dropped from the setlist for the US shows on this tour.

About the World Piece Tour: It kicked off on 2 May 1983 in Hull, England and ended 139 shows later in Dortmund, Germany on 18 December. That now infamous gig was filmed for German TV and is featured on the Early Days DVD from 2004. The tour was immensely successful and really helped setting up the band as a major concert phenomenon in the States, when the band decided to “throw caution to the wind” and launch a headlining tour despite negative advice.

The World Piece Tour ended with Bruce Dickinson brutally “murdering” band mascot Eddie, by ripping his brains out before Murray smashed his Strat in Eddie’s throat.