Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 1987)
Weeks after finishing the new album and just a little over a year since the end of the World Slavery Tour, Maiden were on the road again. This time they insisted on an 8 month tour, as opposed to the 11 and a half months. The tour started again in Eastern Europe, starting with Yugoslavia and working its way through Poland for a return behind the Iron Curtain. They then went on their usual route of a full blown UK tour followed by the rest of Europe and then the USA. Unlike the World Slavery Tour, there were no stops in Australia or South America and the US only got one leg (although it lasted 4 months and they went pretty much everywhere). The tour finished in Japan, including an appearance at the legendary Budokan.
While Maiden cut back on the tour dates, they did not scale back on their stage show. Topping the last tour was going to be a challenge, but Maiden delivered once again. They adapted the album artwork into a futuristic/space themed stage with light-up backdrops and a drum riser that looked like a spaceship. The centerpiece of the show was the inflatable Eddie, whose head emerged below the drum kit, causing it to elevate toward the top of the stage. His arms rested at the front of the stage, serving as platforms for Bruce and Steve. Of course there was also a smaller walk-on cyborg Eddie. This was probably the best walk-on Eddie yet and very closely resembled the one on the artwork.
As usual, the setlist was heavy on the latest album. Five out of eight songs were performed from the new album for most of the tour. A sixth, The Loneliness Of the Long Distance Runner, was performed at the first date but was immediately dropped. This was also the first tour in which the Harris epic from the latest album was not played. Alexander The Great was surprisingly left off the setlist. Instead, they performed Rime again. The other highlight of the show was a guitar duet performed by Dave and Adrian. The Dave Murray guitar solo was a staple for Maiden’s concerts in the 80s, but this was the first time Adrian Smith joined him in the solo spot and the last time any sort of guitar solo was included in the set. The atmospheric duet culminated with a rendition of Walking On the Air from the animated adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman. Trivia question: Maiden would take influence from the work of Briggs again in their history. Name that song.
Other highlights included the return of Phantom Of the Opera as a mainstay in the set, the return of Where Eagles Dare, and Children Of the Damned. By this point in the band’s history the setlist staples have mostly been established and the structure of the set has been solidified.
Unfortunately, Somewhere On Tour is infamously undocumented. Since Maiden had just invested in a high budget live album/video, Rod Smallwood found it unnecessary to record the next tour. The result is the first Maiden tour with absolutely no officially released material. No live album, no live video, no live b-sides. The only official footage can be found on 12 Wasted Years in short clips, including the Stranger In a Strange Land video which was recorded in Sheffield. This is especially unfortunate because, in addition to not having a document of the stage show, much of the Somewhere In Time album was forgotten after this tour, so there are no officially released recordings of those songs.
Thankfully there are bootlegs, including some professionally shot footage. The bootlegs with the best sound quality were actually filmed, which is nice considering there are no officially released SIT shows. Since they are all on youtube, I’m not going to upload any audio bootlegs this time around as there’s really no need. Here are the three essential videos from the tour:
Sheffield:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd0ElWAZY2A This is actually the show where the Stranger In a Strange Land video was shot. You can see the cameras during that song and during Iron Maiden. Sadly it looks like the film crew didn’t capture the rest of the set. Anyway, this bootleg was filmed by an audience member but the sound actually comes from a soundboard recording, so it’s actually probably the best sounding boot from this tour.
Paris:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrciOJY4CM8&t=3476s Philly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1EE-YR4fi4 (incomplete)
These two shows are both pro-shot. I really don’t understand why they didn’t officially release one of these for the Maiden England DVD. They show a clip of Paris in the documentary on that DVD so they definitely have it in their possession. It’s not the highest of quality but it’s better than nothing.