World Slavery Tour (1984 - 1985)
In August 1984, two months after recording Powerslave and one month before release, the band embarked on their largest tour ever. The itinerary would’ve made today’s bands recoil in horror. They only paused for a two week break in Christmas ‘84 and ran until July 1985. It included a full UK tour, a European run that took them to the Eastern Bloc, two massive North American legs, a Japanese tour, an Australian tour, and their first South American gig. There were long stretches in gigs, from 3 night runs to 4 night runs to even 7 night runs (Radio City, but the last two gigs were cancelled when Bruce got sick). To accompany this tour, the band brought their largest and most bombastic stage show ever. It featured, for the first time, two Eddies instead of one. The regular walk on Eddie during Powerslave and a massive Eddie that was revealed during Iron Maiden. There was pyro, elaborate lighting, and backdrops to punctuate the Ancient Egypt theme. Maiden were truly on top of the world and this tour marks their peak as a touring band.
The World Slavery Tour was really the beginning of the Maiden live show as we know it now. The stage set up became the standard for every tour since, with the platforms and the drapes in the background. The previous tours were similar in design but slightly different. The tour also began the tradition of two Eddies: one that walks on stage and a big Eddie that appears during Iron Maiden. The setlist for this tour also established many of the traditions that continue today. Hallowed won the competition with Phantom over which would become the staple epic, as this tour became the first not to feature Phantom in the regular setlist (it was played occasionally). Running Free replaced Drifter as the fun audience participation closer. This was also the beginning of the band cutting back on the number of new songs played live, with only 5 out of 8 songs played from Powerslave as opposed to 7 out of 9 from Piece of Mind and 6 out of 8 from NOTB (plus one of the b-sides). Losfer Words was also dropped midway through the tour, cutting the number down to 4. 5 or 6 new songs would become the standard going forward.
The World Slavery Tour was massive, and as a result there is a lot to talk about here. While Live After Death is the main event, I’d like to go in order so we can see how the tour developed.
Behind The Iron Curtain (August, 1984)
The band were already making history at the very start of this tour when they decided to begin the tour in the Soviet controlled Eastern Bloc, also known as the “Iron Curtain”. Not many bands toured there and nobody brought a full production there. Maiden became the first to bring their full production to the region, and it was for Powerslave of all tours. Behind The Iron Curtain is a documentary that originally aired on MTV, was subsequently released on VHS, and again on DVD as a bonus feature on Live After Death. The Live After Death version is definitive, as it’s an extended cut. It follows the band’s tour both on and off stage. The live clips are fairly low quality but it’s pretty incredible seeing how they crammed the whole stage show into the tiny auditoriums. Compare the footage on this video to Live After Death and it’s hard to believe that it’s the same stage. As far as I know they didn’t take any shortcuts either.
The documentary footage is also pretty fun. There are some behind the scenes clips here and there from before 1984 but this was the first look at what Maiden were like offstage. You get to see them play football/soccer, hang out on their bus, and go sight seeing. One of the most memorable moments is when they were invited to a Polish wedding. They showed up and played Smoke On the Water on a tiny stage and mingled with the attendees. This was also the scene of what is probably the most infamous moment on the documentary: Bruce Dickinson declaring that “you can’t play Heavy Metal with synthesizers”.
Four Nights At Hammersmith (October 1984)
(Single artwork for the Live After Death recording of Run To The Hills, which included two songs on the b-side recorded at Hammersmith)
With all the officially released material from this tour, bootlegs hardly seem necessary. But, as discussed earlier, in the 80’s the USA got a shorter setlist than Europe. So what you get on Live After Death is the abridged setlist. In addition to the four night run in Long Beach, Maiden recorded an earlier four night run in Hammersmith. By recording two different stops, they were given a lot of material to work with. Ultimately they went with Long Beach, but they did include some recordings from the first night at Hammersmith on side 4 of Live After Death and as b-sides to the two singles that were released for the album. So all the songs that were played on the tour were released officially, just never a full length concert recording.
With all that in mind, here’s the third night at Hammersmith. It’s fun to hear how the show evolved, from the setlist to Bruce’s banter to the tightness of the band. They’re a little more loose here and there’s always an energy level when Maiden are playing their home turf that’s unlike any other location in the world. It feels less “rehearsed” than Long Beach. It’s also one of the rare instances of Murders In the Rue Morgue and Phantom Of the Opera being performed on this tour. You also get Losfer Words, which was still a regular at this point.
Download:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o9bzw5yxogezqlr/1984-10-12%20-%20London%2C%20England%20-%20V2%20%28Taped%20by%20Gig%20Addiction%29%20%28Balls%20Up%20in%20the%20Balcony%29%20%28DMM%20024%29%20%2868.48%2C%2047.09%29%20copy.zip?dl=0Rock In Rio (January 1985)
The band took a detour in their North American tour to fly down to South America and perform at the very first Rock In Rio. They were on directly before Queen (can you imagine following the Powerslave show? Even Queen would struggle) and performed a complete set. An excerpt of the show is also included on the Live After Death DVD, but bootlegs exist of the full performance (it was broadcasted live on TV and radio). The concert was massive and probably the largest audience Maiden ever played to. Capacity rules were less rigid in 1985 than in 2001 so there was less of a limit on how many people were allowed into the venue. Exact figures are unknown, but attendance is said to be around 30,000.
There are a few moments of note in the officially released video of Rock In Rio. You can hear Bruce yelling at someone to turn up his monitors, a rare video recording of Dave Murray’s guitar solo, and Bruce splitting his head open on one of the guitars during Revelations and continuing to perform. It’s a solid performance and another legendary moment in the band’s career.
Live After Death (March, 1985)
Of course the crown jewel of the Powerslave tour is the live album. Released two months after the tour ended, Live After Death was the band’s first full length live album. It’s their Alive!/At Budokan/Made In Japan. A classic live album that helped cement Maiden as one of the premier live bands.
The album and video were recorded over a 4 night stretch at Long Beach Arena in Los Angeles (in addition to being their first live album, it’s the only complete performance they recorded in America). Both cull from different nights, so when you watch the video you get a different performance than when you listen to the album. Side 4 of LAD was taken from the first night of their previously mentioned Hammersmith run. The b-sides from the Live After Death single contained more songs from the Hammersmith show, so you get a nice selection of songs that weren’t performed at Long Beach.
Live After Death, especially the video, really captures the spectacle of live Maiden. It depicts the band and their stage as larger than life and features an onslaught of future classics. It could be argued that many of the songs that are live staples today became that way because of their presence on this album. At this point the band had been on tour for 8 months and the show was refined and rehearsed to the point where the everything ran extremely smoothly. The band is tight and the cues all occur without errors. Bruce’s voice has started to wear by this point (he was generally pretty inconsistent live in the 80s), but he doesn’t compromise as a performer.
While it’s unfortunate that only four songs from Powerslave were being played at this point, it actually works in the album’s favor. Live After Death serves as a “Greatest Hits” package for the band’s early days with each album getting time in the spotlight (only Killers is underrepresented with just one song).
Live After Death was a huge success for the band and is up there with Number Of the Beast as a landmark album. Many consider it their greatest album and one of the great live albums of any genre. It’s a great way to commemorate such a legendary tour.
Live After Death was finally released on DVD in 2008. The DVD features pretty much everything I’ve discussed in this post and more. There are pictures, music videos, and an in depth documentary chronicling the making of Powerslave and the tour. Lots of cool stories that I haven’t even mentioned. Definitely another essential release.
The Entire Population of Hackney (December 1985)
When the World Slavery Tour concluded in California in July, the band took their first extended break since being signed to EMI. The usual protocol was to tour into December, take a two week break for Christmas, and then reconvene in the new year to write the next album and repeat the process. With Powerslave, the tour extended beyond December and into 1985, so the band took the rest of the year off.
Despite touring almost nonstop for an entire year, not everybody wanted the extended break. Nicko quickly grew frustrated and, along with Adrian Smith, rented a rehearsal studio for jamming. They invited some other musicians, including some from Adrian’s old band, Urchin, and The Entire Population of Hackney was born.
While this project was short lived, it is relevant to discuss briefly because it partially shaped the direction of the next album and serves as a nice bridge between the Powerslave era and the band’s experimental era. Several of the songs performed by this group were later recorded as b-sides for SIT singles. The project also allowed Adrian Smith to get in touch with his pre-Maiden roots, which was a more melodic almost AOR style. This style in turn influenced Smith’s writing style for the next album, but more on that later.
The band performed two gigs at the London Marquee (an old Maiden haunt) and luckily one was recorded and circulated as a bootleg. There are some Urchin songs, some FM songs, covers, and some songs that would be used in later Adrian Smith solo projects. It becomes an Iron Maiden gig by the end when Steve, Dave, and Bruce join in for Losfer Words, 2 Minutes to Midnight, and covers of Tush and Rosalie. It also features future Maiden b-sides Juanita, That Girl, and Reach Out.
Download:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jxwagmkd2jzip58/The%20Entire%20Population%20of%20Hackney%20-%201985-12-19%20-%20Marquee%20Club%2C%20London%2C%20England%20-%20V4%20%28Different%20duration%29%20%2844.21%2C%2043.37%29%20copy.zip?dl=0------------------------------------------------------
I'm probably not going to be able to update this on Sunday, so it'll be another week or so before we move on to Somewhere In Time, but hopefully there's a lot to digest and discuss here.
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