Wednesday, October 26, 2016

35 YEARS AGO TODAY: BRUCE PLAYS HIS FIRST LIVE SHOW WITH IRON MAIDEN


* via ultimateclassicrock:

On Oct. 26, 1981, Iron Maiden performed their first concert with their new singer Bruce Dickinson at the Palasport of Bologna, Italy — a daring personnel change for a band that was already enjoying great success with two fine albums recorded behind well-liked frontman Paul Di’Anno.

Steve Harris had long admired Dickinson’s powerful air raid siren of a voice and saw no reason to change his opinion after Bruce’s successful audition for the band in September 1981, mere days after Di’Anno’s dismissal. Dickinson was offered the job on the spot and told, “Oh, by the way, we’re touring Italy next month!”

And this was how Bruce Dickinson suddenly found himself on stage that night in Bologna: facing the daunting prospect of fronting Iron Maiden’s well-oiled touring machine as they ripped through a seventeen-song set bursting with Di’Anno-era staples like “Sanctuary,” “Wrathchild,” “Running Free” and “Phantom of the Opera.” The band was called back for three encores that night.

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