Wembley Arena with the fountains in the Square of Fame.
Sunday December 29, 2019.
Wembley is one of those places that I only visit if I am going to see something at the Stadium. However, it has been many years since I have visited the Arena, to see a concert.
My first memory of seeing something at the Arena was back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when I was taken to see Holiday on Ice, by my nan.
Then, in September 1988, I saw Belinda Carlisle in concert. That December I went to my first Iron Maiden gig, there.
Since then I have seen Joe Cocker, Meat Loaf, Sheryl Crow, Iron Maiden (again) and more.
On this visit, to Wembley, it was purely to see the Christmas Lights Festival, so I took this photo, as I did not know when I would next return to the area.
Considering that I had only seen Iron Maiden perform just 15 months before, I, and my friend David, were intrigued as to what to expect just over a year later.
Word had gone round that this would be a completely new experience with a whole new stage set and design. Old classics would be dusted off and newer ones left out. A greatest hits tour? No. Definitely not! Instead a story would be told through four very different parts. The stage would change to match each part and there would be other surprises. These included an inflatable Spitfire, that loomed out over the stage, complete with spinning propellor, pyrotechnics, Eddie T Head, umpteen costume changes, by Bruce Dickinson and a dual flamethrower among other things.
Once again David and I met at Kings Cross, then ate and drank our way to River Thames. Once again we boarded a Thames Clipper, surrounded by Iron Maiden fans of all generations, and headed for the Greenwich Peninsula.
Unlike 2017 the support act were the awful Killswitch Engage, who proceeded to drive the Iron Maiden fans back out to the bar areas.
Knowing that we had plenty of time we had deliberately paced ourselves, so, knowing exactly where our seats were, took our time, thereby saving our eardrums.
Not long after the noise of the support act had left the building, we made our way to our seats, bursting with an anticipation that could be felt trying to burst out of every fan in the arena.
And, boy, we were not disappointed.
As the sounds of their cover of UFO's Doctor Doctor, played from tape, played around the arena, their was a silence that I had never heard at an Iron Maiden concert. The silence didn't last, as Winston Churchill's 'We shall fight them' speech, again played from tape, bellowed from the speakers. The crowd erupted and, as the stage lights came up, the familiar sound of Aces High began. At which point the aforementioned virtually full-size Spitfire, flew above the stage, strafing those in the front, before turning and crashing behind a mountain of amps. This was followed by Where Eagles Dare, 2 Minutes to Midnight, The Clansman and The Trooper. A theme of war pervading the songs.
The set changed from a camouflage draped staged set to a cathedral like setting, complete with stained-glass windows. Even Nicko's drum kit matched the cathedral's stained-glass and, atop his bass drum, Sooty was wearing a Trooper jacket.
Then it was straight into Revelations which was swiftly followed by For the Greater Good of God, The Wicker Man, Sign of the Cross and Flight of Icarus. Then Fear of the Dark was followed by The Number of the Beast and finally Iron Maiden.
For the encore they belted out The Evil That Men Do, Hallowed Be Thy Name and, to round the night off, Run To the Hills.
We left to the sound of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, with a sense of euphoria that I had never experienced before.
This tour is continuing onto 2020, so if you get the chance get a ticket.
Highlights of Iron Maiden's Book of Souls Tour, 2017, at the O2 Arena.
Saturday May 27, 2017.
Following the release of their latest, and possibly best, album, Iron Maiden were touring the world again. And, once again, David and myself would meet up in London, make a day of it and enjoy the concert.
Once again we met, ate and drank, before taking the Thames Clipper which was full of Iron Maiden fans to the Greenwich Peninsula.
Unlike 4 years ago, we made a point of watching the support act, Shinedown, as they were meant to be really good live. Now, any Iron Maiden fan, worth his salt, will tell you that the support act is there to fill the void before the main event and is usually an act being given the chance to play the big arenas. This time, however, things were different. Shinedown were electric and worked the crowd well. It was almost like they were the main act.
Having said that, when Iron Maiden did finally take to the stage, everything else was forgotten. As usual Iron Maiden blew everyone away.
Following the encore we made our way out of the arena and back to the Thames Clipper, and were homeward bound.
Highlights of Iron Maiden's Maiden England Tour, 2013, at the O2 Arena.
Saturday August 3, 2013.
Back in 1982, when I was 10, I bought my first 7-inch single; 'Run to the Hills' by Iron Maiden. Ever since I have been a huge fan, seeing them in various venues across the country.
However, it had been quite a while since I had seen them live, due to a growing family, work and the like.
Thankfully, an old work colleague, David, put on social media that he had a spare ticket to the concert and was looking for someone to go with. I jumped at the chance.
We arranged to meet in London, near Kings Cross, and make a day of it.
Considering that we hadn't seen each other in around 15 years, it was like we had never been apart. Meandering our way down to the River Thames, via a few pubs, we headed for the Thames Clipper and made our way to Greenwich Peninsula.
After a few drinks of Trooper inside the dome, we made our way in to the Arena proper.
We had deliberately missed the support act, but that was of no real concern as they were not who we, or any of the other Maiden fans, had paid to see.
Suffice to say, Iron Maiden were on top form and were absolutely amazing.
The day started with Emma, Erin and myself heading to Rickmansworth, in the morning, just for a change.
We got a bus there and started to mooch around the charity shops. A few good bargains were found and then we checked out the other shops. Soon, Erin started to get hungry, so we headed to 'Caffè Nero's' so that we could feed her and we could have a sit down.
We then had another mooch, before getting a bus home. After a spot of lunch, I headed upstairs to change my clothes and get ready for the afternoon and evening.
Len arrived just after 15:30 and, after he had got changed out of his work gear, we each had a beer and headed off to Watford Metropolitan station. We took the train, which was one of the new trains, to Finchley Road, where we changed to the Jubilee line and continued our journey.
We arrived at North Greenwich just after 18:15 and headed towards the O2 Arena. Since the doors to the show didn't open until 19:00, we decided to head into the 'American Sports Bar & Grill' for a drink. We then went to the 'Union Square Bar', as it was closer to the arena doors, for another drink.
At 19:00 we bought a souvenir programme each and joined the queue to enter the arena. Within moments we were through and heading up the escalator into the Arena proper. We then made our way down the steps to find our seats were on the Arena floor, about 60 feet from the stage.
I think we were both surprised at how fast the O2 Arena filled up and the differences in ages. Toddlers, children, teenagers, young couples all the way through to the elderly. Some people were dressed as Elvis, while others were there for the pure entertainment factor.
