Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith says the band are enjoying playing live as much as ever, and perhaps more, over fifty years after Steve Harris founded them in London in late 1975.
“`Smith spoke to Peruvian station «Radio Oxígeno» shortly before the show at Lima’s Estadio Nacional on 17 October, about the South American leg of «Run For Your Lives». Asked how the band keeps going after five decades, he replied: «We’re still together, still friends, and we’ve been through our ups and downs. I have to say I think we’re enjoying it as much as ever, if not more. And the audiences are getting better and better».
Smith joined Iron Maiden in 1980, after the debut had been recorded, in place of Dennis Stratton. As for what he would tell his younger self, he said he would probably tell him not to take everything so seriously, but he thinks that without that pressure he might not be doing this job today.
The tour celebrates the band’s fiftieth anniversary and the set list keeps songs only from the first nine albums, from the 1980 debut to 1992’s «Fear Of The Dark». Smith says bringing back songs that had been missing from the stage for years was a joy, and that the songs come back easily, like riding a bike, because they are in the muscle memory.
To the reviews that describe a stage set that is almost cinematic, with the band stronger than ever, he replied that this is what people say, that he feels physically better than he did at twenty and that what he needs is a more careful schedule. He added that three generations come to the shows, even children of seven or eight.
The South American leg continues in Buenos Aires on 20 October, São Paulo on 25 and Santiago on 31, after the show in Quito where Dickinson sang «The Trooper» from the wings because the crowd lit flares. New Zealand and Australia follow in November. The band had hinted that 2026 would end with a break, but announced a third and final leg in North America for spring 2027: 16 dates from 14 April, closing at the Sonic Temple festival in Columbus, Ohio on 14 May and Boardwalk Rock in Ocean City, Maryland on 16 May. Support will be Bullet For My Valentine and The Raven Age.
See also
See also: Iron Maiden Extend «Run For Your Lives» Into 2027 With 16 New North American Shows and Bruce Dickinson: «We have a few surprises up our sleeve» with Iron Maiden.
Source: https://blabbermouth.net/news/iron-maidens-adrian-smith-i-think-were-enjoying-playing-live-as-much-if-not-more-than-ever
