It’s time to wrap up the Iron Maiden live series, as well as wrap up 2023. This final post will look at a series of tours and concerts that are not officially available as live albums that I wish were. While Maiden have cranked out the live records to the tune of 13, there are several periods in history that are missed and today I’ll be looking at some of those that I’d like to see officially released.

And yes, there is a key word here – “officially.” Most anything I’m going to discuss today is available as a bootleg. But I’m concerned with the (usually) top-quality efforts the band and label release themselves. Also, some of these bootlegs are not easy to find outside of digital download form. Try digging up a physical copy of the 1985 Rock In Rio appearance, it’s kind of ridiculous.

Before I get into specific time periods I’ll go over what I’d like to see overall, since it’s very easy to look at another band and see what they’ve done. Kiss have issued an Off The Soundboard series of different concerts through their career. The packaging is no-frills and minimal, but the point is people get a show that otherwise wasn’t released officially. The Kiss issues have been well-received and I have a few of them even though I’m not a die-hard Kiss collector.

So that’s what I’d like to see from Maiden, is an occasional live release series. Things don’t have to be packaged to the gills or anything, though for Maiden there would need to be some sort of Eddie artwork. But I don’t think it’d be too difficult to pull off an annual or semi-annual release series of shows that aren’t represented already by a live album.

Now, will this happen? I kind of doubt it. I think it makes sense to do, we as Maiden fans are gleefully willing to part with our money for random shit, so getting more live stuff out there wouldn’t be a bad choice. But as many know, Steve Harris is a total control freak and often won’t let a release out without him going over every detail with a fine-tooth comb. He would have to relent some on his micromanaging vision to let a fair bit of archive live material out, as no one has time to go over everything in microscopic detail. Will he do that? Again, I kind of doubt it.

But for the sake of argument let’s say the Captain is agreeable to this archive live idea. What stuff do I want to see? Let’s get into it.

The Somewhere In Time tour

This tour cycle came and went for Maiden, then they jumped straight into Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son and left a lot of SiT sitting on the shelf. They have given the album more live time in ’23 as part of their current Future Past Tour, and rest assured we’ll get a live set from that probably in ’25. But that still leaves the original tour for the album in the dust.

There are well-regarded bootlegs out there for this tour, in fact it’s a pretty hot commodity on the unofficial market as the album was glossed over in years after. There is a Paris performance that I’ve heard previously that is quality, and I’m sure there are several other worthwhile sources for a decent live record. This would be towards the top of the list of tours I want an official representation of.

The Rock In Rio series

Maiden first played this festival in 1985. They released their 2001 performance in the Rock In Rio album and video set. They’ve also played in 2013, ’19 and ’22. And it’s possible I missed a performance in there, all of this shit is listed on one huge Wikipedia page and it’s easy to miss.

But there are four other shots at live stuff there, if only to complete a bit of a vanity series. No need for a video portion or an all-out blitz, these could simply be released as no-frills packages. I do have a bootleg of the 2019 show and it’s overall very good, just with a bit of wonky guitar frequency by way of Nigel Tufnel at the Air Force base in one spot. But for the kind of release I’m envisioning that would be fine, I’m not out for everything to be the out-and-out best stuff ever.

More early stuff

We do have several live EP’s and other collections of Paul Di’Anno-fronted live stuff, but what’s the harm in more? There are some very good sounding radio broadcast bootlegs in circulation and there’s no reason a few of those couldn’t be selected for official release. I wouldn’t mind more archive-style stuff from the early days, it wasn’t a long time period but there’s a fair bit of material out there. There is also an opportunity to release the full version of the Maiden Japan EP, as expanded bootlegs do exist. Why not fill out the performance?

The Blaze years

There is no official live material from the time Blaze Bayley fronted the group. This is understandable as the period is not the band’s most celebrated. But I think it’d be nice to have an official live document from this time.

There is a caveat – Blaze couldn’t sing the Bruce stuff like Bruce could, which on the surface is fair since no one would accuse Blaze of being Bruce. But the band flat refused to step down in scale to accommodate Blaze, which I consider a mistake. I do have some bootleg Blaze stuff and I think it works fine so I don’t have a problem with it, but there are a lot of fans who would be vocally against it. They aren’t writing my wishlist though so screw ’em.

A Matter Of Life And Death

The 2005 album was hailed as one of the band’s best and Maiden took the extra step of performing the whole thing live. After the tour, Maiden transitioned to a retro setlist which came to life in the Flight 666 album and film. This had the side effect of shelving a live release for AMOLAD.

There has also been a lot of chatter that the tour wasn’t as well-received as Maiden hoped for. While the die-hard fanbase was totally up for it, often concerts are filled with more casual fans who aren’t as up on current material, and playing all of the album threw off some attendees. I don’t know any of this for sure, but there’s enough speculation out there to give credence to this line of thought.

With all that said, I want nothing more than an official release of this tour. It would probably be the most unique Maiden live set, with only their current tour rivaling it for interesting cuts. The tour is heavily bootlegged, but I see no reason to shelve an official release of this. And this one could come with all the bells and whistles of a typical Maiden live package, it doesn’t have to be minimal like I’d accept for the other stuff listed here. This one does rank at the top of my wishlist.

I think that about covers it. Sure, I’d love a live release from the Piece Of Mind tour and even No Prayer For The Dying, we might as well have something official for each album cycle and honestly we’re not too far off. Neither of those feel essential, though PoM would probably be well liked.

That covers what I’d like to see for future live Maiden releases. I’m sure we’ll get one for the current tour Future Past, and at some point in time we’re going to have that sad farewell tour and I have no doubt Maiden will release that as well. I’d also speculate that maybe there’s room for one more studio album and a live set focusing on it, I have no clue what the band’s plans are as time goes on. But I hope there’s a will for Harris to let someone go through the archives and release all this and other stuff. I suppose we will see. This does wrap up the Maiden live album series – for now, there is no doubt that it will expand in the future.

The Iron Maiden Live Album Series

Live After Death

A Real Live One

A Real Dead One

Live At Donington

Rock In Rio

BBC Archives

Beast Over Hammersmith

Death On The Road

Flight 666

En Vivo!

Maiden England ’88

The Book Of Souls – Live Chapter

Nights Of The Dead – Legacy Of The Beast Live In Mexico City

The Iron Maiden Live Album Ranking

The Maiden Live Album “Wishlist” (you are here, and you made it to the end!)