Iron Maiden Killers tour Newcastle City Hall 1981
Iron Maiden were riding the crest of a wave in 1981. They released their second album Killers, and set out on a world tour which started off in the UK and took them across Europe , to Japan and the USA. I saw them when they played at Newcastle City Hall on 7th March 1981. Support came from Trust, a French heavy metal band. By now Maiden were establishing themselves as a rock band in their own right, with an identity of their own outside of the NWOBHM movement. And a pretty impressive rock band they were too. Most of the tracks on the new album already featured in Maiden’s live set, and were already well know to the fans. Themes of horror and darkness ran through it all: Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue, the Phantom of the Opera, The Ides of March. 
Some heavy symbolic stuff which was right up my street, along with mascot Eddie who featured in all their graphics, on album covers, tour programmes, their backdrop, and in person at the end of their set. Great stuff. By the end of the tour Paul Di’Anno was suffering from the pressure and the use of drugs and alcohol and was dismissed by the band. His replacement was Bruce Dickenson, aka Bruce Bruce from Samson. I’d see Bruce with Samson, and rated him OK, but not in the same league as Paul Di’Anno or Maiden. How wrong I was. Bruce rose to the challenge and more. I’ll write about that tomorrow. Setlist: The Ides of March; Wrathchild; Purgatory; Sanctuary; Remember Tomorrow; Another Life; Genghis Khan; Killers; Innocent Exile; Murders in the Rue Morgue; Twilight Zone; Phantom of the Opera; Iron Maiden; Running Free; Transylvania; Drifter; Prowler
7 Jun
Iron Maiden Killers tour Newcastle City Hall 1981
Posted June 7, 2013 by vintagerock in Iron Maiden. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy metal, heavy rock, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. 4 Comments
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Posted by Ms. Ray on June 7, 2013 at 6:10 pm
I didn’t discover Maiden until 1983, about 4 months before “Piece of Mind” was released. I was only 12. Just reading this, seeing the old ticket, gave me chills. What makes Maiden so special is that they create an experience, not just music. Thank you for sharing this!
Posted by Andy on October 3, 2014 at 7:08 pm
My first concert, and my 15th birthday. Happy days!
Posted by vintagerock on October 3, 2014 at 7:20 pm
Happy days Andy many thanks Peter
Posted by Aaron Wong on May 24, 2017 at 6:33 am
Hey, a friend of mine discovered some pics of “killers” maiden using kendo armor, we practice kendo and would like to know in which context were they using it… do you have any idea? I searched for Iron Maiden kendo and got a video in youtube with just audio from this 1981 new castle concert and a still of an album cover (?) that reads “iron maiden english killers” with the boys in kendo garments… do you have any idea where did they include this pics in? Some links:
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTNS72jOso4TOlrTeLLqab9KceUq6SYYyRYXMf55irjfxo2tAgqd_6Du_GBnw