I have been looking forward to Iron Maiden since I bought tickets with my dad back in September 2024, so now being able to publish a review of their show is a massive honour in my eyes.

Iron Maiden’s “Run For Your Lives” tour commemorates their 50-year anniversary together as a band. For this reason, I think it was extra special that I was able to see them live for the first time during this era.

At the start of the concert, Bruce Dickinson said “we’ve never done a greatest hits tour,” which brought out an instant reaction from the crowd as everyone erupted into cheers of anticipation of being able to hear all their greatest songs live in one night.

The Co-op Live felt like the ultimate venue for Iron Maiden as it is the biggest arena in the whole of Manchester, and looking around, it was definitely the right call. There was not a single empty seat in the entire arena, and the general admission standing area was packed completely to the back, with people thankfully leaving enough space for others to weave through the crowd and get closer to the front.

They performed my favourite song, “Phantom of the Opera,” quite early on into their setlist, which was just amazing to hear and sing along to live. All of the songs they played were well received- most of their audience consisted of older men who presumably have been listening to them for many years and knew all the words and instrumental solos in all of their songs.

Their stage presence was unbelievable. They were all very energetic, jumping and running around the stage for the whole two hours. I loved all the outfit changes what correlated with the display screen in the back, painting a story that carried on throughout the whole show and was very interesting to observe as a first-time watcher. One of my favourite moments of the show was when Eddie walked out on stage a few times, towering over all of the band members and swinging an axe one of the times.

After the show, I managed to talk to one of the fans from the audience. When asked about what their favourite part of the show was, they said, “I liked the encore, right at the beginning where there were plane sounds and visuals…I f*cking loved the show”

All photo credits: John McMurtrie