Iron Maiden might retire with a show as grand and star-studded as Black Sabbath’s swansong this year.
In the new issue of Metal Hammer, founding bassist Steve Harris is asked if the heavy metal giants will bow out with their own version of Back To The Beginning, which featured an all-star bill, crammed Birmingham’s Villa Park stadium and raised millions of pounds for charity back in July.
He refuses to rule out the idea, explaining that that multiple fans have said that they want the band to do something in that vein.
“We don’t tend to look back,” Harris tells us. “I know we’ve had the book come out [referring to their recent 50th-anniversary compendium, Infinite Dreams] and we’ve been focussed on that, but normally we’re more interested in what comes next.”
He continues: “It sounds like some people would like that to happen, but I don’t know. We’ll see.”
Back To The Beginning took place on July 5 and saw the original Black Sabbath lineup – singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist/lyricist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – play together in public for the first time since September 2005. Supporting them was a who’s-who of hard rock and metal, including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Mastodon, Gojira, Slayer and Anthrax.
It was initially reported that the event raised approximately £140 million for charity, but that figure was disputed by Ozzy’s wife/manager, Sharon Osbourne. Last month, she said that the total raised was actually $11 million (£8,224,700).
“It raised 11 [million],” she said on a podcast with two of her and Ozzy’s children, Kelly and Jack. “But with the cost, ’cause we paid the cost of bringing everybody in, everybody out, accommodation, everything. No one got paid. Nobody asked for a penny. They gave their time, their efforts, everything for free. People were just, oh God, so generous.”
Ozzy died on July 22, just 17 days after Back To The Beginning, aged 76. His death was met with widespread mourning, especially in Birmingham, Sabbath’s hometown. When his cortège passed through the city on July 30 en route to a private funeral, tens of thousands of fans came out to see the procession and pay their respects.
Iron Maiden are currently enjoying some downtime between legs of their 50th-anniversary Run For Your Lives tour, which picks back up again in the spring. The band will play in continental Europe from May to July, before jetting to their native UK for a one-off show at Knebworth House on July 11. From August to October, they’ll bring the production to North and Central America.
Harris is using the current gap in Maiden’s schedule to tour UK clubs with his hard rock side-project, British Lion. The band, which features touring Maiden drummer Simon Dawson, will perform at Chinnerys in Southend-On-Sea tonight (December 13). From December 15 to 19, they’ll do a series of shows at the Cart And Horses pub in East London, where Maiden played many of their early gigs.
The new Hammer offers the essential breakdown of 2025 in metal, including interviews with the hottest stars of the year as well as our list of the best albums of the past 12 months. Order your copy online and get it delivered directly to your door.
