Iron Maiden brought their half-century of heavy metal history to Mexico City’s Estadio GNP, delivering what frontman Bruce Dickinson called the band’s largest-ever concert in the country. An estimated 65,000 fans packed the venue for the show, part of the band’s Run For Your Lives World Tour.
Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers, and touring drummer Simon Dawson (filling in for Nicko McBrain) took the stage just after 9 p.m., opening with classics that sent the crowd into a familiar frenzy of raised fists and headbanging. Dickinson greeted the audience in a mix of Spanish and English before launching into “Phantom of the Opera” and “The Number of the Beast.”
The setlist drew exclusively from the band’s first nine studio albums, spanning their 1980 self-titled debut through 1992’s “Fear of the Dark.” Notably, the band performed “Infinite Dreams” live for the first time since 1988, sparking a mosh pit in the general-admission section. The band’s mascot, the skeletal figure Eddie, appeared throughout the crowd on fans’ shirts and jackets.
Heavy metal band Anthrax opened the show. One longtime fan told reporters he’d seen Iron Maiden every time they’ve toured Mexico, dating back to their first visit in 1992. Curiously, Dickinson stuck to water on stage rather than sampling local tequila.
Read the full story at Reforma.
Source: Celebra Iron Maiden sus 50 años con show en el Estadio GNP (Reforma).
Image: Dusty J, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).