HALLOWED BE THY STALE

With Iron Maiden about to return to the UK as part of their Run For Your Lives world tour, manager Rod Smallwood shares with us what he regards as “the most important and interesting” shows the band have ever played.

- Paul Elliott

As manager of Iron Maiden for 45 years, Rod Smallwood has seen the band play live hundreds upon hundreds of times. That number will increase by the dozen as Maiden celebrate their 50th anniversary with the Run For Your Lives tour – their first with new drummer Simon Dawson in place of the long-serving Nicko McBrain.

“Maiden want to tour every year,” Smallwood says. “It’s not me cracking the whip and saying: ‘You've got to keep working,’ it’s the guys. They genuinely love touring.”

There have been many changes along the way. The band have been fronted by three different singers: Paul Di’Anno, Bruce Dickinson and Blaze Bayley. But the very first time Smallwood saw them, bassist Steve Harris had to sing because Di’Anno, the young rascal, had been nicked. That infamous gig, in a London boozer back in 1979, is where Smallwood begins as he tells gives us his Top 10 landmark Iron Maiden shows from across the years.

“These aren’t necessarily the best gigs,” he explains. “But to me they’re the most important and interesting. And in every case they’re teaching us something.”

THE SWAN, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON, UK. JULY 1979

This was the first show I ever saw by Maiden, and they had to play without Paul [Di’Anno, vocalist] because he’d been arrested for carrying a flick-knife. Even though I wasn’t managing the band then, I went into management mode and called the cop station, but they wouldn’t let Paul out. So it was just three of them: Steve [Harris, bass], Dave [Murray, guitar] and the original drummer, Dougie Sampson. I said to Steve: “Do you know the words to the songs?” He said: “Yeah, I wrote them.” I said: “Can you sing?” He said: “Not very well.” “Can you try?” “Yeah, fine.”

The Swan was an old pub on Hammersmith roundabout. Bands played in this tiny room in the back. About thirty people were in there that night. I can still see it now in my mind’s eye…