Iron Maiden / Scream For Me Birmingham – 666 The Run For Your Lives Fan Experience

With an incoming review of the Iron Maiden show live and loud from Dublin, here is my take on what to expect, as a fan, when I hopped on board the Iron Maiden press bus for the opening night of the band’s UK Run For Your Lives Tour 2025.

Birmingham is famous for my beloved boss Sir Lenny Henry, the Balti mile, the Black Sabbath Bridge, a banging accent and the Bullring. For 24 hours only, it was home to Eddie and us Maiden fans. As Bruce Dickinson stated when he burst on stage to a sold-out Utilita Arena, “It’s been a while, Birmingham, and it’s great to be back.”

So, on what was the hottest day of the year, thousands of us descended on the beautiful canal-side area of Birmingham, which was buzzing with fans.

As we all know, Iron Maiden and their team always go above and beyond for their fans. So we were thrilled to hear they had set up a pre-gig pop-up pub –  Eddie’s Dive Bar close to the venue to visit for some very important necessities – beer, merch, Metal and selfies with Eddie.

It was hotter than Satan’s socks as we very excited fans descended on Eddie’s to enjoy a pint or ten of Trooper beer and check out the merch as we sampled the delights, both alcoholic and not. Here, I caught up with Iron Maiden fans from all over the world, all wanting to sample a libation ahead of the gig.  

After a short queue, we were in, and it was Maidentastic with fans worldwide stopping by for pre-gig banter. The chat was just sheer joy and energy – talks of what will be on the setlist, excitement about the new production for the show, and enjoying the pre-gig Metal playlist to get us in the mood for Maiden.

One gorgeous lady from the USA was saying I hope they play “Canape With Madness”, which made us all howl with laughter. We soon corrected her.  

Iron Maiden super fan Singh Maiden, who I’m proud to call one of my best friends, was there with the Singh army, and he was absolutely thrilled that he could chill with a pre-gig beer and look at the new merch he had proudly bought. The look on his face as he put it on was one of those legendary ‘I’m with the band’ moments.  

I also caught up with father and son duo, Marty and Dom Zee, who had flown all the way from Florida to witness this gig. “I’ve been a Maiden fan since 1982,” Marty said, and this is a dream come true, especially to see the band with my son, who is also now a huge fan.” They later messaged me and said, “it was the best gig we’ve ever been to. The set list was killer.”

Having had a couple of refreshing Troopers, we headed off to the canal side area to take in the atmosphere. Literally, every single person was dressed in Iron Maiden T-shirts from their favourite eras and cherished gig memories. Mine, of course, was my Maiden T from Twickenham, with Eddie charging up the pitch with a rugby ball. 

My partner enjoyed a lovely glass of Iron Maiden’s darkest red wine, as selected by the band, which was a dark, intense little drop from Douro Portugal with notes of blackberry, cherries, and plums layered over subtle spices and with a bold, rich finish. He says it was delicious.  

The boyf was proudly wearing his Stray T shirt as we are both huge fans, as is Maiden’s very own Steve Harris, of this London band who are still going strong just like the Irons. So imagine my surprise and joy that the first person we bump into once we are heading into the arena is frontman and legend Del Bromham. Total legend.  

At the merch desk, I had already spotted the vintage style T-shirt celebrating 50 years of the Maiden – so I can literally say I’ve been there, done that and bought the T-shirt. As a mahoosive footy fan, I also had to get my latest soccer Up The Irons shirt, which I’ll proudly wear for my next women’s walking football game with the Brentford Empresses. 

We are blessed to be great friends with the Gers family as we all live in Brentford – lovingly called “Just a bus stop in Hounslow or Costa Del Brentford [Ha!]. So we popped into band hospitality for a much-needed water and catch-up. Once again, the buzz was all about how good this upcoming show and UK tour was going to be. 

My bestie Toni (who taught the Gers kids and was the MC of the iconic Chiswick Invasion, which raised thousands for charity) and I had a quick family photo backstage.

Then, it was time to head into the arena, and by now, the excitement was off the hook. As we looked around this packed venue, you could feel the absolute buzz that we were blessed to see our favourite band.  

Something else we were all looking forward to was less of the iPhone in-your-face filming, Iron Maiden encouraging us all to just enjoy the moment. 

I was so happy to see a wonderful post from Iron Maiden’s legendary manager and all-round bloody nice bloke, Rod Smallwood, who stated after the first couple of European shows, “A huge thank you to every one of you who kept your phones down, respected the band and your fellow fans, and embraced the show the way it’s meant to be experienced – in the room with us.

“That was a great boost for us and the band appreciated it greatly. It is so much better when they can see you unencumbered, and that drives them on without that distraction.”

I’ve recently been working on the Ghost tour with my legendary MTV Headbangers Ball presenter, Vanessa Warwick, and they have the no smartphone policy at every gig, and this encourages all fans to take in the show just as it is.

I, for one, hate having to look over a glaring smart phone the size of a widescreen TV to try and watch my favourite bands live and loud.  And I was so proud that hardly anyone raised a phone and raised their devil horns instead.

So, as the intro music fades and the show begins, this is Metal memories in the making. I don’t want to give you any spoilers, but those opening scenes set in East London are truly cinematic. 

The gig takes us on a literal and aural tour of all things Iron Maiden – from the deeply delicious and dark ancient mariners of old time to the spoils of war and to our love of Eddie through the ages.  

Iron Maiden fans, you are in for one hell of a ride. Scream for me, Birmingham. 

Thank you to our Iron Maiden family of fans and friends who all contributed to this piece.

Singh Maiden, Toni Corbin, Del Bromham, Hayley, Dom Zarowski, Marty Zee, Maggie Zee, Sharon Ali, Tina Saul and Sue Shannon, Brian Boyle and Johnny Churchill, George Marinov, Linda Harris, Chris, Polly, Tom, George, Polly, Liz, Dylan and Sandra Gers. 

This article is dedicated to our very own Troopers, Metaltalk’s Steve Goldby and Maiden super fan Richard Storer, who sadly both passed away from cancer as they most certainly would have been here rocking out with us.

Huge thanks to William Luff, Zeb, Rod, Dave, Mark Fuller, Sherene and the Iron Maiden team.

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