The Beast are back! One year after kicking off their blockbuster 50th-anniversary Run For Your Lives shows in arenas and stadium across Europe, Iron Maiden will return to their native continent for a victory lap of epic proportions. Their 11 2026 summer dates will bring the tour – where they’re set to continue playing material exclusively from their first nine albums, Iron Maiden to Fear Of The Dark – to new markets such as Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia. Plus, they’ll return to Paris’ La Défense Arena for a spectacular where phones will be banned and filming for an upcoming release will take place, and there’s a mysterious UK date on July 11 to look forward to.
Hopefully, with their second go around Europe, Maiden will shake up their setlist and pull out some long-unplayed stuff. Here are our suggestions for what they should dust off. And, if you want more Maiden coverage from us here at Hammer, make sure you grab our new issue, which contains exclusive interviews with Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris that explore the heavy metal titans’ five-decade history. Order now and get it delivered directly to your doorstep.
Remember Tomorrow (Iron Maiden, 1980)
As of 2025, it’s been exactly 20 years since Maiden last treated a live audience to Remember Tomorrow. Frankly, that’s criminal. This slow-burning ballad may be a Paul Di’Anno-era track, but it’s perfectly suited to the vocal range of his successor Bruce Dickinson, as it rises from pensive verses to hardy riffing, backed by bombastic cries of “Fiiiiiiiiire!” Plus, if you want evidence of how beloved this debut album number is, it’s been covered by fucking Metallica. Get on it boys!
Another Life (Killers, 1981)
Initially, Maiden couldn’t get enough of playing this Killers ripper. Another Life was a fixture of their setlist after the album came out, even persisting into the first full-length tour with Dickinson in 1982. After that, though, it would take 23 years and a leg of shows dedicated to material only from the band’s first four albums for it to rear its head again. Now, it’s been another two decades since it last got busted out, and it’s increasingly looking like a ‘now or never’ situation.
22 Acacia Avenue (The Number Of The Beast, 1982)
There are songs from breakthrough opus The Number Of The Beast that Maiden have never played, namely Invaders and Gangland. However, they’re a bit wank. So instead we’re nominating 22 Acacia Avenue. This proggy saunter into the brothel where Charlotte The Harlot works has gone unperformed since 2003, despite it flaunting the vocal heroics of Dickinson and the masterful songwriting of guitarist Adrian Smith. For all its winding riffs and tempo changes, it still has that excellent “22, the avenue!” hook at its heart.
Sun And Steel (Piece Of Mind, 1983)
The rarest of the rare. In the more-than-40 years since Piece Of Mind came out, The Beast have never once brought Sun And Steel to the stage, and that’s a damn shame. This late-in-the-tracklist entry is a barrelling rocker. It matches its high energy with words about the excitement and violence of a good sword fight (unsurprisingly, lyricist Dickinson started competing in fencing championships just a couple years later). Bring this out during next year’s tour and we’ll see who the real Maiden aficionados are.
Flash Of The Blade (Powerslave, 1984)
Bloody hell, another sword fighting song?! Yes, but with just cause: Flash Of The Blade is badass. From those opening tap-along guitars to the lyrics about St George and dragons, through the virtuosic soloing, this Powerslave number almost bleeds adrenaline. By the time that closing chorus kicks in with its army of backing vocals, we feel exhilarated enough to benchpress a tectonic plate. Somehow, Flash… has never once graced a Maiden setlist, so imagine the stadium-wide joy when that riff finally kicks in.
The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner (Somewhere In Time, 1986)
Maiden played Loneliness… on the very first date of the 1986 Somewhere In Time world tour, then immediately shelved it. It’s remained on the sidelines ever since, to the chagrin of diehard fans and even some band members themselves. Harris told Classic Rock in 2023, “That’s something I would love to play.” Respectfully, do it you cowards! That slick lead guitar, those sprinting verses, those empowering howls of “I’ve got to keep running!” – it’s all so fucking good! And it needs to come back.
Infinite Dreams (Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, 1988)
Seventh Son… was the prog metal apex Maiden had been building towards since their debut, and songs like Infinite Dreams – with its six-minute run-time, tonal shifts and lack of a chorus – showed it. The monolith was a fixture of the band’s 1988 world tour, but hasn’t been heard live since. Even their 2013–14 setlist, which emphasised Seventh Son… material above all else, ignored it. Who knows, now could be Maiden’s very last chance to dig this buried treasure up for their shows.
Tailgunner (No Prayer For The Dying, 1990)
We’ve all heard your jokes about how naff No Prayer For The Dying is, and it seems Maiden have too: the last time they played something from it was when they added Bring Your Daughter… to their 2003 setlist. The one No Prayer… song that almost matches the band’s former glory is Tailgunner, which weaves through complex riffs and a punchy chorus. Given it’s not been performed since 1992, why not give this diamond in the rough a well-deserved and long-overdue dust-off?
Be Quick Or Be Dead (Fear Of The Dark, 1992)
Fear Of The Dark isn’t the strongest Maiden album, but it’s been immortalised by its stone-cold classic of a title track. Why the hell hasn’t Be Quick Or Be Dead enjoyed even a sniff of that recognition? Released as a single in 1992, this is a no-holds-barred thrasher where Dickinson tears into contemporary politics, and it’s arguably the most alive the band sounded that decade. It’s languished in retirement since 1993 and needs to come back, especially with its lyrics remaining tragically relevant in the 2020s.
Iron Maiden Run For Your Lives 2026 tour dates:
May 23: Athens OAKA, Greece
May 26: Sofia Vasil Levski Stadium, Bulgaria
May 28: Bucharest Arena Națională, Romania
May 30: Bratislava Národný Futbalový Štadión, Slovakia
Jun 02: Hannover Heinz von Heiden Arena, Germany
Jun 10: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Jun 17: Milan San Siro Stadium, Italy
Jun 22: Paris La Défense Arena, France
Jun 28: Lyon-Décines Groupama Stadium, France
Jul 07: Lisbon Estádio da Luz, Portugal
Jul 11: TBA, UK
