IRON MAIDEN To Play First Florida Concert In 13 Years

Rock legends IRON MAIDEN have confirmed that the final show ever of their massive Somewhere Back in Time World Tour 2008 - 2009 will be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on April 2 at the BankAtlantic Center. This, the band's first concert in Florida in 13 years, will definitely be the last gig of one of the most ambitious rock tours ever undertaken, and promises to be a big party night for both the band and audience.

Says drummer and local Florida resident Nicko McBrain, "We'll be arriving right in the middle of spring break, so this really promises to be a huge party for everyone. And I'm sure there will be more than a few sore heads in Fort Lauderdale the following day! The whole tour has been an amazing experience and this final leg back on Ed Force One promises to be crazier than ever!"

"It was quite something to bring to reality the mad idea of creating a flying tour bus out of a Boeing 757," McBrain continued, "but it's enabled us to go further to reach many fans in countries we have never played before, and also revisit fans we haven't seen for some time. And it's a long time since we played in Florida! The 757 truly has been our 'magic carpet,' as Bruce [Dickinson, vocals] describes it. Luckily for me, the magic carpet is stopping not far from my front door, which is very handy and a nice way to finish this tour. Not far to stagger home!"

Rammed with a full complement of band, crew and twelve tons of stage set and equipment, the band's customized Boeing 757, christened Ed Force One by the fans and flown again by Astraeus Airlines captain and MAIDEN vocalist Bruce Dickinson, will be once again circumnavigating close to 50,000 miles around the planet for concerts in 22 cities in 14 countries round the globe, making it a staggering 39 countries in total visited on this 2008-2009 tour, playing to almost two million fans.

The Somewhere Back in Time Tour revisits the band's history by focusing almost entirely on the '80s — in both choice of songs played, and the stage set, which is based around the legendary Egyptian Production of the 1984-85 Powerslave tour and featured on the recent DVD "Live after Death". This is arguably the most elaborate and spectacular show the band has ever presented, and will include some key elements of their Somewhere In Time tour of 1986-1987, such as the Cyborg Eddie character.

Says band founder Steve Harris, "We will be loading onto the plane as much equipment as we can ram in, along with plenty of pyro! The set list will be a bit different than the shows we have done so far on this tour, as we will include a few more songs from the first four albums. This show is likely to be the last time we play many of these songs live, so we really will be giving it everything we have got! The tour was set to finish in Recife, Brazil, but we thought we should call in to Florida on the way home to play there for the first time in ages and to drop Nicko off at home! Using Ed Force One really does give us this degree of flexibility."

Having taking off in early February 2008, MAIDEN made their first appearances in New Zealand in 16 years via Belgrade, Dubai and Bangalore, followed by the long haul up to Mexico through a very extensive run through Latin America, finishing the tour now in Florida.

Comments Bruce Dickinson, "The unique way of touring last year with everyone and all our gear on the plane helped to make 2008 easily one of the most successful, exciting and fun years in the band¹s career. Taking Ed Force One around the planet and playing to our fans in so many different countries was an incredible experience for all of us. I personally found that flying and performing was one of the most challenging and satisfying things I¹ve ever done, despite the rigours and the many logistical difficulties we encountered."

"In fact it was so much fun," Dickinson continues, "we decided to do it again as a final leg of this tour, and we really wanted to get back to some of the places we haven't been to for a long time. We'll also be visiting many new places along the way. All in all, this will be a fantastic way to round off a tremendous 12 months for the band. After this, we take a bit of time off, get our energy back and then start work on a new studio album."

Fans around the world will be able to see what it was like flying on Ed Force One in the recently announced movie "Flight 666", which will play in selected cinemas around the world on Tuesday, April 21.

Fan club members will able to access an exclusive first pre-sale on Thursday, February 12 from 10:00 a.m. to midnight. They will also be able to be eligible to enter the "First To The Stage Barrier" privileged first-access draw.