Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson kicks off UK tour in Wolverhampton – photos and setlist
His first UK solo show in 26 years
Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson played his first UK solo show in almost 26 years last night (Thursday 16th May) in Wolverhampton.
Supporting his critically-lauded new solo album ‘The Mandrake Project’, the triumphant gig at Wolverhampton’s The Halls was the first show of a six-date UK tour that also visits Glasgow, Manchester, Swansea, Nottingham and London.
Unlike Iron Maiden shows, which have largely set-in-stone setlists due to the band’s colossal production, Bruce switched the setlist from his recent shows in Brazil, Mexico and the US.
Opening with ‘Accident of Birth’ and closing with ‘The Tower’, Bruce drew from most of his solo repertoire – however, songs from his 1998 opus ‘The Chemical Wedding’ and ‘The Mandrake Project’ made up over 50% of the setlist.
There were also a couple of surprises for fans too in the shape of ‘Skunkworks’ track ‘Faith’ having its first outing since 1996, and Bruce covering Mott the Hoople’s David Bowie-penned track ‘All the Young Dudes’ for the first time since 1990.
Planet Rock’s Paul Anthony was in attendance at the gig, and he praised the "tight" band and hailed Bruce’s vocals as "off the scale."
He added: “If you’ve got tickets for any of the remaining shows, you won’t be disappointed.”
The band on Bruce’s solo tour consists of bass-player Tanya O’Callaghan, keyboard maestro Mistheria, drummer Dave Moreno, and guitarists Philip Näslund and Chris Declercq.
Bruce Dickinson’s last UK solo show took place way back on 8th December 1998 at the now-demolished London Astoria 2.
See photos of Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton:
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson live in Wolverhampton
Bruce Dickinson’s setlist in Wolverhampton:
Accident of Birth
Abduction
Faith (First performance since 1996)
Afterglow of Ragnarok
Chemical Wedding
Many Doors to Hell
Gates of Urizen
Resurrection Men
Rain on the Graves
Frankenstein (The Edgar Winter Group cover)
The Alchemist
Tears of the Dragon
Darkside of Aquarius
Encore:
Navigate the Seas of the Sun
All the Young Dudes (First performance since 1990)
Book of Thel
The Tower