Iron Maiden kick off 50 anniversary tour in Budapest – setlist, video
The metal legends dusted off some classics after decades
Iron Maiden launched their 50th anniversary Run For Your Lives World Tour in the Hungarian capital of Budapest last night (27th May), and they dusted off a couple of classics they hadn’t performed in decades.
The show was the first of two sold-out nights at the 12,500-capacity Papp Laszlo Sportarena, and it featured the inaugural performance of touring drummer Simon Dawson behind the drum kit.
It was also Iron Maiden’s first full concert since 1982 with drummer Nicko McBrain, who retired from touring in December 2024.
As Iron Maiden promised when they first announced the tour, the setlist drew from studio material exclusively dating from 1980 debut ‘Iron Maiden’ through to 1992’s ‘Fear of the Dark’.
‘Powerslave’ was the most represented album with four songs making the cut – encore opener ‘Aces High’, ‘Powerslave’, ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ and the first outing of sprawling epic ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ in 16 years.
1981’s ‘Killers’ and 1982’s ‘The Number of the Beast’ both had three songs on the setlist, while 1990 album ‘No Prayer for the Dying’ is the only album not to be represented at all.
The biggest rarity on the night was the ‘Killers’ title track, which hasn’t been played live since Iron Maiden’s Ed Hunter Tour 26 years ago. Iron Maiden opened the set with fellow ‘Killers’ song ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’ giving it its first performance in two decades.
Despite Iron Maiden’s plea with fans to put away their phones on the Run For Your Lives World Tour, numerous videos have appeared on YouTube from the night.
Fortunately, Maiden have shared an official video as a tantalising taster of what to expect from the tour:
Iron Maiden’s Run For Your Lives World Tour includes sold out arena shows in Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow plus humungous outdoor concerts at Dublin Malahide Park and London Stadium.
Iron Maiden’s setlist in Budapest:
The Ides of March (pre-recorded instrumental intro)
Murders in the Rue Morgue (first performance since 2005)
Wrathchild (first performance since 2017)
Killers (first performance since 1999)
Phantom of the Opera (first performance since 2014)
The Number of the Beast
The Clairvoyant (first performance since 2013)
Powerslave (first performance since 2017)
2 Minutes to Midnight (first performance since 2019)
Rime of the Ancient Mariner (first performance since 2009)
Run to the Hills
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (first performance since 2014)
The Trooper
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden
Encore:
Aces High
Fear Of The Dark
Wasted Years