Somewhere Back in Time World Tour was a concert tour by Iron Maiden in 2008 and 2009, focused on the band's 1980s material, in particular songs from Powerslave, Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. The tour tied in with the second part of the DVD series, entitled "The History of Iron Maiden", and prompted the release of a new greatest hits compilation, Somewhere Back in Time.
The tour was advertised as a way of bringing back the 1980s stage show and forgotten "classics" for an audience of younger fans, not having been born in time to witness the original. Many of the band's songs had not been played in a long time, as much as 21 years in one case, and two of them ("Moonchild" and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner") never having been played by the current line-up. The stage set was based around that of the widely celebrated "World Slavery Tour" of 1984–85, featuring similar pyrotechnics and the return of the giant mummified Eddie, but also included a lighting rig and cyborg walk-on Eddie based on that of "Somewhere on Tour" 1986.
The tour would also see the first use of "Ed Force One", Iron Maiden's customised Boeing 757, designed to carry band, crew and equipment across continents. The ground breaking nature of the tour led to the documentary entitled Iron Maiden: Flight 666, released in selected cinemas in April 2009, followed by a Blu-ray, DVD and CD release in May and June, which would top the music DVD charts in 22 countries.
The 2008 tour was the second highest grossing of the year for a British artist, with the band reportedly playing to more than 2 million people worldwide over both years.
Read more about Somewhere Back In Time World Tour: Tour Synopsis, Support Acts, Setlist, Personnel, Tour Dates
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