Flight 666
It's hard (for me) to believe Iron Maiden's World Slavery tour took place between August 1984 and July 1985, that my friends was 24 years ago. 24 whole years, where did they go?
If I had a picture of the 15 year old youth that I was in 1985, with shoulder length hair and a sleeveless jacket repleat with patches I'd shred it before posting it here 
I have worse memories like having one of those really tight perms you had to keep lubricated with gel to keep it from looking like wire wool. I was stick thin then too, those were the days....
My first experience of Iron Maiden was the Piece of Mind album and the World Piece Tour. I would have been at one of the gigs at the Hammersmith Odeon (25th May to 28th May 1983 if Wikipedia has the dates right). I remember being an awkward, hopelessly self conscious teenager. I couldn't do the 'headbanging' thing. I knew how ridiculous I'd have looked and how little I could have afforded the loss of the precious few brain cells I had
Piece of Mind was my introduction to Heavy Metal. In the years that followed the band released some of their best albums (IMHO) Powerslave, Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son before I lost interest and moved on. For those years it was an annual ritual, travelling up to London and Tower records to buy each new LP.
Fast forward to 2008 and Iron Maiden are touring their best songs not from the back of an old transit van but from a Boeing 757. Quite a transition from Leyton, the boys have done good. I couldn't make it for their gig in Twickenham because of a family holiday so the DVD has to be the next best thing. Part documentary, part concert footage Flight 666 is a time machine. I can watch it and be transported back to the Odeon enjoying the songs as much as I ever did.
The documentary is excellent and I enjoyed seeing the band off stage. I've always imagined Bruce Dickinson to be, well, a pain in the arse and I was suprised to find him quite normal. Janick Gers came into the band after I'd lost interest and I wasn't sure what to make of him particularly after Adrian Smith rejoined, I'm none the wiser after watching the film but they seem happy as a six piece so why should I care.
The concert footage comes from each stop on the tour from Mumbai to Toronto. It's almost impossible not to compare it with "Live after Death" which I still have on Betamax somewhere. Bloody Betamax, that's marks those of us that can remember the days of 5.25 floppy disks, green screens, vinyl records, Assembly language and buying the ZX80 from W.H. Smiths as bloody of gits doesn't it? Are Maiden as good today as they were 24 years ago? Probably, but who cares, it's more Maiden and that can't be a bad thing.
Flight 666 puts to rest any suggestion that Maiden should ever have inspired Spinal Tap, it's a triumphant collection of their best songs performed as they were meant to be heard: live! If you have ever enjoyed Iron Maiden then I think you'd love F666. I hope that Eddie and Co. will continue to make records and perform them for years to come and if they do put me down for a ticket
Up the irons!
