As the sun set over Knebworth House, standing on an elevated section of the field, overlooking the stage, it almost resembled a scene from the film The Wicker Man. All that was missing was Christopher Lee and his followers singing and laughing as they looked on at Edward Woodward screaming inside a flame-imbued, burning wicker Eddie. I am sure there was am Iron Maiden song about that.
Iron Maiden
EDDFEST 2026 – Knebworth House – 10-11 July 2026
Words: Steve Kenton / Rhys Tagg
Photography: Manuela Langotsch
The field was packed, several different generations of people, all vying for prime position to watch the biggest Metal band on the planet. After 50 years and thousands of shows, it was hardly surprising that Iron Maiden’s audience range was from 2 to 92 (probably). But they are far from just an audience. The Maiden faithful are family, over 60,000 of them. God help us all at Christmas.
The menacing overture of a cacophony of sound, the tapping of somebody strolling down a tired old East End street, the rattle of a tube train – then The Ides Of March blast through the speakers like a death march for the damned.
Meanwhile, the graphics on the big screens accelerate and decelerate like a Formula 1 car, stopping at various Maidenesque waypoints. The Cart & Horses, Acacia Avenue, The Blind Beggar, and The Ruskin Arms, all hidden down those dark and dirty little streets. OK. A bit of artistic licence going on there, given that the three pubs are actually on busy main roads
Then gentle, melodic tones fire up before a drum roll heralds the breakneck barnstormer that is Murders In The Rue Morgue, the first of four songs that originally featured the mighty Paul Di’Anno on vocals.
Let’s be honest, Wrathchild, Killers and Phantom Of The Opera are bona fide classics. It is hard to believe that these songs are around 50 years old. To put that into perspective, 50 years before they were written would have been 1926.
Think about that for a moment. Heavy Metal did not exist, the bass guitar would not have been born for another 25 years, and Laurel and Hardy would have just embarked on their career as a double act. Those tracks have not just stood the test of time. They have become more popular than ever.
The musicianship was a masterclass, as you would expect from a group of Iron Maiden’s stature and as for Bruce’s vocals, they were excellent given the difficulties that he faced from the heat and humidity. The legendary vocalist was not averse to having a bit of fun with the audience, with a bit of the devil-may-care about him, Dickinson addressed the audience, saying, “Apologies to all the Norwegians in the audience. We can argue about it after England have won.” The crowd then erupted with a mixture of laughter and cheers.
“Anyway, here we are at the end of the first bit of the Run For Your Lives Tour,” he continued. “It has been 50 years, and here we are in this amazing place with all this grass. The stuff you stand on, not the kind you smoke.” The crowd erupted yet again, breaking into laughter and cheering before ‘Arry and the boys broke into Number Of The Beast.
Those who have regularly attended will know that this number is the very soul of what Iron Maiden are. Fast, vibrant, it does not matter how many shows this track has been played at, it always sounds as fresh as the day it was first played. It iis the ultimate crowd-pleaser, and although the lads are getting older, and some of the set is played at a slightly slower pace, when playing live, Number Of The Beast just does not alter or shift.
Then came the song that had not been played on tour for 38 years. Out went The Clairvoyant and in came Infinite Dreams. This was a real omission in my opinion and should have featured decades earlier, on other tours. It is a brilliant live track, and despite the vocal challenges of the song, Bruce absolutely batted it out of the park (or field).
Make no mistake, it is an incredibly difficult song to sing, but the vocals were flawless. The beautiful guitar intro, from the Hendrixesque feel to the verses, was pure perfection. Maiden did not have to alter any of the graphics when swapping out The Clairvoyant, which was a bit of a bonus too.
With old familiars such as Powerslave and Two Minutes To Midnight, following, the crowd erupted. The opening drum sequence on Powerslave does differ from previous live performances over the decades, and the guitar solos differ from previous ones, but Powerslave is one of the great live numbers and is adored by the fanbase. This was never more apparent than at Knebworth. Then down it came – THE BIG ONE.
Now, I love Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, every single note of it. But playing this at Knebworth, with the most incredible graphic display you will ever see, just catapults it to another level. The audience was utterly immersed in a display of sheer wonderment. And those six lads up there on that stage? Well, there are not enough superlatives to describe the performance and the display.
With such a striking graphic display, it does draw your attention away from the band themselves. But that is not a criticism. So much work and care has gone into the track that the audience were quite frankly, blown away by it.
Another old favourite in Run To The Hills was served up, prompting the usual crowd interaction and high-octane bass-playing from possibly the best bass player on the planet. This was, however, followed up by something quite extraordinary.
Now I want you to sing a high single note and then hold it for 25 seconds. Now do it with a bug, in heat and humidity and in a field. Not quite as straightforward, eh?
Bruce ended up apologising to fans for his raspy voice, saying he had picked up a bug in Spain. Yet even while struggling with his voice, he still managed to perform a massive setlist that singers half his age and fully fit would struggle with. He was immense.
Here, they stand, brothers them all. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son erupted with that wonderful keyboard intro. This number had only been played on one other tour since it was first played in 1988, so it was time for this one to have another run-out. Messrs Smith, Murray, and Gers, with their triple guitar attack, were all on top form as you would expect, but it was Bruce who once again shone like a beacon in the fading light.
Just before the quieter mid-section of the song, leading into the spoken word part, Dickinson held a single note for almost 25 seconds. That is not his personal record, incidentally. He has managed 30 seconds before. But to hold a note for around 25 seconds is extremely difficult, yet he manages to make it sound easy.
Knebworth went ballistic, and rightly so. Then the chugging, staccato, distorted guitar, Harris’s melodic bass playing, always leading, Dawson’s high hat and symbols leading up to an explosion of light-speed fretwork. An awesome track, brilliantly played. Then came the Trooper and everybody’s favourite decomposing corpse entered
Look, we’ve all seen him turn up, generally during the same song in the set, but we all love him, wielding his sword around like a guitarist flinging his axe around (yep, that means you, Janick). Obviously, Maiden absolutely rocked this one as they always do, playing with their usual sense of urgency and vigour, Steve Harris playing those triplets like a man possessed, Murray Smith and Gers with fingers flying around the fretboard.
A sight to behold, indeed. Maiden loved it, the crowd loved it, Eddie loved it.
For me, the next track was one of three which stood out, not just because of the absolutely thunderingly brilliant musicianship, but the sumptuous graphics. Alongside Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, that £2m digital backdrop made you feel like you were on an epic film set. The way that Dickinson disappears into the screen and emerges as an avatar fighting the image of death itself is utterly enthralling. A magic trick worthy of Simon Drake of Raising Hell fame, himself.
There was a little disappointment at this point in the night’s wonderful proceedings as a bit of an exodus started to take place to watch the Norway v England World Cup quarter-final. The lads, however, were not deterred from putting on a blistering performance of Iron Maiden, followed by a three-song encore led by Churchill’s Speech, breaking into the third standout number of the night, Aces High.
Again, those graphics enhanced an already brilliant song. The display of Squadron Leader Eddie T Head flying his Spitfire, rolling over and spinning around to come up behind a Messerschmitt or two and blast the bejesus out of them was incredible. In fact, it was so convincing, it would not have surprised me if one or two members of the crowd tried to get a sick bag from an air steward.
Fear Of The Dark was then followed by the ever-popular Wasted Years, bringing up the rear.
After half a century of not just leading the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal charge, not just dominating the rock and Metal genre, but actually influencing the entire music industry worldwide in some way, it is impossible to overstate the importance of this band and their incredible team.
From Rod Smallwood and Dave Shackleton in the management team to crew members like George Marinov and the Killer Krew, everything is done with precision and purpose. Otherwise, they just could not function in the way they do. The whole EDDFEST weekend is a testament to that.
Iron Maiden do not just produce songs, they tell epic stories that demand your attention. Festivals do not come any bigger or better than this.
Iron Maiden are the Rolls-Royce of the music industry.
