Iron Maiden Open 2026 Tour With a Setlist Nobody Saw Coming—Including a Performance Fans Have Been Waiting 38 Years For

Just in time for the summer, Iron Maiden launched the latest leg of the Run for Your Lives World Tour. Kicking off the tour last year, the band hoped to celebrate their legacy in the music industry. Having spent over five decades in music, the band has sold millions of albums and performed nearly 3,000 live shows. But for fans in Athens, Greece, they received more than an Iron Maiden concert when Bruce Dickinson stopped the show to introduce a song the band hadn’t performed in more than 30 years. 

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As the concert started, Iron Maiden fell into their usual routine with songs like “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Number of the Beast.” While fans enjoyed the classics, Dickinson shocked those in the crowd when he stopped the concert. Using the time to thank the fans for their continued support, he insisted, “We couldn’t think of a better place in Europe to start this tour.”

Considering it “absolutely f****** awesome” to be back on stage, He added, “We know a few of you have seen some of this show before. We thought we’d just do a little bit of something different, just for this next song. Because it’s a song that we have not played for many, many years. No, it’s not ‘Alexander the Great.’”

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Iron Maiden Still Rocking The Stage Without Nicko McBrain

With fans anxiously waiting, it wasn’t long before Dickinson and the rest of Iron Maiden transitioned into “Infinite Dreams.” Nothing short of a dream come true for some fans, the song was released on the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album. Although a classic among fans, the band hasn’t performed the song since the late 1980s when promoting the project. 

Even with the quality of the performance not the greatest, fans still praised the performance from Iron Maiden. 

Back in December 2024, longtime drummer Nicko McBrain announced that he was retiring from touring. After spending years on the road, the drummer decided to finally slow down. Although he remained a member of the band, for touring, the band turned to Simon Dawson. 

Although the band has toured for decades, Iron Maiden proved they still know how to surprise fans. Bringing back “Infinite Dreams”, fans are already wondering what other surprises might still be waiting ahead.

As for the full setlist, you can see that below.

1. “Murders in the Rue Morgue”
2. “Wrathchild”
3. “Killers”
4. “Phantom of the Opera”
5. “The Number of the Beast”
6. “Infinite Dreams” (first time since 1988)
7. “Powerslave”
8. “2 Minutes to Midnight”
9. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
10. “Run to the Hills”
11. “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”
12. “The Trooper”
13. “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
14. “Iron Maiden”
15. “Aces High”
16. “Fear of the Dark”
17. “Wasted Years”

(Photo by Jo Hale/Redferns)