The 31st Iron Maiden is coming to Japan, and there's an event before that

In the early days of this series, I talked about the kings of the British metal world, or perhaps the royalty, anyway this year marks 50 years since they started their activities!

During that time, they have been the 'steel' that has constantly evolved while always leading the HR/HM scene! I talked about how they fly their own planes and how their movie was re-released, remember?

Yes, it's Iron Maiden.

I experienced their live performance as a new employee in the international department in 1982, the very year I joined Toshiba EMI, and, quite cheekily, I even wrote a report on their Nakano Sunplaza performance for the retailer and media booklet 'Break Out'.

As someone who entered the world of international music from the metal scene, it was a rare and valuable experience.

Three years later, during their third visit to Japan, I was already standing on my own (not quite, though) and accompanied them on their national tour. I was baptized by these heavy-drinking Englishmen.

The leader, Steve Harris, called me to a hotel bar in Osaka and gave me a rather wild mission: in exchange for a beer, I had to translate and explain how to operate a video camera he had bought in Japan, which had a manual entirely in Japanese.

Nicko McBrain would call me from a bowling alley, and I joined him many times.

Not only that, but despite various failures, I was excited every day because I could work with a genuine rock band that was almost my own generation, even if they were just a little bit older than me!

...These stories and my failures are detailed in my book, ' The Shining Days of the Toshiba EMI International Department'.

Now, they say Maiden is coming.

You might say, 'I know that already!', but this is their first visit to Japan in two years.
For me, having missed the last one, it has been 10 years since 2016, when they held two performances at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. It's been quite a while.10 years. It's been quite a while.

In 2011, they were cancelled when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck just as they were about to arrive, and in May 2020, they were cancelled again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the self-restraint of music and entertainment. You never know what will happen next, so you have to see them when you can—live.

The title of this tour is,

'Run for Your Lives World Tour 2026'!

'Run for Your Life' comes from a line in the chorus of ' Run to the Hills', which was the first single from their third album, 'The Number of the Beast' (1982), the first album to feature current singer Bruce Dickinson.

It's a tour title that hits the mark for fans from the early days.

The fourth album I was in charge of, 'Piece of Mind', also has a song with a confusing Japanese title, ' The Trooper', but of course, it's a completely different song.

Apparently, this tour is only featuring songs from their early days, and from the perspective of someone who was in charge back then, I think, 'Hmm, early days must mean up to the third album,' but that's not the case.

Looking back from their 50th anniversary, they call everything from their first album up to their ninth, 'Fear of the Dark' (until Bruce left for a while), the 'early days'. This surprised this old man.

With that said, Yoshinoya Shichimi has already paid for the tickets.

Actually, I'll be appearing at an event! It starts at 18:30 on Sunday, September 20th!

It would be rude to the organizer, Masa-Itoh, and Shinko Music to call it just a warm-up for the Maiden tour, but the very popular and now regular event, Masa-Itoh's Ten-Round Bout 2026, will feature three of us on stage: Mr. Sugiyama, who was in charge around 1995; Mr. Muramatsu, who has been in charge since they became a six-piece band; and myself!

We will be talking about episodes from our respective eras on the spot! I never imagined the three of us would appear in a talk show together, but I think it will be quite intense. In my case, I think things I remembered after writing my book will come up, so do your homework and book your tickets!

For a preview of what the setlist might look like, check this out↓

With that, I'll leave it here for today.
This was Shichimi Yoshinoya, bye-bye, see you later!