Adrian Smith discusses Iron Maiden’s ongoing passion for live performances

In a recent interview with Peru’s Radio Oxigeno, Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith discussed the current state of the band more than fifty years after bassist Steve Harris founded the group in late 1975.

How’s anyone doing after 50 years? It’s a long time. But we’re still together, we’re still friends, and we’ve had our ups and downs. But I have to say, I think we’re enjoying playing live as much, if not more than ever. And the audiences are just getting better. We’re getting more younger fans, new blood into the audience. It’s fantastic. Fantastic.

He reflected on what advice he would give his 24-year-old self, who joined Maiden in 1980, regarding what to anticipate over the following five decades.

Great question. Write a letter to your younger self. I’d probably say, ‘Hey, it’s only rock and roll. Don’t take it so seriously. Don’t take everything to heart. Don’t worry so much.’ But then you think, if I hadn’t have been like that, maybe I wouldn’t still be doing it today. You have to push yourself. You have to go through different things, different troubles and strifes. I was always very hard on myself. I came into the band, and the band was big pretty quickly. But that’s what I’d tell myself if I was young.

Smith also addressed Iron Maiden’s ongoing “Run For Your Lives” world tour, which features a setlist comprising material from the band’s first nine albums, spanning from their 1980 debut to 1992’s “Fear Of The Dark.” He described the experience of revisiting and performing tracks that had been absent from recent setlists.

“Yeah, the first song we do is ‘Murders In The Rue Morgue’. I think that’s from the ‘Killers’ album, which is way, way back. And we’re doing some stuff off the first album, which I didn’t play on. The music hasn’t changed, so, yeah, we can take songs from any era and make them work in a modern setting. And together with the show we have, it just takes you through that period of the band to bring it all to life. And it’s great fun playing the old stuff. It just brings back some great memories. And when we started rehearsing, it’s like riding a bike. You pretty much… It’s in the brain, in the muscle memory, so you remember the songs easily.

The interviewer highlighted that the international press characterized “Run For Your Lives” as “almost a cinematic experience,” noting the band’s heightened energy and power during performances. In response, Adrian shared his perspective on this description.

Well, people are saying that. We can only do what we do. I feel physically better than I probably did in my 20s. So now we have to pace ourselves a bit more. Because I think the band is still putting out the energy. We just do it — we just have to be sensible about the schedule. But I think the music kind of demands that we put a lot of energy into the shows.

When asked about the significance of witnessing multiple generations singing along to every song at concerts, Smith provided his insights on the enduring appeal of the band’s music.

It’s amazing. I often wonder, when I see young kids… I mean, you get three generations. You get a man, his son and his son’s son at the gig. You get little seven- or eight-year-old kids.

He also discussed the musical chemistry shared between himself and fellow guitarist Dave Murray, emphasizing their collaborative dynamic.

Well, we became friends when we were 14, 15 years old. I think that’s around the age where you gotta start thinking what you wanna do with your life and some sort of path to choose for yourself. We became friends and we realized we wanted the same things, and that created a bond. ‘Cause none of the other kids we knew felt the same, as passionate about music as we did. I think Dave probably said the same thing. So, we’ve come a long way together. We separated, we had our own paths, and then we came together, so I suppose it was meant to be. But we do have a good understanding.

Upcoming shows:

• Saturday, October 17, 2026 – Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru
• Tuesday, October 20, 2026 – Estadio Hurácan, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Wednesday, October 21, 2026 – Estadio Hurácan, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Sunday, October 25, 2026 – Allianz Parque, Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Tuesday, October 27, 2026 – Allianz Parque, Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Wednesday, October 28, 2026 – Arena Da Baixada, Curitiba, Brazil
• Saturday, October 31, 2026 – Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile
• Sunday, November 01, 2026 – Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile
• Saturday, November 07, 2026 – Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
• Sunday, November 08, 2026 – Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
• Wednesday, November 11, 2026 – Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia
• Friday, November 13, 2026 – AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia
• Sunday, November 15, 2026 – Allianz Stadium, Sydney, Australia
• Wednesday, November 18, 2026 – Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
• Thursday, November 19, 2026 – Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
• Tuesday, November 24, 2026 – K-Arena, Yokohama, Japan
• Wednesday, November 25, 2026 – K-Arena, Yokohama, Japan

Iron Maiden – Run For Your Lives North American tour 2027

• April 14 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
• April 16 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
• April 18 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
• April 20 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
• April 22 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
• April 24 – San Bernardino, CA – Glen Helen Amphitheater
• April 26 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
• April 28 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
• May 1 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena
• May 2 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
• May 5 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre
• May 7 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
• May 9 – Hartford, CT – The Meadows Music Theatre
• May 11 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena
• May 14 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple Festival
• May 16 – Ocean City, MD – Boardwalk Rock Festival

Full details and ticket links are available at Iron Maiden’s official website.