Iron Maiden’s studio is still off-limits — even to their label

Since 1982, Iron Maiden‘s record label personnel has been prohibited from entering the metal institution’s recording facility. Steve Harris, the founding member and bassist, recently revealed the information in an interview with Bass Player. He claims that the band’s long-standing creative independence is the most fulfilling aspect of being a member of the group, which will shortly begin commemorating their 50th anniversary on the Run For Your Lives tour. Harris backs up his claim by claiming that since the band’s third album, “The Number Of The Beast”, was released by EMI in 1982, employees of Maiden‘s label have been prohibited from entering the studio when the band is recording.

We’ve had success on our own terms. We’ve kept outside the music business a lot of the time. We’ve been stubborn and not let record company people bully us about. As far back as the third album we banned the record company people from the studio. They were freaking out because the single was so different to the last one, which had been a success. We just told them to get out!

The tracks Harris is talking to are not entirely apparent, but the suits shouldn’t have worried because “The Number Of The Beast”‘s singles, “Run To The Hills” and the title track, were both hits that made it into the UK charts’ top 20. The album was the band’s first UK number one, moving them up from the number 12 spot held by their predecessor, Killers, in 1981. In Budapest, Hungary, Maiden‘s Run For Your Lives performances will begin on May 27. Up to August, the band will tour around Europe, including a sold-out performance on June 28 at London Stadium, which can hold 80,000 people. The tour is scheduled to continue throughout 2026, and more legs are anticipated to be announced. Details and dates are listed below.

May 27: Budapest Aréna, Hungary *
May 28: Budapest Aréna, Hungary *
May 31: Prague Letnany Airport, Czech Republic *
Jun 01: Bratislava TIPOS Arena, Slovakia *
Jun 05: Trondheim Rocks, Norway ≠
Jun 07: Stavanger SR-Bank Arena, Norway *
Jun 09: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark *
Jun 12: Stockholm 3Arena, Sweden *
Jun 13: Stockholm 3Arena, Sweden *
Jun 16: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland *
Jun 19: Dessel Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium≠
Jun 21: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK ^
Jun 22: Manchester Co-op Live, UK ^
Jun 25: Dublin Malahide Castle, Ireland *^
Jun 28: London Stadium, UK *^
Jun 30: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK ^

Jul 03: Belfort Eurockéennes, France ≠
Jul 05: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Spain **
Jul 06: Lisbon MEO Arena, Portugal **
Jul 09: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland **
Jul 11: Gelsenkirchen Veltins-Arena, Germany **
Jul 13: Padova Stadio Euganeo, Italy **
Jul 15: Bremen Bürgerweide, Germany **
Jul 17: Vienna Ernst Happel Stadium, Austria **
Jul 19: Paris Paris La Défense Arena, France **
Jul 20: Paris Paris La Défense Arena, France **
Jul 23: Arnhem GelreDome, Netherlands **
Jul 25: Frankfurt Deutsche Bank Park, Germany **
Jul 26: Stuttgart Cannstatter Wasen, Germany **
Jul 29: Berlin Waldbühne, Germany **
Jul 30: Berlin Waldbühne, Germany **
Aug 02: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland **

* = Halestorm support
^ = The Raven Age support
** = Avatar support
≠ = Festival date