BW&BK; has received the following press release:

IRON MAIDEN announce a one off show at the Izod Center (formerly Continental Airlines Arena), East Rutherford, NJ on Friday March 14th, 2008 as part of the first leg of their Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 2008.

The band will fly into the USA especially for this one show from Puerto Rico the day before and depart for Toronto the day after on a specially commissioned and customised Boeing 757, flown by Airline Captain and Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson. The Astraeus 757, decked out in Maiden and Eddie designs, will carry the band, road crew and other personnel of around 70 people plus over 12 tons of equipment.

This first leg of the Somewhere Back In Time World Tour opens in Mumbai India on Feb 1st, and continues through Australia and Japan before arriving in LA.

The entourage then fly to Mexico then the band’s first ever concerts in Costa Rica and Columbia, and then on to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Puerto Rica and New York, before finishing in Toronto, Canada, on March 16th.

Over the 45 day period the it is anticipated that Maiden will play to well over 400,000 fans in 21 cities in 10 countries, flying close to 50,000 miles in the specially refitted plane (full schedule below).

Comments Bruce Dickinson, “I have been flying commercial passenger jets for Astraeus Airlines for a few years now and we are commissioning an Astraeus Boeing 757. It will go in for overhaul, painting and conversion in November which will then give us time to ensure we have all the necessary safety documentation, especially with regard to fire safety. It also means it could possibly be flying commercial air routes decked out in Maiden colours for a couple of months before we start!

“Looking at the list of places we would like to play we have always had problems joining up the dots. With sea containers in various places it slows down the whole touring process, which is fine if you want a holiday but not if you want to play. It’s great to see places but we don’t want to sit around for a week waiting for gear to get from, say, Australia to South America, so this way we can get to more fans in more places en route in the same time period”.

To tie in with forthcoming 2008 releases on DVD of the classic Live After Death concert video (full details coming soon) this tour, aptly entitled Somewhere Back In Time, will revisit the band’s history by focusing almost entirely on the 80’s in both choice of songs played and the stage set, which will be based around the legendary Egyptian Production of the 1984-85 ‘Powerslave Tour’. This will arguably be the most elaborate and spectacular show the band have ever presented, and will include some key elements of their Somewhere In Time tour of 1986/7, such as the Cyborg Eddie.

Steve Harris comments; “We made sure the tour stopped off in New York, or to be more accurate, New Jersey, but to us Brits it’s all a great arena to play with some of the loudest fans anywhere! We’ve had so many memorable nights there over the years – both on stage and off! - and played many different venues, including the Gardens and the seven nights at Radio City with the original Powerslave show in 1984. But one of our favourites was always what we still call Meadowlands, it’s always a great crowd there.

l always loved the Powerslave show which I think was arguably our most spectacular ever, so it will be a pleasure to take it there. We’re all going to have a great time with this tour!!”

The Iron Maiden fan club have arranged an exclusive first access pre-sale for members to buy Tickets to the show on Tuesday November 6th, before tickets go on sale to the public on November 10th.

To allow fans to be right up close to the band, the fan club will also be running a special draw whereby 60 winners and friend at each show will be given first access to the venue enabling them to be first to the stage barrier.

Full details can be found on www.ironmaiden.com.

The fan club are also arranging for two fan club winners to get up on stage and join Maiden with the chorus of ‘Heaven Can Wait’.

Members of the public should tune into Friday Night Rocks with Eddie Trunk on Q104.3 (WAXQ FM) NYC from 11 P.M to 2 A.M Friday evenings for details on their chance to join them in this once in a lifetime opportunity to sing along with Iron Maiden live on stage at the Izod Center.

Tickets on sale for the Izod Center concert go on sale to the general public beginning Saturday, November 10th at 10:00 A.M.

Tickets: Reserved ($59.50, $49.50, $39.50) and General Admission Floor ($59.50) available at Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at 201-507-8900 or 212-307-7171.

If tickets remain, they will be available at the Box Office beginning Monday, November 12th.

Full schedule for the first leg of Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 2008

February

1 - Mumbai, India - Bandra Kurla Complex
4 - Perth, Australia - Burswood Dome
6 - Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
7 - Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
9 - Sydney, Australia - Acer Arena
10 - Sydney, Australia - Acer Arena
12 - Brisbane, Australia - Entertainment Centre
15 - Yokohama, Japan - Pacifico Yokohama
16 - Tokyo, Japan - Messe
19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum
21 - Guadalajara, Mexico - Auditoria Telmex
22 - Monterrey, Mexico - Monterrey Arena
24 - Mexico City, Mexico - Sports Palace
26 - San Jose, Costa Rica - Saprisa Stadium
28 - Bogota, Columbia - Simon Bolivar Park

March

2 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Skol Arena Anhembi
5 - Porto Allegre, Brazil - Gigantinho
7 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Ferrofcarril Oeste Stadium
9 - Santiago, Chile - Pista Atletica
12 - Puerto Rico - San Juan Coliseo
14 - New Jersey, USA - Izod Center (formerly Continental Airlines Arena)
16 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre

The second leg of the tour will take place mid May to mid June with further concerts in North America, followed by the third leg European Tour, extensively covering most of Europe in Stadiums and major Festivals. In total the band are expected to play to well in excess of one and a half million fans during the entire tour.