The UK leg of Iron Maiden's Legacy Of The Beast Tour kicks off in Newcastle on Tuesday, July 31st with a Spitfire buzzing the stage during the opening number "Aces High". The plane is a 90% sized replica of an actual Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb registration number AA 853 from 302 Squadron that saw active duty in 1941.

Says singer Bruce Dickinson,“ We would have made it actual size but we had to cut it down by 10% to fit on some of the festival stages, otherwise it’s an exact replica of arguably the greatest plane design ever, in fact one of the best designed machines ever!"

Since the opening night in Tallinn, Estonia at the end of May, the band has already played to around 750,000 fans in sold-out stadium, arena and festival shows across Europe including selling out the prestigious Atletico Madrid football stadium in Spain last week.

Launching the show with crowd favourite, "Aces High", the Spitfire is seen propelling above the stage. But this is certainly not the only show-stopping effect in this theatrical performance with the band then proceeding to race through a spectacular two hours of music, pyrotechnics, special effects and ever-evolving stage sets, including new incarnations of mascot Eddie, and showcasing many of the most beloved songs in their revered career alongside rarely-played classics from their extensive back catalogue. The production and set list were inspired by the Maiden free to play mobile game Legacy Of The Beast which is available on iOS and Android platforms.

Starting in Newcastle on July 31st, the UK tour continues in arenas in Belfast, Aberdeen, Manchester and Birmingham finishing with two nights at The O2 in London on 10th/11th August. Special guests at all UK shows are Killswitch Engage.

UK dates:

July
31 - Metro Radio Arena - Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

August
2 - SSE Arena - Belfast, Northern Ireland
4 - AECC BHGE - Aberdeen, Scotland
6 - Manchester Arena - Manchester, United Kingdom
7 - Genting Arena - Birmingham, United Kingdom
10 - The O2 - London, United Kingdom
11 - The O2 - London, United Kingdom

In case paperless ticketing has got you all in a twist, here's a very brief guide to how it works. The video features animation by Val Andrade.

Paperless ticketing information can be found here.