Set list stats (reunion era - 1999 to 2022)

I was curious about which songs the band has played live during the "reunion" era (1999 to 2022). I got the data from setlist.fm. I made a few small changes for obvious errors (for example, that site is showing that "Wildest Dreams" was played 90 times in 2003, but every other song was played 89 times or less). Otherwise I've assumed the setlist.fm data is accurate.

The stats:
  • Total songs played: 82
  • Total number of studio songs: 165
  • Percentage played: 50%
Note - the band hasn't played any non-studio songs (b-sides, covers, guitar/drum solos, etc) during the reunion era.

By era:
  • "Classic" era: 35/62 (56%)
  • "Dark ages": 8/41 (20%)
  • "Reunion" era: 39/62 (63%)
 
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Underneath the "spoiler" tag is a complete list of the 82 songs the band has played live during the reunion era:

Iron Maiden
866​
The Number of the Beast
821​
Fear of the Dark
821​
The Trooper
786​
Hallowed Be Thy Name
649​
2 Minutes to Midnight
558​
Run to the Hills
525​
The Evil That Men Do
440​
Wrathchild
395​
Blood Brothers
358​
Aces High
357​
Wasted Years
335​
Revelations
327​
The Wicker Man
320​
The Clansman
308​
Powerslave
235​
Running Free
223​
Sign of the Cross
222​
Can I Play With Madness
216​
The Clairvoyant
203​
Brave New World
201​
Phantom of the Opera
194​
Sanctuary
169​
Moonchild
168​
Children of the Damned
154​
For the Greater Good of God
142​
Dance of Death
141​
Flight of Icarus
139​
Wildest Dreams
139​
Ghost of the Navigator
122​
Death or Glory
117​
The Book of Souls
117​
The Red and the Black
117​
If Eternity Should Fail
117​
Speed of Light
117​
Where Eagles Dare
109​
Heaven Can Wait
101​
The Prisoner
100​
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
100​
El Dorado
98​
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
96​
These Colours Don't Run
96​
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
90​
Dream of Mirrors
86​
Die With Your Boots On
85​
No More Lies
84​
The Mercenary
83​
Afraid to Shoot Strangers
80​
Tears of a Clown
72​
Coming Home
62​
Satellie 15… The Final Frontier
62​
When the Wild Wind Blows
62​
The Talisman
62​
Bright Than A Thousand Suns
61​
Different World
60​
The Writing on the Wall
57​
Stratego
57​
Senjutsu
57​
Passchendale
53​
Lord of the Flies
48​
Rainmaker
48​
Journeyman
47​
The Great Unknown
45​
The Pilgrim
44​
Out of the Shadows
44​
The Legacy
44​
The Longest Day
44​
Lord of Light
44​
Murders in the Rue Morgue
38​
Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughted
30​
Another Life
30​
Prowler
30​
Man on the Edge
28​
22 Acacia Avenue
28​
Killers
28​
Futureal
28​
Remember Tomorrow
27​
Drifter
27​
The Fallen Angel
7​
Stranger in a Strange Land
5​
Out of the Silent Planet
4​
Charlotte the Harlot
2​

For the most part, there are few surprises. "Iron Maiden" has been played during literally every show. "The Number of the Beast", "The Trooper", and "Fear of the Dark" have all been played in more than 90% of the concerts.

I thought "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (75%) would be a bit higher. According to the rumours, the band had to drop it from 2012 to 2017 due to the plagiarism law suit. I also thought "Run to the Hills" (61%) would have been played a bit more often. It's played quite a bit, but sometimes gets rotated out.

The only other songs to be played in even 40% of their shows are "2 Minutes to Midnight", "The Evil That Men Do", "Wrathchild", "Blood Brothers", and "Aces High". (I like "Wrathchild" and think it's energetic and full of great riffs. But it stands out as a questionable choice being so close to the top of the list, so the fan complaints about it being overplayed are probably justified).

Of their 20 most frequently-played songs, only two of them ("Blood Brothers" and "The Wicker Man") are from the 21st century. On the one hand, the band has done a great job playing songs from their newest albums. (See the first post - on a percentage basis, they've played more songs from the reunion era than from the "classics" era). On the other hand, with limited exceptions, they'll play the songs on the album tour, and rarely (if ever) play them again.
 
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Here's a list showing the number of years each song has been played:

21xIron Maiden
20xFear of the Dark, The Number of the Beast
19xThe Trooper
16xHallowed Be Thy Name
15x2 Minutes to Midnight, Run to the Hills
13xThe Evil That Men Do, Wrathchild
9xAces High
8xBlood Brothers, The Clansman, The Wicker Man, Wasted Years
7xRevelations
6xBrave New World, Can I Play With Madness, Phantom of the Opera
5xChildren of the Damned, Powerslave, Running Free, Sanctuary, Sign of the Cross
4xDance of Death, For the Greater Good of God, Ghost of the Navigator, Moonchild, The Clairvoyant
3xBright Than A Thousand Suns, Dream of Mirrors, Flight of Icarus, No More Lies, Passchendale, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, The Mercenary, The Prisoner, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, These Colours Don't Run, Where Eagles Dare, Wildest Dreams
2xAfraid to Shoot Strangers, Death or Glory, Die With Your Boots On, Different World, El Dorado, Heaven Can Wait, If Eternity Should Fail, Journeyman, Lord of the Flies, Rainmaker, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Speed of Light, The Book of Souls, The Fallen Angel, The Red and the Black
1x22 Acacia Avenue, Another Life, Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter, Charlotte the Harlot, Coming Home, Drifter, Futureal, Killers, Lord of Light, Man on the Edge, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Out of the Shadows, Out of the Silent Planet, Prowler, Remember Tomorrow, Satellie 15… The Final Frontier, Senjutsu, Stranger in a Strange Land, Stratego, Tears of a Clown, The Great Unknown, The Legacy, The Longest Day, The Pilgrim, The Talisman, The Writing on the Wall, When the Wild Wind Blows

Not many differences compared to the previous list. Under this approach, a clear "top nine" emerge.

Which songs has the band played the most all-time, but haven't played during the reunion era? Excluding guitar and drum solos, the answer appears to be "Transylvania" (by far), followed by "Tailgunner", and "Caught Somewhere in Time" (which hopefully drops off the list this year).

The best songs not played during the reunion era? That's subjective, but I'd pick "Infinite Dreams". Other good choices include "Killers", "Still Life", "The Duellists", "Caught Somewhere in Time" and "Alexander the Great" (maybe this year?), "Montsegur", "Isle of Avalon" and then the last three songs from "Senjutsu" (presumably two of those will be played this year).
 
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Here's a list showing the number of times a song has been played from each album:

The Number of the Beast2,277
Iron Maiden1,511
Piece of Mind1,446
Powerslave1,240
Brave New World1,181
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son1,127
Fear of the Dark901
The Books of Souls702
A Matter of Life and Death675
Killers518
Dance of Death512
Somewhere In Time441
The Final Frontier346
Virtual XI336
The X Factor298
Senjutsu171
No Prayer for the Dying30

It isn't surprising that "The Number of the Beast" is in the lead, as it has three of their biggest hits. "Brave New World" is in fifth place. I knew it would rank first among the reunion era albums, but I didn't think it would be by such a large margin. Otherwise, five of the top six albums (the only albums with a 1,000+ play count) are from the "classics" era.

"Somewhere in Time" and "Killers" really jump out compared to their other albums from the 1980's. "Killers" is somewhat understandable since Paul Di'Anno was the singer. But this gives some evidence that "Somewhere in Time" has really been underplayed. (Surely next year's tour will change that. With 33 dates and presumably five songs per show, it could jump up a couple of spots, and maybe jump as high as 8th if the show goes on into 2024).

"No Prayer for the Dying" is in last place, by far. During the reunion era, they've only played one song from that album, and it was only played in 2003.

Note how "Fear of the Dark" is in 7th place, very nearly on the strength of one song. (The title track has been played 821 times, which is singlehandedly more than ten of the band's 16 other albums).
 
Another way of looking at it by album:

AlbumPlayedTotalPercentageNotes
Iron Maiden
7​
9​
78%​
Everything except "Transylvania" and "Strange World"
Killers
5​
11​
45%​
Only "Wrathchild", "Murders in the Rue Morgue", "Another Life", "Killers" and "Drifter"
The Number of the Beast
6​
9​
67%​
Everything except "Invaders", "Gangland" and "Total Eclipse"
Piece of Mind
5​
9​
56%​
Everything except "Still Life", and the last three songs
Powerslave
4​
8​
50%​
First two and last two songs played
Somewhere In Time
3​
8​
38%​
Just "Wasted Years", "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Heaven Can Wait" (so far)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
5​
8​
63%​
Everything except "Infinite Dreams", "The Prophecy" and "Only the Good Die Young"
No Prayer for the Dying
1​
10​
10%​
Only "Bring Your Daughter… To The Slaughter"
Fear of the Dark
2​
12​
17%​
Only "Afraid to Soot Strangers" and the title track
The X Factor
3​
11​
27%​
Just the first three songs
Virtual XI
2​
8​
25%​
Only "Futureal" and "The Clansman"
Brave New World
8​
10​
80%​
Everything except "The Nomad" and "The Thin Line Between Love & Hate"
Dance of Death
6​
11​
55%​
Everything except "Montsegur", "Gates of Tomorrow", "New Frontier", "Face in the Sand", and "Age of Innocence"
A Matter of Life and Death
10​
10​
100%​
Everything
The Final Frontier
5​
10​
50%​
Only "Satellite 15... The Final Frontier", "El Dorado", "Coming Home", "The Talisman" and "Where The Wild Wind Blows"
The Books of Souls
7​
11​
64%​
Everything except "When The River Runs Deep", "Shadows of the Valley", "Man of Sorrows", "Empire of the Clouds"
Senjutsu
3​
10​
30%​
Just the first three songs (so far)

You'd have to think that after this year's tour, we'll be up to 5/8 for "Somewhere in Time" and six or seven out of ten for "Senjutsu".
 
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Here's the final post on this topic (I promise). Songs (weighted by number of times played) by musician on the original studio recording:
  • Bass - Harris (100%)
  • Vocals - Dickinson (81%), Di'Anno (15%), Bayley (5%)
  • Drums - McBrain (69%), Burr (31%)
  • Guitars - Murray (100%), Smith (78%), Gers (38%), Stratton (11%)
In terms of songwriting - Harris wrote or co-wrote 84% of these songs (again weighted by number of times played), Dickinson 28%, Smith 26%, Gers 6%, Murray 4%, Di'Anno 3%, and Bayley rounds to zero.

I'm not going to list out all of them, but the most common songwriting credits were Harris solo (56%), Dickinson/Smith/Harris (11%), Dickinson/Smith (8%) and Dickinson solo (5%).
 
Here's a list showing the number of times a song has been played from each album:

The Number of the Beast2,277
Iron Maiden1,511
Piece of Mind1,446
Powerslave1,240
Brave New World1,181
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son1,127
Fear of the Dark901
The Books of Souls702
A Matter of Life and Death675
Killers518
Dance of Death512
Somewhere In Time441
The Final Frontier346
Virtual XI336
The X Factor298
Senjutsu171
No Prayer for the Dying30

It isn't surprising that "The Number of the Beast" is in the lead, as it has three of their biggest hits. "Brave New World" is in fifth place. I knew it would rank first among the reunion era albums, but I didn't think it would be by such a large margin. Otherwise, five of the top six albums (the only albums with a 1,000+ play count) are from the "classics" era.

"Somewhere in Time" and "Killers" really jump out compared to their other albums from the 1980's. "Killers" is somewhat understandable since Paul Di'Anno was the singer. But this gives some evidence that "Somewhere in Time" has really been underplayed. (Surely next year's tour will change that. With 33 dates and presumably five songs per show, it could jump up a couple of spots, and maybe jump as high as 8th if the show goes on into 2024).

"No Prayer for the Dying" is in last place, by far. During the reunion era, they've only played one song from that album, and it was only played in 2003.

Note how "Fear of the Dark" is in 7th place, very nearly on the strength of one song. (The title track has been played 821 times, which is singlehandedly more than ten of the band's 16 other albums).

Kudos for your effort, but it doesn't make sense Book of Souls being above AMOLAD & Dance of Death. Are you sure this is correct?
 
Kudos for your effort, but it doesn't make sense Book of Souls being above AMOLAD & Dance of Death. Are you sure this is correct?
The Book Of Souls tour included 117 shows while Dance Of Death had 53 and Matter Of Life and Death 60. The only other tour where multiple songs from those two albums were played was the first leg of The Final Frontier, so it seems to be correct at a quick glance at those show numbers.
 
The Book Of Souls tour included 117 shows while Dance Of Death had 53 and Matter Of Life and Death 60. The only other tour where multiple songs from those two albums were played was the first leg of The Final Frontier, so it seems to be correct at a quick glance at those show numbers.

Damn! I hadn't realize that AMOLD & DOD tour's volume were that low and TBOS that high. And a sole representation post 2010 of Greater Good of God in the mammoth Legacy of the Beast couldn't accumulatively overtake TBOS.
It’s crazy but yes it seems correct.

EDIT: I wonder what made them do double concerts in TBOS than AMOLAD & DOD. They certainly believed they had strong material, but did Bruce’s recovery played any role there as well?
 
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EDIT: I wonder what made them do double concerts in TBOS than AMOLAD & DOD. They certainly believed they had strong material, but did Bruce’s recovery played any role there as well?

I think it partly has to do with the band still recovering from the death of metal in the 90s, and they were still rebuilding their popularity after Bruce and Adrian rejoined. I think it was the mammoth success of Somewhere Back in Time tour that propelled them to do longer tours with more shows.
 
Here’s another geeky list for you: songs that Adrian and Janick have had to learn post-1999 that they did not perform in the band before 1999 (Obviously excluding reunions era songs)

Janick
  • Aces High
  • Phantom of the Opera
  • Stranger in a Strange Land
  • Killers
  • Powerslave
  • Children of the Damned
  • Revelations
  • Another Life
  • Charlotte the Harlot
  • Drifter
  • Rime of the Ancient Mariner
  • Moonchild
  • Infinite Dreams (rehearsed not performed)
  • Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
  • Flight of Icarus

Adrian
  • The Clansman
  • Futureal
  • Man on the Edge
  • Fear of the Dark
  • Sign of the Cross
  • Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter
  • Lord of the Flies
  • Afraid to Shoot Strangers
I used to think that Janick learnt loads mores songs in the reunion era. Turns out he performed lots of songs that have appeared post 1999 between 1990 and 1998. It’s another way of showing how under represented the 90‘s have been by the band since Bruce and Adrian came back.
 
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Here’s another geeky list for you: songs that Adrian and Janick have had to learn post-1999 that they did not perform in the band before 1999 (Obviously excluding reunions era songs)

Janick
  • Aces High
  • Phantom of the Opera
  • Stranger in a Strange Land
  • Killers
  • Powerslave
  • Revelations
  • Another Life
  • Drifter
  • Children of the Damned
  • Rime of the Ancient Mariner
  • Moonchild
  • Infinite Dreams (rehearsed not performed)
  • Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
  • Flight of Icarus

Adrian
  • The Clansman
  • Futureal
  • Man on the Edge
  • Sign of the Cross
  • Lord of the Flies
  • Fear of the Dark
  • Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter
  • Afraid to Shoot Strangers
I used to think that Janick learnt loads mores songs in the reunion era. Turns out he performed lots of songs that have appeared post 1999 between 1990 and 1998. It’s another way of showing how under represented the 90‘s have been by the band since Bruce and Adrian came back.
Charlotte the Harlot is missing from Janick's list (played at a few shows in 2005, dropped thereafter). Also, if you wanna be entirely precise with the order, Children of the Damned should come after Powerslave since they played it at those benefit shows for Clive they did in 2002.
 
Charlotte the Harlot is missing from Janick's list (played at a few shows in 2005, dropped thereafter). Also, if you wanna be entirely precise with the order, Children of the Damned should come after Powerslave since they played it at those benefit shows for Clive they did in 2002.
All changed. Thanks for noticing. I should have remembered Charlotte. That was the first tour I saw Maiden on and I remember being very disappointed that they dropped it.
 
Here’s another geeky list for you: songs that Adrian and Janick have had to learn post-1999 that they did not perform in the band before 1999 (Obviously excluding reunions era songs)

Janick
  • Aces High
  • Phantom of the Opera
  • Stranger in a Strange Land
  • Killers
  • Powerslave
  • Children of the Damned
  • Revelations
  • Another Life
  • Charlotte the Harlot
  • Drifter
  • Rime of the Ancient Mariner
  • Moonchild
  • Infinite Dreams (rehearsed not performed)
  • Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
  • Flight of Icarus

Adrian
  • The Clansman
  • Futureal
  • Man on the Edge
  • Fear of the Dark
  • Sign of the Cross
  • Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter
  • Lord of the Flies
  • Afraid to Shoot Strangers
I used to think that Janick learnt loads mores songs in the reunion era. Turns out he performed lots of songs that have appeared post 1999 between 1990 and 1998. It’s another way of showing how under represented the 90‘s have been by the band since Bruce and Adrian came back.

The Iron Maiden Commentary says that they played Killers during the Fear of the Dark tour:
 
So, if the info on Setlist.fm is correct, then For the Greater Good of God is the most played reunion era epic (thanks to LotB tour), followed closely by Dance of Death. What would you guess is third most popular reunion era epic?
 
So, if the info on Setlist.fm is correct, then For the Greater Good of God is the most played reunion era epic (thanks to LotB tour), followed closely by Dance of Death. What would you guess is third most popular reunion era epic?
If it qualifies as an epic, I would say "Ghost of the Navigator" (BNW tour + 2010 pre-Final Frontier tour)
 
So, if the info on Setlist.fm is correct, then For the Greater Good of God is the most played reunion era epic (thanks to LotB tour), followed closely by Dance of Death. What would you guess is third most popular reunion era epic?
The Book of Souls and The Red and the Black? 116 or 117 shows each.
 
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