The X Factour

fekso

Ancient Mariner
A special tour indeed. No tour following it has been bigger (Obviously not in terms of venue sizes, but in number of shows). To me one of the most mystical tours Maiden ever did. Did you attend a show? Read any cool stories on the forum? I love to read all about it, so please share!
 
Unfortunately, that was the first tour since I started seeing Iron Maiden in 1983 that I missed. I was working nights at the time, and my boss would not let me off for either the Providence of Boston shows. I was so f'n pissed, especially the fact that they were clubbing.

I'm in Massachusetts, and two summers later, we went to Arizona on vacation, and somehow I talked The Lovely Mrs TAC into seeing them in Phoenix (with Dio!) in a very small place, the Celebrity theater. So I did see the VXI tour. At least I got to see Blaze in the band once.
 
I saw the tour in Leeds. It was my first gig, also had my first pint as a spotty 16 year old.

I got tickets on pre sale through the fan club.

The tickets were £16 each. I still have mine.

I was star struck & stood right in front of Dave for the entire show. I remember being in awe of Steve Harris running around.

I wasn't sure what to think about Blaze.

I remember being puzzeled about Bruce cutting his hair in kerrang, it seemed like a big thing at the time.

There was no walk on Eddie due to the small stage. But the set list & sound was great.

My ears were still ringing into the next day thanks to Daves amps.
 
My first tour where I saw Maiden live.

Was t the Brixton academy London. Only the second proper gig I'd ever been too at that point

First up I loved the x-factor. I really thought Blaze was (and still is) a good singer. I'd heard him sing for Wolfsbane and thought he had a good strong voice. Like most I was sad when Bruce left as he will always be the voice of Maiden for me but I was at school when Bruce left and hadn't even seen the band live yet and was gutted thinking I hope they don't split up as I want to experience them live. When Blaze was announced I thought "fucking brilliant Maiden still carry on and I get to hear More Bruce solo albums".

My excitement about the x-factour gig was heightened when I found out My Dying Bride were supporting. I was well into them at the time along with Paradise lost and Anathema, the 3 great British doom/death bands. My musical tastes were exploring a lot of the doom/death and death metal of the early 90's. I still count bands like these 3 along with obituary, Death, morbid angel, bolt thrower, carcass and many more amongst my favourite bands.

Back to the gig and my dying bride were awesome. They had just released the angel and the dark river album where they had dropped the death vocals for a completely clean style. The vocals combined with the gothic doom worked brilliantly and based on the dark theme of the X factor they were a great choice to support Maiden.

I thought the stage set up for Maiden was brilliant, all based around the album cover and during the gig Eddie was electrocuted in the chair. Blaze and the band sounded brilliant. My only minor complaint was that Blaze was obviously a bit nervous and seemed rooted to the spot. Not much in the way of banter with the crowd either. Just seemed to stand in the same spot and constantly fist pump the air. I'd seen videos of him in wolfsbane and heard stories of him live with them and was expecting more energy and stage antics. Still it all sounddd great. I bought he handled the Bruce era stuff pretty well too. Yes his register is lower than Bruce and he can't hit the high notes like Bruce can but that didn't bother me. I was watching my favourite band live and the singer was I hung in a register than when I sang along to the X factor at home I could almost replicate lol.

X factor is a top 5 album for me and is brilliant.

I do t like Virtual XI much but that's nothing to do with Blaze more to do with the songs having far too much repetition in them (looking at you angel and the gambler )
 
My first tour where I saw Maiden live.

Was t the Brixton academy London. Only the second proper gig I'd ever been too at that point

First up I loved the x-factor. I really thought Blaze was (and still is) a good singer. I'd heard him sing for Wolfsbane and thought he had a good strong voice. Like most I was sad when Bruce left as he will always be the voice of Maiden for me but I was at school when Bruce left and hadn't even seen the band live yet and was gutted thinking I hope they don't split up as I want to experience them live. When Blaze was announced I thought "fucking brilliant Maiden still carry on and I get to hear More Bruce solo albums".

My excitement about the x-factour gig was heightened when I found out My Dying Bride were supporting. I was well into them at the time along with Paradise lost and Anathema, the 3 great British doom/death bands. My musical tastes were exploring a lot of the doom/death and death metal of the early 90's. I still count bands like these 3 along with obituary, Death, morbid angel, bolt thrower, carcass and many more amongst my favourite bands.

Back to the gig and my dying bride were awesome. They had just released the angel and the dark river album where they had dropped the death vocals for a completely clean style. The vocals combined with the gothic doom worked brilliantly and based on the dark theme of the X factor they were a great choice to support Maiden.

I thought the stage set up for Maiden was brilliant, all based around the album cover and during the gig Eddie was electrocuted in the chair. Blaze and the band sounded brilliant. My only minor complaint was that Blaze was obviously a bit nervous and seemed rooted to the spot. Not much in the way of banter with the crowd either. Just seemed to stand in the same spot and constantly fist pump the air. I'd seen videos of him in wolfsbane and heard stories of him live with them and was expecting more energy and stage antics. Still it all sounddd great. I bought he handled the Bruce era stuff pretty well too. Yes his register is lower than Bruce and he can't hit the high notes like Bruce can but that didn't bother me. I was watching my favourite band live and the singer was I hung in a register than when I sang along to the X factor at home I could almost replicate lol.

X factor is a top 5 album for me and is brilliant.

I do t like Virtual XI much but that's nothing to do with Blaze more to do with the songs having far too much repetition in them (looking at you angel and the gambler )

Great post, thanks!
 
Bulgaria October 16th 1995:

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A special tour indeed. No tour following it has been bigger (Obviously not in terms of venue sizes, but in number of shows).

well, it was the first tour with a new singer.... the tour following this one (Virtual XI) had more cancellations than any to date. they cancelled almost half the USA shows...
Book of Souls is the largest tour to date since the X Factour..... 128 shows for X and 117 for BOS.... had to be a rough time for Steve. Lost Bruce, after losing Adrian and then Steve got divorced, had to find a singer like Bruce instead of the strategy they had when ditching Paul where they got someone different...
 
well, it was the first tour with a new singer.... the tour following this one (Virtual XI) had more cancellations than any to date. they cancelled almost half the USA shows....

Well the cancellations occurred in USA. As we all know the United States have blue, white and red as colors on their flag.... Book of Souls sometimes use blue backdrops and Steve's divorce papers were of course colored blue...

I'm sorry, I'm just kidding;) I just mentioned some facts about the tour that to me were interesting. Didn't really intend it to go on to be a of topic discussion
 
I saw Maiden on the X Factour at a small club in Atlanta. There were only a few hundred fans there and it made me feel sad - I was used to seeing them in big arenas. The band (excluding Blaze) sounded great though and it was cool seeing them "up close and personal". Stage was small so no Eddie or much of a stage set. Blaze tried hard but by the end of the set his voice was shot. He literally croaked his way through the encores. To be honest I left this show kind of depressed thinking that was it, my all-time favorite band is over. I didn't see them surviving with Blaze.

I still hadn't warmed up to the X Factor album by the time of the show. I do like it alot more now than I did back then. However, Virtual XI I never listen to as there are only 2 songs on it I really like (Futureal and Clansman, of course).

They were supposed to come to the same club on the Virtual XI tour (and I would have been there), but it was one of the shows that was cancelled.

I'm sorry. I wish I could give you fond memories of the Blaze era, but I really can't.
 
I saw the tour in Leeds. It was my first gig, also had my first pint as a spotty 16 year old.

I got tickets on pre sale through the fan club.

The tickets were £16 each. I still have mine.

I was star struck & stood right in front of Dave for the entire show. I remember being in awe of Steve Harris running around.

I wasn't sure what to think about Blaze.

I remember being puzzeled about Bruce cutting his hair in kerrang, it seemed like a big thing at the time.

There was no walk on Eddie due to the small stage. But the set list & sound was great.

My ears were still ringing into the next day thanks to Daves amps.

£16... :D
 
And what did Mrs TAC think of Maiden with Blaze and Dio?

We were really close to Dave Murray. It was so hot. Dave's face was so red and she thought he looked like he was wearing pants that were way too tight. She still refers to Dave as " Mr. Puffy Face."
 
We were really close to Dave Murray. It was so hot. Dave's face was so red and she thought he looked like he was wearing pants that were way too tight. She still refers to Dave as " Mr. Puffy Face."
Well, she's not wrong!
 
Here's a loooooooong write up of my first Maiden show which just so happened to be on The X Factour!

Fear Factory / Iron Maiden
-Hammerjacks, Baltimore, MD
19 Feb 1996


I can’t believe it’s been that long. I’m sure I’ve recounted this story numerous times, but I’m going to do it again because I think it’s a pretty cool story.

So, I’m 17 years old and a senior in High School and am in a metal band. February rolls around and I start feeling sick. I was rushed to the ER on Valentine’s Day only to find out that I had mono AND strep throat. Needless to day, I knew I would be bed ridden for awhile. All I did for about 4 days was sleep. It’s easily the sickest I have ever been in my life. I lost weight because I couldn’t eat anything, it was really bad. I was running a fever no cowbell for cure for almost a week.

Now, I had a tape player in my room back then, years before I ever owned a stereo with a CD player. Since I had a radio on this thing I would set it to DC 101 which was the only rock station I could get back then, and would sometimes just randomly turn it on to hear what they were playing. What happened on this night I will never forget.

I went upstairs to my room to go to bed, it was probably 7 PM or thereabouts, and I switched on my radio as I often did. Mere seconds after doing so I heard it: “Appearing live at Hammerjacks in Baltimore on Tuesday, February 19, with full sound and stage, the legends Iron Maiden”.

It took me about 3 seconds to realize what I had just heard, and when I did I started screaming like a 5 year old on Christmas. Naturally, since I had been so sick, my entire family converged on my room since they though something terrible had happened, haha. They were relieved to know that I was still alive and had heard “the news”.

Now, this sounds kinda lame now I guess, but back then I never paid much attention to when metal shows would come through town. I was too young to go to Jaxx and most club shows, and the Washington Post never printed ads for shows in Baltimore. This was obviously before every one was online, so I really had NO idea Maiden was supposed to play in the area. If it wasn’t for the chance hearing of that ad I would have never known.

About 4 minutes after hearing “the news” I called the club to verify that I would even be able to get in at all, since I was only 17 and most clubs were either 18 or 21+ at the time. Thank GOD it was 17+ for what reason I will never know, but I am forever thankful it was.

The next morning I went with my Dad to Tower Records to buy the tickets. I just couldn’t believe that I had tickets with my favorite band’s name printed on them. This whole thing seemed surreal. From hearing “the news” to the date of the show would only be a few agonizingly sick days, but I knew I could make it.

Fast forward to the 19th. It was a frigid February day. Since it was President’s Day, we were out of school anyway. My band was to jam at a friend’s house but I never made it for obvious reasons. I ended up writing the lyrics to our 6 original tunes that day. It was pretty cool.

So, the crew heading up to Baltimore consisted of my parents and my two band mates. Everyone knew how sick I was, and they all though it was crazy that I even dared tried going to this, but I was not to be deterred. I was so pumped up at the idea of seeing my favorite band in a club that my 101 degree fever mattered not to me.

We pulled up to the club parking lot and ended up parked under a bridge. I’ll never forget it. The club was demolished a few years later to make room for the Ravens stadium, but I just remember what a seedy and yet awesome location it was. There was already a line outside the venue and I was getting pretty excited. I nearly lost my shit when I saw Steve Harris jot from the club to the bus as soon as well pulled up. I couldn’t believe this was actually going to happen.

This was my first club show. As I said, I was still only 17 and couldn’t get into most club shows back then, it’s only in the last 5 years or so that they’ve made them all ages. Not only that, but I had only been to 4 shows up to this point so the whole idea of actually seeing bands live was so still very fresh and new to me.

We stood in line what felt like forever. It was really cold and I could barely stand. All I could do is pop Cherry flavored Halls since my strep was so bad my breath was atrocious. Now every time I have cherry flavored Halls I think of this night haha. Finally we got in. I managed to buy a shirt which was awesome as it was my first Maiden concert tee. I nearly shat myself when I saw the Eddie backdrop behind the drums for the opening band .

Now, I had no clue who Fear Factory was, other than they were the openers. They made me a fan with their performance that night, they were so good. I just remember them playing a lot of Demanufacture tunes and how fat their guitarist was.

So, FF finishes and me and my buds make our way to the front. Well, not really the front, but right behind the mosh pit area. From what I can tell the club is packed at this point. I have Eric on my left and Rick on my right making sure I don’t fall over or pass out as it was hot in there and I was already sick beyond belief. I had no business whatsoever even being out of the house let alone in a smoky metal bar.

Now, this was the Blaze era of the band. I loved The X Factor when it came out and still do. It’s probably because I associate that album so much with this amazing night. The lights go down and I see the shadows of the band members I have posters of at home standing on stage right. My pulse is probably near 200 at this point, I just can’t believe what’s happening.

Maiden bust right into Man On The Edge and I lose it. I was one with the whole performance. It was loud, it was raucous, it was amazing. Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Blaze Bayley were there, right in front of me (Nicko was there too but I couldn’t see him). They were larger than life yet at the same time so accessibly close I could reach out and touch them. It was incredible.

I only actually remember small things about the actual Maiden show since it flew by so fast. I remember Blaze singing his tunes really well, but how awful he was on the Bruce stuff. Especially Clairvoyant and Hallowed Be Thy Name. They played 6 X Factor tunes and this was again before set lists were available before shows so each tune they played received a “holy shit, awesome!” response (as opposed to the current holier than thou, they better play “x” song mentality that lots of spoiled metalheads seem to have these days).

Blaze pointed at me during Lord of the Flies and told me to “come on!” (his version of scream for me I guess). I’ve come to realize that too was a stage mannerism of his after hearing countless bootlegs, but on that night I really thought he was pointing me out. I remember the sweat taking away like all of his hair, dude was nearly bald by the end of the show. I remember Janick climbing to the top of the stack of amps at the end of Iron Maiden. There was no Eddie, no pyro, just 5 dudes and the METAL. It was surreal. I never expected to be there and yet I was.

Thankfully, Eric and Rick did their jobs since I was close to passing out a few times during the show. I left the hall drenched and fulfilled. My dreams for the next few nights consisted of trying to relive as much as my sick brain could remember from the night.

I always enjoy those “cotton ear” post show conversations. Lots of “what” and “yeah, that was awesome” were bantered back and forth on the drive home. The whole drive home we spent just trying to make sense of it all. Both my parents had a great time as well, I think they got as much a kick out of the band as they did of seeing me act so crazy.

I was sick from home for another week, I didn’t tell many where I was that night since I knew it was pretty irresponsible and dumb of me to go, but I just knew I had to.

It would be another 3 ½ years and another pretty cool story until I was to see Maiden again (in Germany on the Ed Hunter reunion tour as I was on vacation) but that’s another story.
 
Here's a loooooooong write up of my first Maiden show which just so happened to be on The X Factour!

Fear Factory / Iron Maiden
-Hammerjacks, Baltimore, MD
19 Feb 1996


I can’t believe it’s been that long. I’m sure I’ve recounted this story numerous times, but I’m going to do it again because I think it’s a pretty cool story.

So, I’m 17 years old and a senior in High School and am in a metal band. February rolls around and I start feeling sick. I was rushed to the ER on Valentine’s Day only to find out that I had mono AND strep throat. Needless to day, I knew I would be bed ridden for awhile. All I did for about 4 days was sleep. It’s easily the sickest I have ever been in my life. I lost weight because I couldn’t eat anything, it was really bad. I was running a fever no cowbell for cure for almost a week.

Now, I had a tape player in my room back then, years before I ever owned a stereo with a CD player. Since I had a radio on this thing I would set it to DC 101 which was the only rock station I could get back then, and would sometimes just randomly turn it on to hear what they were playing. What happened on this night I will never forget.

I went upstairs to my room to go to bed, it was probably 7 PM or thereabouts, and I switched on my radio as I often did. Mere seconds after doing so I heard it: “Appearing live at Hammerjacks in Baltimore on Tuesday, February 19, with full sound and stage, the legends Iron Maiden”.

It took me about 3 seconds to realize what I had just heard, and when I did I started screaming like a 5 year old on Christmas. Naturally, since I had been so sick, my entire family converged on my room since they though something terrible had happened, haha. They were relieved to know that I was still alive and had heard “the news”.

Now, this sounds kinda lame now I guess, but back then I never paid much attention to when metal shows would come through town. I was too young to go to Jaxx and most club shows, and the Washington Post never printed ads for shows in Baltimore. This was obviously before every one was online, so I really had NO idea Maiden was supposed to play in the area. If it wasn’t for the chance hearing of that ad I would have never known.

About 4 minutes after hearing “the news” I called the club to verify that I would even be able to get in at all, since I was only 17 and most clubs were either 18 or 21+ at the time. Thank GOD it was 17+ for what reason I will never know, but I am forever thankful it was.

The next morning I went with my Dad to Tower Records to buy the tickets. I just couldn’t believe that I had tickets with my favorite band’s name printed on them. This whole thing seemed surreal. From hearing “the news” to the date of the show would only be a few agonizingly sick days, but I knew I could make it.

Fast forward to the 19th. It was a frigid February day. Since it was President’s Day, we were out of school anyway. My band was to jam at a friend’s house but I never made it for obvious reasons. I ended up writing the lyrics to our 6 original tunes that day. It was pretty cool.

So, the crew heading up to Baltimore consisted of my parents and my two band mates. Everyone knew how sick I was, and they all though it was crazy that I even dared tried going to this, but I was not to be deterred. I was so pumped up at the idea of seeing my favorite band in a club that my 101 degree fever mattered not to me.

We pulled up to the club parking lot and ended up parked under a bridge. I’ll never forget it. The club was demolished a few years later to make room for the Ravens stadium, but I just remember what a seedy and yet awesome location it was. There was already a line outside the venue and I was getting pretty excited. I nearly lost my shit when I saw Steve Harris jot from the club to the bus as soon as well pulled up. I couldn’t believe this was actually going to happen.

This was my first club show. As I said, I was still only 17 and couldn’t get into most club shows back then, it’s only in the last 5 years or so that they’ve made them all ages. Not only that, but I had only been to 4 shows up to this point so the whole idea of actually seeing bands live was so still very fresh and new to me.

We stood in line what felt like forever. It was really cold and I could barely stand. All I could do is pop Cherry flavored Halls since my strep was so bad my breath was atrocious. Now every time I have cherry flavored Halls I think of this night haha. Finally we got in. I managed to buy a shirt which was awesome as it was my first Maiden concert tee. I nearly shat myself when I saw the Eddie backdrop behind the drums for the opening band .

Now, I had no clue who Fear Factory was, other than they were the openers. They made me a fan with their performance that night, they were so good. I just remember them playing a lot of Demanufacture tunes and how fat their guitarist was.

So, FF finishes and me and my buds make our way to the front. Well, not really the front, but right behind the mosh pit area. From what I can tell the club is packed at this point. I have Eric on my left and Rick on my right making sure I don’t fall over or pass out as it was hot in there and I was already sick beyond belief. I had no business whatsoever even being out of the house let alone in a smoky metal bar.

Now, this was the Blaze era of the band. I loved The X Factor when it came out and still do. It’s probably because I associate that album so much with this amazing night. The lights go down and I see the shadows of the band members I have posters of at home standing on stage right. My pulse is probably near 200 at this point, I just can’t believe what’s happening.

Maiden bust right into Man On The Edge and I lose it. I was one with the whole performance. It was loud, it was raucous, it was amazing. Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Blaze Bayley were there, right in front of me (Nicko was there too but I couldn’t see him). They were larger than life yet at the same time so accessibly close I could reach out and touch them. It was incredible.

I only actually remember small things about the actual Maiden show since it flew by so fast. I remember Blaze singing his tunes really well, but how awful he was on the Bruce stuff. Especially Clairvoyant and Hallowed Be Thy Name. They played 6 X Factor tunes and this was again before set lists were available before shows so each tune they played received a “holy shit, awesome!” response (as opposed to the current holier than thou, they better play “x” song mentality that lots of spoiled metalheads seem to have these days).

Blaze pointed at me during Lord of the Flies and told me to “come on!” (his version of scream for me I guess). I’ve come to realize that too was a stage mannerism of his after hearing countless bootlegs, but on that night I really thought he was pointing me out. I remember the sweat taking away like all of his hair, dude was nearly bald by the end of the show. I remember Janick climbing to the top of the stack of amps at the end of Iron Maiden. There was no Eddie, no pyro, just 5 dudes and the METAL. It was surreal. I never expected to be there and yet I was.

Thankfully, Eric and Rick did their jobs since I was close to passing out a few times during the show. I left the hall drenched and fulfilled. My dreams for the next few nights consisted of trying to relive as much as my sick brain could remember from the night.

I always enjoy those “cotton ear” post show conversations. Lots of “what” and “yeah, that was awesome” were bantered back and forth on the drive home. The whole drive home we spent just trying to make sense of it all. Both my parents had a great time as well, I think they got as much a kick out of the band as they did of seeing me act so crazy.

I was sick from home for another week, I didn’t tell many where I was that night since I knew it was pretty irresponsible and dumb of me to go, but I just knew I had to.

It would be another 3 ½ years and another pretty cool story until I was to see Maiden again (in Germany on the Ed Hunter reunion tour as I was on vacation) but that’s another story.


Amazing post, thanks!
 
I couldn’t believe this was actually going to happen.

I loved The X Factor when it came out and still do. It’s probably because I associate that album so much with this amazing night. The lights go down and I see the shadows of the band members I have posters of at home standing on stage right. My pulse is probably near 200 at this point, I just can’t believe what’s happening.

Maiden bust right into Man On The Edge and I lose it. I was one with the whole performance. It was loud, it was raucous, it was amazing. Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Blaze Bayley were there, right in front of me (Nicko was there too but I couldn’t see him). They were larger than life yet at the same time so accessibly close I could reach out and touch them. It was incredible.
Ditto on what I've highlighted above. Great post, you really took me back with some of that.:ok:
Belfast, 30th February, 1996.
13yr old me thought life could not get any better or more exciting. The first time is always special but the beauty of Maiden for me is that I still get that pre gig buzz and still lose it when they bounce on stage, as evidenced by the fact that I cried uncontrollably during If Eternity Should Fail in Glasgow this year. And even though 96 was my first time, I still loved the fact they played so many new songs and remember chatting to two denim clad, full grown adults after the show and they were not impressed, they may even have uttered the words 'play classics.' I met them in the changing room (the gig was in a leisure centre) where I had paid for a locker to store my programme and X Factour mug. The t shirt I bought is still too big for me. Might get buried in it. In a Kiss coffin.
 
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