On September 3, 1984, Iron Maiden unleashed Powerslave, their fifth studio album and a record that would define an era for the band. The album opens with the electrifying "Aces High" and closes with the ambitious, 13-minute progressive metal journey, "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner." It was Iron Maiden's boldest creation yet, and it set the stage for an even bigger spectacle: the monumental World Slavery tour.
The tour began on August 9, 1984, nearly a month before Powerslave's release. Its starting point was unexpected — Poland, still firmly behind the Iron Curtain. While a few Western rock bands, like 70s rockers Budgie, had ventured into Eastern Europe, Iron Maiden became the first major metal band to break this barrier. They embraced the moment, performing five shows in six days and even indulging in local culture.
In an unforgettable detour – as described by Metal Hammer – the band gatecrashed a Polish wedding. There, they took the stage to cover Deep Purple's classic "Smoke On The Water" for a crowd of 300 delighted guests. Bassist Steve Harris later shared, "We'd had a few drinks beforehand and just thought, 'Oh, why not?' Everyone was so pissed from the wedding anyway, they didn't seem to care. It was great fun!"
Drummer Nicko McBrain added to the story: "Rod [Smallwood, Maiden's manager] and I disappeared and didn't come back until 6 or 7 in the morning. We had our arms around each other, shouting, 'Smoke on the water!', weaving backwards and forwards across the road."
Their short-lived stint as a wedding band was just a side note on a tour that would span 189 shows across five continents. It was an intense journey, one that vocalist Bruce Dickinson later described as "the most grueling experience of his life." Yet, this grueling experience solidified Iron Maiden's place in the pantheon of rock legends.
