Blaze Bayley has looked back on the notorious 1996 gig where Iron Maiden were pelted with spit.
The UK metal legends performed at Teatro Monumental in Santiago, Chile on August 29, 1996 – their first time in the country, due to the Catholic Church previously pressuring the government to stop them playing there.
With Bayley up front during the globe-trotting 1995–96 X Factour, the band were spat on while performing The Trooper, which caused the singer to angrily confront one fan and demand them to “fuck off”.
Bayley reflects on the incident in the new issue of Metal Hammer, saying that six people spat on the band during the show. He also revealed that the gig was filmed for a Chilean TV channel without the members’ consent.
“Maiden had never played there – they’d been banned by the church,” Bayley recalls. “But [in 1996], after Bon Jovi, Metallica, Black Sabbath… all the big bands had come, the greatest metal band of them all was going to Chile. So you can imagine the expectation, and these guys were ruining it for everyone.”
He adds: “But the Chilean equivalent of the BBC set up in the theatre and filmed that whole gig without permission. Because the police there were wearing guns and it was all a bit edgy, nobody felt like we could say, ‘You can’t film this.’ So I think there is one full gig. It went pretty well and I sounded good – meltdown aside!”
Bayley joined Maiden in 1994, replacing longtime singer Bruce Dickinson, and stayed with the band until 1999, when Dickinson returned to the lineup. He appeared on two albums during his tenure: The X Factor (1996) and Virtual XI (1998). Although The X Factor’s lead single Man On The Edge charted at number 10 in the UK, the period was one of commercial and critical disappointment for the band, with Virtual XI being the lowest-charting album of their whole career.
Despite the turmoil of the Bayley era, Maiden have kept some of its material in their setlists. Man On The Edge and Virtual XI cuts Futureal and The Clansman were part of the setlist on Dickinson’s first tour back with the band in 1999. The Clansman and The X Factor’s The Sign Of The Cross were played during the Legacy Of The Beast tour from 2019 to 2022, as well.
This weekend, Maiden will host Eddfest, a two-day festival dedicated to the band, at Knebworth House in Stevenage. They will headline the weekend on Saturday, July 11, with The Darkness, The Hu, The Almighty and Airbourne opening. Bayley and his solo band will play the warm-up day on Friday, July 10.
Bayley is also preparing to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame later this year alongside his ex-bandmates. Although the current members of Maiden will miss the ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio due to touring commitments, Bayley plans to attend the event.
As well as the interview with Bayley, the new Hammer is a blockbuster Eddfest preview featuring interviews with Dickinson and Harris. Order your copy now, with an exclusive Eddfest water bottle, and get it delivered directly to your door.
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