The World Slavery Tour was a concert tour by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden in support of their fifth album, Powerslave, beginning in Warsaw, Poland on 9 August 1984 and ending in Irvine, California on 5 July 1985.
Background The tour was notorious for being the band's most arduous to date- although it was very successful, the band were left exhausted by its end in 1985 and demanded a break for the rest of the year before starting work on Somewhere In Time in 1986. The band's lead vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, has since explained that "I never thought it was going to end ... I began to feel like I was a piece of machinery, like I was part of the lighting rig." Overall, the tour lasted 331 days, during which the band performed 189 gigs, the longest tour dates of their career. The tour also saw the band play to one of the largest crowds of their career, approximately 350,000 people at the first edition of the Brazilian rock festival Rock in Rio in 1985.
The tour was notable for its use of props, such as the sarcophagi, 30-foot mummified Eddie and extensive pyrotechnics. Steve Harris referred to it as "probably the best stage show we ever did," and Dickinson commented that, "You could set it up in small theatres or big arenas and it would always look fantastic." The band's 2008–2009 tour, Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, featured a stage set which largely emulated the World Slavery Tour.
Iron Maiden's first full-length live album Live After Death was recorded during the band's four shows at London's Hammersmith Odeon in October 1984 and four shows at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California in March 1985. A video entitled Behind the Iron Curtain documented the band's first shows in Poland, Hungary, and Yugoslavia in August 1984, as they were regarded as the first rock act to take a full stage show into the Eastern Bloc.
An 18-year-old Iron Maiden fan, Daniel Pitre, fell 100 ft to his death from a catwalk in the press area of the Colisée de Québec during the Quebec City show. The band learned about the death only after the show.
Tour dates + List of 1984 concerts Date City Country Venue Opening Act9 August 1984WarsawPolandHala Torwar rowspan="6" 10 August 1984ŁódźHala MOSiR11 August 1984PoznańHala Arena12 August 1984WrocławHala Ludowa14 August 1984Zabrze16 August 1984ZeltwegAustriaAichfeldhalle Sportzentrum17 August 1984BudapestHungaryBudapest Sportcsarnok PokolgépP. Box18 August 1984BelgradeYugoslaviaSajam Exhibition Centre Warriors19 August 1984LjubljanaDvorana Tivoli22 August 1984Arma di TaggiaItalyEx-Caserma Ravelli Accept25 August 1984AnnecyFranceParc des Expositions26 August 1984Palavas-les-FlotsArennes de Palavas29 August 1984San SebastiánSpainVelódromo de Anoeta31 August 1984PortoPortugalPavilhao Infante de Sagres1 September 1984CascaisPavilhão Dramático3 September 1984MadridSpainEstadio Román Valero5 September 1984BarcelonaPalau dels Esports de Barcelona7 September 1984ToulouseFrancePalais des Sports8 September 1984BordeauxPalais des Sports11 September 1984GlasgowScotlandGlasgow Apollo Waysted12 September 1984AberdeenCapitol Theatre13 September 1984EdinburghEdinburgh Playhouse15 September 1984NewcastleEnglandNewcastle City Hall16 September 198417 September 1984SheffieldSheffield City Hall18 September 1984IpswichGaumont Theatre20 September 1984LeicesterDe Montfort Hall21 September 1984OxfordApollo Theatre Oxford22 September 1984St AustellCornwall Coliseum23 September 1984BristolBristol Hippodrome25 September 1984ManchesterManchester Apollo26 September 198427 September 1984HanleyVictoria Hall29 September 1984NottinghamNottingham Royal Concert Hall30 September 1984CardiffWalesSt David's Hall2 October 1984BirminghamEnglandBirmingham Odeon3 October 19845 October 1984SouthamptonGaumont Theater7 October 1984CardiffWalesSt David's Hall8 October 1984LondonEnglandHammersmith Odeon9 October 198410 October 198412 October 198413 October 198415 October 1984CologneWest GermanySporthalle Mötley Crüe16 October 1984BöblingenSporthalle17 October 1984HeidelbergRhein-Neckar-Halle19 October 1984WürzburgCarl-Diem-Halle20 October 1984BrusselsBelgiumForest National21 October 1984NancyFranceParc des Expositions23 October 1984Freiburg im BreisgauWest GermanyStadthalle Freiburg24 October 1984MunichOlympiahalle26 October 1984EssenGrugahalle27 October 1984BremenStadthalle Bremen28 October 1984ZwolleNetherlandsIJsselhallen29 October 1984ParisFranceEspace Balard Mötley CrüeMama's Boys1 November 1984CopenhagenDenmarkBrøndbyhallen Mötley Crüe2 November 1984StockholmSwedenJohanneshovs Isstadion3 November 1984GothenburgScandinavium5 November 1984HelsinkiFinlandHelsinki Ice Hall8 November 1984RüsselsheimWest GermanyWalter-Köbel-Halle9 November 1984Neunkirchen am BrandHemmerleinhalle11 November 1984BolognaItalyTeatro Tenda12 November 1984MilanTeatro Tenda di Lampugnano13 November 1984LyonFranceHalle Tony Garnier14 November 1984BaselSwitzerlandSt. Jakob Sporthalle24 November 1984HalifaxCanadaHalifax Metro Centre Twisted Sister26 November 1984Quebec CityColisée de Québec27 November 1984MontrealMontreal Forum28 November 1984OttawaOttawa Civic Centre30 November 1984TorontoMaple Leaf Gardens1 December 1984Greater SudburySudbury Community Arena3 December 1984WinnipegWinnipeg Arena4 December 1984ReginaAgridome6 December 1984EdmontonNorthlands Coliseum7 December 1984CalgaryStampede Corral9 December 1984VancouverPacific Coliseum10 December 1984SeattleUnited StatesSeattle Center Coliseum11 December 1984PortlandPortland Memorial Coliseum13 December 1984Salt Lake CitySalt Palace15 December 1984DenverMcNichols Sports Arena 17 December 1984Kansas CityKemper Arena Twisted Sister18 December 1984St. LouisKiel Auditorium19 December 1984MilwaukeeMECCA Arena20 December 1984BloomingtonMet Center21 December 1984RosemontRosemont Horizon
+ List of 1985 concerts Date City Country Venue Opening Act3 January 1985CincinnatiUnited StatesCincinnati GardensTwisted Sister4 January 1985DetroitJoe Louis Arena5 January 1985ColumbusBattelle Hall6 January 1985RichfieldRichfield Coliseum7 January 1985BuffaloBuffalo Memorial Auditorium11 January 1985Rio de JaneiroBrazilCity of Rock Queen (headliner)Whitesnake14 January 1985HartfordUnited StatesHartford Civic Center Twisted Sister15 January 1985WorcesterWorcester Centrum17 January 1985New York CityRadio City Music Hall Queensrÿche18 January 198519 January 198520 January 198521 January 198528 January 1985LandoverCapital Centre Twisted Sister29 January 1985PhiladelphiaThe Spectrum31 January 1985ColumbiaCarolina Coliseum1 February 1985Johnson CityFreedom Hall Civic Center2 February 1985AtlantaOmni Coliseum3 February 1985MemphisMid-South Coliseum5 February 1985NashvilleNashville Municipal Auditorium6 February 1985KnoxvilleKnoxville Civic Coliseum8 February 1985CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum9 February 1985GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum10 February 1985GreenvilleGreenville Memorial Auditorium12 February 1985JacksonvilleJacksonville Memorial Coliseum14 February 1985North Fort MyersLee County Civic Center15 February 1985Pembroke PinesHollywood Sportatorium16 February 1985LakelandLakeland Civic Center17 February 1985St. PetersburgBayfront Center19 February 1985ChattanoogaUTC Arena20 February 1985BirminghamBoutwell Memorial Auditoriumrowspan="2" 21 February 1985HuntsvilleVon Braun Civic Center23 February 1985BeaumontBeaumont Civic Center W.A.S.P.24 February 1985BiloxiMississippi Coast Coliseum27 February 1985New OrleansLakefront Arena28 February 1985HoustonThe Summit1 March 1985WacoWaco Convention Center2 March 1985Oklahoma CityMyriad Convention Center4 March 1985DallasReunion Arena5 March 1985San AntonioSan Antonio Convention Center7 March 1985LubbockCity Bank Coliseum8 March 1985El PasoEl Paso County Coliseum9 March 1985AlbuquerqueTingley Coliseum10 March 1985TucsonTucson Convention Center14 March 1985Long BeachLong Beach Arena Twisted Sister15 March 198516 March 198517 March 198519 March 1985RenoLawlor Events Center20 March 1985FresnoSelland Arena21 March 1985Daly CityCow Palace23 March 1985San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena24 March 1985TempeCompton Terrace25 March 1985Las VegasAladdin Theater Warrior26 March 1985San BernardinoOrange Pavilion31 March 1985HonoluluNeal S. Blaisdell Center14 April 1985TokyoJapanNakano Sun Plaza rowspan="8" 15 April 198517 April 1985Tokyo Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan19 April 198520 April 1985NagoyaNagoya Civic Assembly Hall22 April 1985FukuokaFukuoka Sunpalace24 April 1985OsakaFestival Hall25 April 1985TokyoNakano Sun Plaza2 May 1985CanberraAustraliaCanberra Civic Theatre Boss3 May 1985MelbourneFestival Hall4 May 1985AdelaideThebarton Theatre6 May 1985WollongongShellharbour Workers Club7 May 1985SydneyHordern Pavilion8 May 1985NewcastleNewcastle Civic Theatre10 May 1985BrisbaneBrisbane Festival Hall23 May 1985PortlandUnited StatesCumberland County Civic Center Accept24 May 1985UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum25 May 1985BinghamtonBroome County Veterans Memorial Arena27 May 1985RochesterRochester Community War Memorial28 May 1985Glens FallsGlens Falls Civic Center29 May 1985SpringfieldSpringfield Civic Center31 May 1985New HavenNew Haven Coliseum1 June 1985AllentownGreat Allentown Fair2 June 1985ProvidenceProvidence Civic Center4 June 1985ColumbiaMerriweather Post Pavilion5 June 1985PittsburghPittsburgh Civic Arena7 June 1985TrotwoodHara Arena8 June 1985EvansvilleMesker Amphitheatre AcceptWhy on Earth9 June 1985East TroyAlpine Valley Music Theatre Accept11 June 1985ToledoToledo Sports Arena12 June 1985ClarkstonPine Knob Music Theatre14 June 1985SaginawWendler Arena15 June 1985CharlevoixCastle Farms16 June 1985Hoffman EstatesPoplar Creek Music Theater18 June 1985PeoriaPeoria Civic Center19 June 1985Cedar RapidsFive Seasons Center21 June 1985MadisonDane County Coliseum22 June 1985SeymourOutagamie County Fairgrounds AcceptRatt23 June 1985MinneapolisTrout Aire Amphitheatre24 June 1985FargoRed River Fairgrounds26 June 1985Des MoinesIowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium Accept27 June 1985OmahaOmaha Civic Auditorium29 June 1985MorrisonRed Rocks Amphitheatre3 July 1985San JoseSan Jose Civic AuditoriumAcceptW.A.S.P.4 July 1985SacramentoCal Expo Amphitheatre 5 July 1985IrvineIrvine Meadows Amphitheatre
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances This concert was a part of "Rock in Rio"
Cancellations 21 August 1984: Pordenone, Italy, Parco Galvani 23 January 1985: New York City, United States, Radio City Music Hall; cancelled due to health problems. 24 January 1985: New York City, United States, Radio City Music Hall; cancelled due to health problems. 25 January 1985: Glens Falls, United States, Civic Center; cancelled due to health problems. 26 January 1985: Bethlehem, United States, Stabler Arena; cancelled due to health problems. British writer Neil Daniels states that some proposed South African dates were cancelled when objections arose to the use of the word "slavery".
References
External links World Slavery Tour dates