Legendary Heavy Metal Band Sends Out Urgent Plea to Fans

Yahoo

20-05-2025

With fifty years of experience rocking out onstage in front of packed crowds, the members of Iron Maiden have dealt with all kinds of disruptive audience behavior during concerts — but there's one thing they're apparently not willing to deal with anymore.
In a statement shared to X on Tuesday, May 20, Iron Maiden's manager Rod Smallwood, made a bold request of the band's fans ahead of their upcoming Run for Your Life world tour, asking them to "severely limit" their phone usage during concerts.
'We really want fans to enjoy the shows first hand, rather than on their small screens," Smallwood said.
"The amount of phone use nowadays diminishes enjoyment, particularly for the band who are on stage looking out at rows of phones, but also for other concertgoers," he continued. "We feel that the passion and involvement of our fans at shows really makes them special, but the phone obsession has now got so out of hand that it has become unnecessarily distracting especially to the band. I hope fans understand this and will be sensible in severely limiting the use of their phone cameras out of respect for the band and their fellow fans."
Smallwood went on to say that the band would "very much like" fans to be "in the moment" and "enjoy each and every one of these classic songs in the spirit and manner they were first played."
"This show isn't just a celebration of our music; it is, as you will see, also about our years of art, of Eddie and of the many, many worlds of Maiden we have created for you," he added, concluding the statement by urging fans to "please respect the band, respect the other fans and have the time of your lives as you join your Maiden family by singing your heart out, rather than getting your phone out!! It's really not a lot to ask is it?'
Fans had mixed reactions in the comments, with some agreeing that phone usage during concerts can be a problem.
"Thank you for this. You go to a concert, pay VIP just to see phones instead of the band, such a bad experience. People need to live the moment but now it's just social media and likes," one person wrote.
"Fully shared, I generally take a few photos to keep memories but seeing a sea of small screens continuously making videos is annoying," agreed a second X user, with someone else thanking the band for "not banning" phones and "instead simply requesting that loyal fans refrain from excessive phone use during your set. This makes sense to me. Up the Irons!"
Others felt the band needed to be more understanding, however.
"If this were 1980 - 1989, I couldn't agree more. We were younger then and thought days would last forever. It's not and they don't. We've seen more and more artists pass away, retire, and memories get lost to the ravages of time," somebody pointed out, with another commenter arguing that "you can't expect people not to take a few photos, especially in London at such an historic time for the band in their hometown."
Yet another fan offered perhaps the most pragmatic take on the statement, writing, "Sadly the majority won't act appropriately unless you hire one of those companies that seals everyone's phones away during the show."