The Virtual XI Tour was a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

by the heavy metal band

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

from 22 April 1998 to 12 December 1998. As with their previous tour, several of the band's U.S. shows had to be cancelled after vocalist

Blaze Bayley Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of Ir ...

had issues with his voice, this time reportedly from an allergic reaction to pollen and dust while the group were in Nevada and Arizona. The band later made up the Los Angeles and San Diego dates. This would be Iron Maiden's last tour with Bayley as then former vocalist Bruce Dickinson would return to the group the following year. Following the more basic stage sets that they had been using following 1988's

Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour was a world tour conducted by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden in 1988, in support of their seventh studio album, ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son''. It was their last tour to feature the World Piece Tour-era ...

, the band returned to a more elaborate stage set in 1998. The tour also saw the group make their first visits to Turkey and Malta.

Setlist

*"Dance Of The Knights", theme from ''Romeo And Juliet'', served as the intro. #"

Futureal "Futureal" is a single from the Iron Maiden album ''Virtual XI'', released in 1998. It is the last single by the band to feature vocalist Blaze Bayley, as he parted ways with the band in February 1999. Synopsis The song was voted as one of the mo ...

" (from ''

Virtual XI ''Virtual XI'' (pronounced "Virtual Eleven") is the eleventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 23 March 1998. It is the band's second and final album with Blaze Bayley on vocals. It also marks the first album to ...

'', 1998) #" The Angel and the Gambler" (from ''Virtual XI'', 1998) #"

Man on the Edge "Man on the Edge" is a single from the Iron Maiden album '' The X Factor'' released in 1995. The song is based on the film '' Falling Down'', starring Michael Douglas. It was the first single the band released with Blaze Bayley on vocals. Syn ...

" (from ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'', 1995) #"Lightning Strikes Twice" (from ''Virtual XI'', 1998) #"Heaven Can Wait" (from '' Somewhere in Time'', 1986) #"The Clansman" (from ''Virtual XI'', 1998) #"When Two Worlds Collide" (from ''Virtual XI'', 1998) #"

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes ...

" (from ''The X Factor'', 1995) #" 2 Minutes to Midnight" (from ''

Powerslave ''Powerslave'' is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 3 September 1984 through EMI Records in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in North America. It was re-released by Sanctuary and Colum ...

'', 1984) #"The Educated Fool" (from ''Virtual XI'', 1998) #"Sign of the Cross" (from ''The X Factor'', 1995) #" Hallowed Be Thy Name" (from '' The Number of the Beast'', 1982) #"Afraid to Shoot Strangers" (from ''

Fear of the Dark Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree ...

'', 1992) #"The Evil That Men Do" (from ''

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 11 April 1988 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. Like '' The Number of the ...

'', 1988) #" The Clairvoyant" (from ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'', 1988) #"

" (from ''Fear of the Dark'', 1992) #"Iron Maiden" (from ''Iron Maiden'', 1980) * Encore: #" The Number of the Beast" (from ''The Number of the Beast'', 1982) #"

The Trooper "The Trooper" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as the second single on 20 June 1983 from the band's fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983). It was one of only a few songs to get much radio airplay i ...

" (from ''

Piece of Mind ''Piece of Mind'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 16 May 1983 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Ni ...

'', 1983) #"

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

" (from ''

'', 1980) Notes: * This was Iron Maiden's last tour to feature "Fortunes of War" or any ''Virtual XI'' songs aside from "Futureal" & "The Clansman" in the setlists. * "Fortunes of War" was played only in Lille (the first show). In Nancy, it was replaced by "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (from ''Killers'', 1981) (also played in Paris and some other shows). In Genova, they played "Lord Of The Flies" which stayed in the set for the most of the shows till middle autumn. * "Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger" (from ''Virtual XI'', 1998) was played only at the first 3 gigs and was replaced by "Sign Of The Cross". * "The Clairvoyant" were dropped from some sets most notably in the U.S. and towards the end of the tour in South America. * "The Educated Fool" was dropped from the set on the last 3 shows.

Tour dates

* This was a secret concert that the band performed under the name "The Angel and the Gamblers".

External links

Official website

Virtual XI World Tour Dates

References

{{IronMaiden Iron Maiden concert tours 1998 concert tours fi:Virtual XI#Maailmankiertue