Iron Maiden made its Chinese debut at the Bejing LeSports Center on April 24, which is surprising to say the least considering Chinese regulations are so strict that bands have been outright shut down midway through a set due to censorship laws. When Metallica played they were not allowed to play "Master of Puppets." But Maiden was okay with the restrictions, because they had Chinese fans and they wanted to play to them.
While the band did play, and footage is available below, a few major things were changed about the show, according to Blabbermouth.
- No pyrotechnics were used during the show.
- During "The Trooper", Bruce Dickinson did not wave a Union Jack flag, but still had on his red coat uniform and waved an invisible flag while singing. The Union Jack was still displayed on the backdrop.
- Bruce changed the lyrics to the chorus of the song "Powerslave" from "Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave" to "Tell me why I had to be a Wicker Man."
- The band could not throw stuff like wristbands or drum hear into the crowd during the concert.
Swearing was not allowed.
But hey, the concert still happened, which is a feat al by itself.
