10 Songs Rock Bands Refuse To Play Live

10. Iron Maiden – ‘Alexander The Great’

This eight-and-a-half minute epic has never been fully performed live by the band in over 30 years since it's first release. It’s such a fan favourite infact that an Iron Maiden fan launched an online petition for them to start playing it live. The song is from one of their most iconic records, the synth-infused Somewhere in Time from 1986. In a radio interview, when asked why the band has never bothered playing the song live, singer Bruce Dickinson said, tongue-in-cheek, it was because guitarist Adrian couldn’t remember the guitar solo in it. He went further on to say that when it came to playing it live, the whole band just couldn’t get their timings right.

Drummer Nicko McBrain however is quite disappointed they’ve never played Alexander live in concert, saying fans often moan to the band they never play it live, but thinks they can incorporate it into their setlist at one point with an orchestra, saying;

"There is one thing I’d like to say, I would like to do live one day Alexander the Great. I think that’s sucha very very hard song to perform in the arrangement from everybody. One of these days I’d like Maiden to play that song ‘cos we rehearsed it way back but I think we played it at one show and it didn’t work."

Soon after Nicko spoke of his wish to one day play it live, Iron Maiden treated fans to a chorus of Alexander the Great in Terra Vibe Park in Malakasa, Greece. Greek fans more than anyone have desperately wanted the legendary heavy metal band to belt out the song (the song makes reference to the Greek origin of the Macedonian King and also to the role he played in the dissemination of Greek education in the East). The 36,000 Greek fans erupted when they sang a small snippet of Alexander the Great.

Fans will have to keep waiting for this epic to have its proper live premiere.