It was August 1984 when Iron Maiden performed in Poland for the first time. The route covered five cities – Warsaw, Łódź, Poznań, Wrocław and Zabrze. They moved around the country in two buses and four trucks loaded with all the necessary equipment, the best available in the 1980s. The team was accompanied by journalists, but also by “security” – officers whose task was to ensure that no unexpected events occurred. .
Iron Maiden played at a Polish wedding. They didn’t want to let them into the club
Iron Maiden musicians did not behave like typical superstars, although the band was triumphing all over the world at the time. After each performance, they “relaxed” at parties in the hotel or in one of the few open clubs. Although finding alcohol was not easy, we somehow managed to find it. This was also the case after the performance in Poznań. On that day, Ross Halfin, a photographer collaborating with the band, celebrated his birthday. The search for a suitable place did not take long – someone suggested the nearby Adria club, fashionable and famous for the events organized there. However, they did not want to let them inside because there was a house there that evening. “Long-haired guys” did not inspire confidence. But the name of the famous band worked more effectively than many spells. The members of Iron Maiden promised that they would only have a few drinks and would not interfere.
Iron Maiden played wedding instruments to the chop. “They didn’t know they were a dance band.”
After a few drinks, however, they did not keep their promise. The wedding atmosphere impressed them so much that they also decided to play something for the newlyweds. There were fans of a harder sound in the room, but the problem turned out to be the equipment. The wedding orchestra was reluctant to lend its instruments to the musicians. – Then I went to the wedding band to negotiate. The drummer in particular kept saying: “And if he destroys my drums, how will I play? I have one head.” And they had a whole car with strings back then, as many as there were probably in all of Poland at that time. They were prepared like a team heading to Mount Everest. They told the drummer that he had to show up the next day and that he would get as many drumsticks as he needed, plus sticks and other things. The guy was convinced – Roman Rogowiecki, a music journalist who accompanied the band. Iron Maiden played “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple and “Tush” by ZZ Top for the guests at a typical Polish wedding. – When they were returning to the hotel, they laughed, saying that they did not know that they were a dance group, that they finally learned the truth about themselves – Roman Rogowiecki in the book “Stories worth Poznań” by Filip Czekała.
Perhaps this whole story would be treated as an urban legend, fueled by subsequent stories of musicians and journalists participating in the event, if it were not for the documentary “Behind the Iron Curtain” shot during the tour. There, several shots recorded in a Poznań club were shown, showing the band playing the wedding orchestra’s instruments to the chop.
For a long time, no one believed the young couple’s story. Like in “Fakty” a few years ago, when they said that Iron Maiden played at their wedding, they heard in response: “Yes, at my place it was the Beatles, at my place it was Pink Floyd…”. The band itself attended the wedding for such a short time that neither the newlyweds nor the guests managed to register the event. Today, the scenes from the documentary are clear proof that the whole story was not made up. And although the Adria club no longer exists and the couple at whose wedding the musicians played is no longer married, the history is still alive.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
