Iron Maiden’s Ultimate 50th Anniversary Celebration or not, this is one gig I had absolutely no intention of attending. And that’s despite them being one of, if not the, biggest and best heavy‑metal bands in the world, and despite them being, without a shadow of a doubt, one of my all‑time favourite metal bands.

So why would I not want to go? Well, it all comes down to money at the end of the day.

Firstly, the price of the tickets is absolutely ridiculous: £145 each (including fees) for five bands over one day, plus another £39 for parking the car. A complete rip‑off when you consider we’ve only paid £185 each for our Bloodstock 25th Anniversary tickets (including fees), plus £19 parking, where we’ll be entertained by over 120 metal bands from across the board, including Saxon, Judas Priest, Lamb of God, Sepultura and Municipal Waste, to name but a few, and all over a nice, relaxing, glorious, alcohol‑soaked four‑day period. Which brings me swiftly on to my second reason.

With Bloodstock taking place just 25 days after EddFest, it would’ve been nice to have been able to save the pennies and have a bit more spending freedom when we hit the hallowed turf of Catton Hall in August. But what can I say when Sonia surprises me and tells me she’s bought EddFest tickets for the Saturday as part of my Father’s Day present? I couldn’t exactly say I didn’t want to go could I? Like I would. Of course I want to go — it’s Iron Maiden. I’m not mad.

In all fairness, I’ve seen Maiden live so many times over the years, but Sonia’s still yet to see them, and I did promise her a long time ago that we’d go if ever we had the chance. And let’s face it, I can’t honestly see Maiden carrying on that much longer, what with Nicko McBrain already retiring from touring duties due to ill health, and speculation of Dave Murray retiring anytime soon due to personal and lifestyle concerns. The band certainly aren’t getting any younger, and all good things have to come to an end sooner or later. And this is something else that’s playing on my mind.

I really want to remember Maiden at their best, and for me, that was at Donington Monsters of Rock back in 1992, when they topped what I still consider to be the best MOR line-up of all time. The Almighty, Thunder, WASP, Slayer, and Skid Row all performing at their best, yet still outgunned by the mighty Maiden in the headline slot… What a day that was.

But that was thirty‑four years ago… thirty‑four long years… and although I’ve no doubt that, musically, Maiden are still exceptional live and their stage shows remain as epic as they’ve always been, I’ve got to face facts. The average age of Maiden’s touring band members (including Simon Dawson on drums) is around sixty‑seven. Bruce Dickinson probably won’t be sprinting the full width of the stage before leaping off a raised platform or speaker stack any more, and Janick Gers probably won’t be bounding across the stage at break‑neck speed to join Adrian Smith and Dave Murray in an awesome eight‑minute guitar solo. Those days are gone.

I’m not even fifty‑two yet, and my knees, hips, and back are shot to pieces, so I can only imagine how they feel doing what they do.

Non-the-less, I am looking forward to seeing Maiden live again.. You never know when it’s going to be the last time.

It’ll definitely be nice to see The Almighty kicking things off at EddFest, just as they did back at the afore mentioned MOR ’92 over three decades ago. They were always one of my favourite rock bands growing up, and I always felt they were somewhat under‑rated. And if they put on a show like they did at the London O2 Forum in Kentish Town back in December 2023 as part of their Never Say Never mini‑tour, or like they did at KK’s Steel Mill in Wolverhampton back in November 2024 during their Three ’N’ Easy mini‑tour, then we’re in for a great opening set.

Both of those shows were absolutely outstanding, and it felt like the late ’80s–early ’90s all over again… As if the band had never decided to step away from playing live.

It’s a shame we missed the Nottingham show in November 2025 with Wolfsbane really, but a burst tyre left us with a bit of a dilemma, so we ended up going to see The Quireboys at KK’s instead. So all’s good in the end I suppose.

Next on the bill will be the hard-hitting Australian hard rock band Airbourne, who’s style is 100% cut from the same scruffy denim and beer-soaked bluesy pub-rock cloth as their undeniable main influence, AC/DC.

Now I’ve never been a fan of AC/DC if I’m honest. I’ve never really liked Brian Johnson’s voice. But I’m definitely willing to give Airbourne a listen on the day. Musically, they’ve never really rocked my boat, but this is the first time I’ll be seeing them live, so maybe I’ll come away feeling a little different. Who knows?

Following Airbourne will be Mongolian Hunnu rock band, The HU, who’s fusion of traditional Mongolian instruments and throat-singing, has produced something truly unique within the world of heavy metal, and has earned them massive critical acclaim in their home nation, making them global ambassadors for Mongolian culture.

For some strange reason, I thought I’d seen The HU perform live at a previous Bloodstock festival before, but no, they’ve never played Bloodstock, so I’m not sure where that thought entered my mind… and You’d never find me attending either Glastonbury or Download festivals… so it’s definitely not at either of those I’ve seen them either. It’s strange what thoughts get stuck in your head sometimes.

Again, The HU’s music isn’t something I’d usually choose to listen to, but at least I’ll give them the chance to impress.

Next to hit the stage will be over‑the‑top British hard‑rock/glam‑metal band The Darkness, a band I personally detest, and one I absolutely will not be listening to on the day. Instead, I shall spend their stage time exploring the other attractions that EddFest has to offer, such as Eddie’s Ultimate Dive Bar, the Infinite Dreams Museum Experience, Eddie’s Emporium & Maidenville Market, and the Unfair Funfair.

Anything to avoid having to listen to The Darkness.

Don’t get me wrong, if you like them, good for you. Fill your boots. Enjoy their set. But I’m not going to sit here and pretend I like The Darkness in any way, shape, or form, because I don’t. To me, they’re the Marmite of the modern rock world: you either love them or you hate them, and for me it’s very much the latter.

That said, I’m not going to sit here and slate them either. It’s each to their own at the end of the day. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, or so they say.

Thankfully, Maiden will be on stage shortly afterwards to deliver their full Run For Your Lives set, making whatever The Darkness have to offer a distant memory. And no matter how much Bruce has to limp and hobble around the stage, and no matter how many naps the band might need to take between songs, I’m really looking forward to it — almost as much as Sonia is.

So there we have it: two bands I can’t wait to see live again, two bands I’m willing to give a chance, and one band I won’t be going anywhere near.

So, is it worth the £145 ticket price? Probably not… but is it worth keeping my promise to Sonia and seeing Maiden live before it’s too late for her to do so? You can bet your last penny it is. And I hope she enjoys them live as much as I did the first time. Only time will tell.

The one thing I’m not looking forward to however, is leaving Knebworth after the event.

Leaving large‑scale gigs at Knebworth is notoriously slow thanks to their 100,000‑plus capacity crowds, traffic restrictions, and long queues leaving the site, with a typical wait time of one to two hours just to get out of the car park. It’s madness.

The last time we encountered anything like this was leaving an event at the Sandringham Estate in August 2025. There was no clear system for either people or cars leaving the site, stewards and marshals who didn’t have a clue what they were doing, and irate middle‑class drivers who thought they had right of way over everyone else.

And then there was little old me, one foot out of the car, ready to have words with one particular middle‑class driver who decided to mouth off at Sonia and hadn’t noticed me sitting in the passenger seat in the dark. We’ve never seen a man wind up his windows and lock his doors so quickly in all our lives.

And to top it all off… we still got out of the car park before he did. Result.