Last Wednesday, British metal legends Iron Maiden wrapped up a world tour by playing a sold-out show in Santiago, Chile's Estadio Nacional. Since 1996, the band has played in Chile seven times, with a whopping total of 226,000 tickets being sold over the course of 17 years. According to Chilean newspaper La Tercera, that total now makes Iron Maiden the foreign band with the highest number of ticket sales in Chilean history, surpassing U2 (212,000) and Roger Waters (195,000).
This news is highly ironic considering that the band was banned from playing in Chile by the country's Catholic Church in 1992. Obviously, the ban was lifted by the time the band played to 18,000 people in Santiago in 1996. Singer Bruce Dickinson told La Tercera that he believes some of his band's success in the country is due to the onetime ban: "Because we were banned in the ’90s, people have felt a very strong connection to us, and we have always brought great shows with us and worked hard not to disappoint the audience."
Though there was one sticky incident at the 1996 concert involving a very mad Blaze Bayley (who Dickinson replaced in 1999), Iron Maiden have clearly become very popular in Chile, even releasing a live CD/DVD of their 2011 show at Estadio Nacional.
Check out a video of Iron Maiden performing their classic song "Aces High" in Chile last week.
Source: La Tercera
