Aces High (song)
| "Aces High" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Iron Maiden | ||||
| from the album Powerslave | ||||
| B-side | "King of Twilight" (Nektar cover) "The Number of the Beast" (live) |
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| Released | 22 October 1984 | |||
| Format | 7" and 12" vinyl | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 4:31 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Writer(s) | Steve Harris | |||
| Producer | Martin Birch | |||
| Iron Maiden singles chronology | ||||
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"Aces High" is a song by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, written by bassist Steve Harris. It is Iron Maiden's eleventh single and the second from the 1984 studio album Powerslave. The song tells the story of a British RAF pilot fighting against the German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain (1940), the first battle to be completely fought by aircraft.[1]
Aces High is one of Iron Maiden's most popular songs, and has been covered numerous times, by bands including Arch Enemy and Children of Bodom. It was released as a single over a month after Powerslave came out. It was featured on the video game Madden NFL 10 as part of the game's soundtrack and on the MTV show Nitro Circus, it also features in Steve Peat's segment on the mountain bike film on New World Disorder III. Colin Mckay used it on his part of the skate video Plan B Questionable as well.
When performed live - as seen in among others, Live After Death and Iron Maiden: Flight 666 - it is usually preceded by Winston Churchill's famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech with the sound of planes in the background.
The first B-side is a cover of Nektar's "King of Twilight", from their 1972 album A Tab in the Ocean. Their cover is actually a medley of the songs "Crying in the Dark" and "King of Twilight", the last two songs on the album.
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[edit] Appearances
- It was covered in 2001 by Arch Enemy on the album Wages of Sin.[2]
- It was covered in 2005 by Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen), Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme), Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Niacin), and Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio) – drums on the tribute album Numbers from the Beast.[3]
- It was covered in 2005 by Scott Lavender on the album The Piano Tribute to Iron Maiden.[4]
- It was covered in 2006 by Concord Dawn (featuring State of Mind) on the album Chaos by Design.[5]
- It was covered in 2006 by The Iron Maidens on the album The Iron Maidens[6]
- It was covered in 2008 by Children of Bodom on the album Blooddrunk.[7]
- It was covered in 2011 by Reinxeed on the album 1912
[edit] Track listing
- "Aces High" (Steve Harris) - 4:31
- "King of Twilight" (Nektar cover) - 4:54
- "The Number of the Beast (Live at Hammersmith Odeon - March 20th 1982)" (Harris) - 5:07
[edit] Personnel
- Bruce Dickinson - vocals
- Dave Murray - guitar
- Adrian Smith - guitar, backing vocals
- Steve Harris - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Nicko McBrain - drums
[edit] Chart Performance
| Single | Chart (1984) | Peak position |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Aces High" | Irish Singles Chart | 29[8] | Powerslave |
| UK Singles Chart | 20[9] | ||
| Single | Chart (1990) | Peak position |
Album |
| "2 Minutes to Midnight / Aces High" | UK Albums Chart[note 1] | 11[10] | — |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Re-release of both singles as part of "The First Ten Years" box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.
[edit] References
- ^ 92 Squadron - Geoffrey Wellum, RAF website
- ^ Wages of Sin Last.FM entry
- ^ Numbers From The Beast Last.FM entry
- ^ Scott Lavender - Aces High Last.FM entry
- ^ Concord Dawn - Aces High Discography
- ^ The Iron Maidens Last.FM entry
- ^ Children of Bodom - Aces High Last.FM entry
- ^ "Irish Singles". http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
- ^ "UK Singles Archive- 10th November 1984". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1984-11-10/. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
- ^ "UK Albums Archive- 31st March 1990". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/1990-03-31/. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
