ADRIAN SMITH Says 'Maybe' It's Time For IRON MAIDEN To Drop UFO's 'Doctor Doctor' As Band's Entrance Music At Every Concert

In a new interview with Sweden's Bandit Rock radio station, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith was asked "how tired" he is of "Doctor Doctor", the classic UFO song which MAIDEN has played over the P.A. system as the band's opening intro to nearly all of its concerts since at least 2000. Adrian replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I mean, I love UFO — they're one of my favorite bands — but maybe we should change it. We used to have a different one — it was an AC/DC song called 'It's A Long Way To The Top [If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll]', with the bagpipes and everything. So maybe we should bring that back. I do love 'Doctor Doctor'."

Back in February 2022, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson was asked during the question-and-answer portion of his spoken-word show at The Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois why the band always uses "Doctor Doctor" as its "entrance music" at is concerts. He responded: "It has the added advantage that everybody knows we play 'Doctor Doctor' before we go on stage. So, before the intro tape, there's five minutes of 'Doctor Doctor'. It's brilliant, so people go, 'Oh, quick.' Stop having a piss, drink the last pint, get to your seats. 'Doctor Doctor' is playing. They'll be on in a minute. And for the road crew, it's also brilliant. It's, like, 'Stop masturbating in the toilet. Wipe your ass.'"

In 2021, MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris named "Love To Love", from UFO's 1979 album "Strangers In The Night", as one of the eight songs that changed his life. He explained to Metal Hammer magazine: "UFO have loads of great songs, and loads of great albums, but this version in particular, on 'Strangers In The Night', really struck a nerve with me. It's the light and shade and the dynamic build-up which does it for me.

"I used to listen to 'Strangers In The Night' when I was driving the kids to school in the morning and it gets you fired up for the day.

"UFO always had fantastic guitar players — Michael Schenker and Paul Chapman were brilliant — and Phil Mogg is a great singer.

"MAIDEN played two gigs supporting UFO in 1981, in Long Beach and San Bernardino in California, and we'd have loved to have them out with us, but for some reason it never happened."

IRON MAIDEN's ongoing "Run For Your Lives" 50th-anniversary world tour launched in May 2025 and focuses on the band's first nine albums, from 1980's "Iron Maiden" through 1992's "Fear Of The Dark". The trek will resume in late May and will run through November, visiting Europe, Asia and North and South America.

IRON MAIDEN will conclude its 2026 touring itinerary with two shows at Yokohama, Japan's K-Arena on November 24 and November 25.