Aces High (song): Difference between revisions

"Aces High"
"Aces High"
	Single cover
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album Powerslave
B-side	"King of Twilight" (Nektar cover); "The Number of the Beast" (live); "Rainbow's Gold" (Beckett cover); "Cross-Eyed Mary" (Jethro Tull cover);
Released	22 October 1984
Recorded	February – June 1984
Studio	Compass Point (Nassau)
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	4:31
Label	EMI; Capitol;
Songwriter(s)	Steve Harris
Producer(s)	Martin Birch
Iron Maiden singles chronology
Music video
	"Aces High" on YouTube

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"Aces High" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, written by the band's bassist Steve Harris. It is Iron Maiden's eleventh single release and the second from their fifth studio album, Powerslave (1984).

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. The Japanese 12" was mixed with the B-side covers from "The Trooper" and "2 Minutes to Midnight" singles.^[2]^[3]

Song information

The song's lyrics are written from the viewpoint of a British RAF pilot fighting during the Battle of Britain (1940), the first military engagement to be fought entirely with aircraft.^[4] The artwork depicts the band's mascot, Eddie the Head, in the cockpit of a Supermarine Spitfire, one of the principal aircraft to participate in that battle.

"Aces High" is one of Iron Maiden's most popular songs, and has been covered numerous times.^[5]^[6] It is featured in the video game Madden NFL 10, the MTV show Nitro Circus, and Steve Peat's segment in the mountain bike film New World Disorder III. Colin McKay used the song on his part of the skate video Plan B Questionable. It can also be found in the soundtrack of the game Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now.

The music video, filmed in Poland in September of 1984 during the World Slavery Tour and directed by Jim Yukich, was accompanied with footages of The Battle of Britain as seen on newsreels. The footages were later re-used as the startup for every Iron Maiden concert in the stage screens to accompany the background music (mixing both Churchill's speech and the snippet of the original song.)

Live performances

"Aces High" is frequently used as the opening song for Iron Maiden concerts. As seen in concert videos such as Live After Death and Iron Maiden: Flight 666, it is usually preceded by Winston Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech with the sound of planes in the background. Churchill's speech was also included at the beginning of the song's music video.^[7]

In a 2014 interview with Q magazine, Gerard Way said that "the live version of 'Aces High' off the Live After Death album was the song that first made [him] interested in performing live."^[8]

"Aces High" has been performed on five Iron Maiden Tours (World Slavery Tour, The Ed Hunter Tour, Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, Maiden England World Tour and Legacy of the Beast World Tour). It was the opener to all five tours in which it was performed except for the Maiden England World Tour where it was moved to the encore.

Track listing

7" single

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Aces High"	Steve Harris	4:31

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
2.	"King of Twilight" (Nektar cover)	Nektar	4:49

12" single

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Aces High"	Harris	4:31

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
2.	"King of Twilight" (Nektar cover)	Nektar	4:49
3.	"The Number of the Beast" (live at Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany, 18 December 1983)	Harris	4:57

Japanese and Brazilian 12" maxi single

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Aces High"	Harris	4:31
2.	"The Number of the Beast" (live at Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany, 18 December 1983)	Harris	4:56

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
3.	"King of Twilight" (Nektar cover)	Nektar	4:50
4.	"Rainbow's Gold" (Beckett cover)	Terry Slesser Kenny Mountain	4:57
5.	"Cross-Eyed Mary" (Jethro Tull cover)	Ian Anderson	3:52

Personnel

Production credits are adapted from the 7-inch vinyl,^[9] and 12-inch vinyl covers.>^[10]

Iron Maiden

Production

Martin Birch – producer, engineer
Derek Riggs – cover illustration

Appearances

A version recorded in the summer of 1996 by Arch Enemy was – as guitarist Michael Amott observed in the liner notes to Wages of Sin (on which the cut reappears) – "released on the Japanese Iron Maiden tribute album Made in Tribute. This one turned out really intense, and was easily one of the better songs on a really terrible collection of Iron Maiden cover versions."
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.
It was covered in 2006 by Concord Dawn (featuring State of Mind) on the album Chaos by Design.
It was covered in 2006 by The Iron Maidens on the album The Iron Maidens
It was covered in 2008 by Children of Bodom on the album Skeletons in the Closet.
It was covered in 2011 by Reinxeed on the album 1912.
It was covered in 2020 by Japanese metal band Nemophila.^[11]

Chart performance

Single	Chart (1984)	Peak position	Album
"Aces High"	Irish Singles Chart	29^[12]	Powerslave
"Aces High"	UK Singles Chart	20^[13]	Powerslave
Single	Chart (1990)	Peak position	Album
"2 Minutes to Midnight / Aces High"	UK Albums Chart^{[note 1]}	11^[14]	—

References

^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (23 April 2015). "Iron Maiden Albums Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
^ "2 Minutes To Midnight". Retrieved 24 December 2015.
^ "The Trooper". Retrieved 24 December 2015.
^ 92 Squadron - Geoffrey Wellum Archived 2 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine, RAF website
^ "Aces High - Iron Maiden". WhoSampled. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
^ "Aces High by Iron Maiden". SongFacts. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
^ Iron Maiden - Aces High (Official Video), retrieved 2 September 2022
^ Q #341, December 2014, p48
^ Iron Maiden (22 October 1984). "Aces High" 7 Inch Single (Media notes). EMI.
^ Iron Maiden (22 October 1984). "Aces High" 12 Inch Single (Media notes). EMI.
^ "【Cover】Iron Maiden / Aces High 【NEMOPHILA】". YouTube. 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
^ "Irish Singles". IRMA. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
^ "Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive 10 November 1984". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
^ "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive 31 March 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2011.

External links

Aces High - original video on Youtube

[14] Re-release of both singles as part of The First Ten Years box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.

[1] Rivadavia, Eduardo (23 April 2015). "Iron Maiden Albums Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 4 August 2021.

[midnight-2] "2 Minutes To Midnight". Retrieved 24 December 2015.

[trooper-3] "The Trooper". Retrieved 24 December 2015.

[4] 92 Squadron - Geoffrey Wellum Archived 2 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine, RAF website

[5] "Aces High - Iron Maiden". WhoSampled. Retrieved 15 January 2016.

[6] "Aces High by Iron Maiden". SongFacts. Retrieved 15 January 2016.

[7] Iron Maiden - Aces High (Official Video), retrieved 2 September 2022

[8] Q #341, December 2014, p48

[9] Iron Maiden (22 October 1984). "Aces High" 7 Inch Single (Media notes). EMI.

[10] Iron Maiden (22 October 1984). "Aces High" 12 Inch Single (Media notes). EMI.

[11] "【Cover】Iron Maiden / Aces High 【NEMOPHILA】". YouTube. 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.

[ireland1-12] "Irish Singles". IRMA. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 1 October 2011.

[13] "Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive 10 November 1984". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2011.

[15] "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive 31 March 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2011.

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@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 | name       = Aces High
 | cover      = Aces High (Iron Maiden single - cover art).jpg
-| border     = yes
+| caption     = Single cover
 | alt        =
 | type       = single
@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 "Aces High" is one of Iron Maiden's most popular songs, and has been covered numerous times.<ref>{{cite web|title=Aces High - Iron Maiden|url=http://www.whosampled.com/Iron-Maiden/Aces-High/|website=WhoSampled|access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Aces High by Iron Maiden|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2909|website=SongFacts|access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref> It is featured in the video game ''[[Madden NFL 10]]'', the MTV show ''[[Nitro Circus]]'', and [[Steve Peat]]'s segment in the mountain bike film ''New World Disorder III''. [[Colin McKay]] used the song on his part of the skate video ''Plan B Questionable''.  It can also be found in the soundtrack of the game ''[[Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now]]''.
+The music video, filmed in Poland in September of 1984 during the [[World Slavery Tour]] and directed by Jim Yukich, was accompanied with footages of The Battle of Britain as seen on newsreels. The footages were later re-used as the startup for every Iron Maiden concert in the stage screens to accompany the background music (mixing both Churchill's speech and the snippet of the original song.)
 ==Live performances==
-"Aces High" is frequently used as the opening song for Iron Maiden concerts. As seen in concert videos such as ''[[Live After Death]]'' and ''[[Iron Maiden: Flight 666]]'', it is usually preceded by [[Winston Churchill]]'s "[[We shall fight on the beaches]]" speech with the sound of planes in the background. Churchill's speech was also included at the beginning of the song's music video.
+"Aces High" is frequently used as the opening song for Iron Maiden concerts. As seen in concert videos such as ''[[Live After Death]]'' and ''[[Iron Maiden: Flight 666]]'', it is usually preceded by [[Winston Churchill]]'s "[[We shall fight on the beaches]]" speech with the sound of planes in the background. Churchill's speech was also included at the beginning of the song's music video.<ref>{{Citation |title=Iron Maiden - Aces High (Official Video) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg9aQvjMS60 |language=en |access-date=2022-09-02}}</ref>
 In a 2014 interview with [[Q (magazine)|''Q'' magazine]], [[Gerard Way]] said that "the live version of 'Aces High' off the ''Live After Death'' album was the song that first made [him] interested in performing live."<ref>''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' #341, December 2014, p48</ref>
@@ Line 117: / Line 119: @@
 * [[Bruce Dickinson]] - [[singing|vocals]]
 * [[Dave Murray (musician)|Dave Murray]] - [[guitar]]
-* [[Adrian Smith]] - guitar
+* [[Adrian Smith (musician)|Adrian Smith]] - guitar
 * [[Steve Harris (musician)|Steve Harris]] - [[bass guitar]]
 * [[Nicko McBrain]] - [[drum kit|drums]]
@@ Line 125: / Line 127: @@
 ==Appearances==
-{{unsourced section|date=May 2021}}
+{{unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}
 * A version recorded in the summer of 1996 by [[Arch Enemy]] was – as guitarist [[Michael Amott]] observed in the [[liner notes]] to ''[[Wages of Sin]]'' (on which the cut reappears) – "released on the Japanese Iron Maiden [[List of Iron Maiden tribute albums|tribute album]] ''Made in Tribute''. This one turned out really intense, and was easily one of the better songs on a really terrible collection of Iron Maiden cover versions."
-* It was covered in 2005 by [[Jeff Scott Soto]] ([[Yngwie Malmsteen]]), [[Nuno Bettencourt]] ([[Extreme (band)|Extreme]]), [[Billy Sheehan]] ([[Mr. Big (band)|Mr. Big]], [[Niacin]]), and [[Vinny Appice]] ([[Black Sabbath]], [[Dio (band)|Dio]]) – drums on the tribute album [[Numbers from the Beast]].
+* It was covered in 2005 by [[Jeff Scott Soto]] ([[Yngwie Malmsteen]]), [[Nuno Bettencourt]] ([[Extreme (band)|Extreme]]), [[Billy Sheehan]] ([[Mr. Big (American band)|Mr. Big]], [[Niacin (band)|Niacin]]), and [[Vinny Appice]] ([[Black Sabbath]], [[Dio (band)|Dio]]) – drums on the tribute album [[Numbers from the Beast]].
 * It was covered in 2006 by [[Concord Dawn]] (featuring [[State of Mind (band)|State of Mind]]) on the album [[Chaos by Design]].
 * It was covered in 2006 by [[The Iron Maidens]] on the album [[The Iron Maidens]]
@@ Line 182: / Line 184: @@
 [[Category:1984 singles]]
 [[Category:Songs about the military]]
-[[Category:Songs about aviation]]
 [[Category:Songs about World War II]]
 [[Category:Songs written by Steve Harris (musician)]]

v t e Iron Maiden
Steve Harris Dave Murray Adrian Smith Bruce Dickinson Nicko McBrain Janick Gers Paul Day Thunderstick Tony Moore Doug Sampson Paul Di'Anno Dennis Stratton Clive Burr Blaze Bayley
Studio albums	Iron Maiden Killers The Number of the Beast Piece of Mind Powerslave Somewhere in Time Seventh Son of a Seventh Son No Prayer for the Dying Fear of the Dark The X Factor Virtual XI Brave New World Dance of Death A Matter of Life and Death The Final Frontier The Book of Souls Senjutsu
Live albums	Live After Death A Real Live One A Real Dead One Live at Donington Maiden England A Real Live Dead One Rock in Rio BBC Archives Beast over Hammersmith Death on the Road Flight 666 En Vivo! The Book of Souls: Live Chapter Nights of the Dead: Live in Mexico City
Compilations	Best of the Beast A Real Live Dead One Ed Hunter Best of the 'B' Sides Edward the Great The Essential Iron Maiden Somewhere Back in Time From Fear to Eternity
Box sets	The First Ten Years Eddie's Head Eddie's Archive
Extended plays	The Soundhouse Tapes Live!! +one Maiden Japan No More Lies
Singles	"Running Free" "Sanctuary" "Women in Uniform" "Twilight Zone" "Purgatory" "Run to the Hills" "The Number of the Beast" "Flight of Icarus" "The Trooper" "2 Minutes to Midnight" "Aces High" "Wasted Years" "Stranger in a Strange Land" "Can I Play with Madness" "The Evil That Men Do" "The Clairvoyant" "Infinite Dreams" "Holy Smoke" "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" "Be Quick or Be Dead" "From Here to Eternity" "Wasting Love" "Fear of the Dark" "Hallowed Be Thy Name" "Man on the Edge" "Lord of the Flies" "Virus" "The Angel and the Gambler" "Futureal" "The Wicker Man" "Out of the Silent Planet" "Wildest Dreams" "Rainmaker" "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" "Different World" "El Dorado" "Satellite 15... The Final Frontier" "Speed of Light" "Empire of the Clouds" "The Writing on the Wall"
Video albums	Live at the Rainbow Video Pieces Behind the Iron Curtain Live After Death 12 Wasted Years Maiden England The First Ten Years (From There to Eternity) Donington Live 1992 Raising Hell Classic Albums: Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast Rock in Rio Visions of the Beast The History of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Days Death on the Road Flight 666 En Vivo! The Book of Souls: Live Chapter
Tours	Metal for Muthas Tour Iron Maiden Tour Killer World Tour World Slavery Tour Somewhere on Tour Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour Fear of the Dark Tour Real Live Tour Virtual XI World Tour Brave New World Tour Dance of Death World Tour Eddie Rips Up the World Tour A Matter of Life and Death Tour Somewhere Back in Time World Tour The Final Frontier World Tour Maiden England World Tour The Book of Souls World Tour Legacy of the Beast World Tour The Future Past World Tour Run For Your Lives World Tour
Related articles	Discography Songs Awards and nominations Band members Eddie Metal for Muthas Tribute albums Urchin Gogmagog Psycho Motel Samson The Entire Population of Hackney The Iron Maidens Maiden uniteD Derek Riggs Rod Smallwood Andy Taylor Melvyn Grant
Category