Aces High (song)

"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).

"Aces High"
Single cover
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album Powerslave
B-side
Released22 October 1984 (1984-10-22)
RecordedFebruary – June 1984
StudioCompass Point (Nassau)
GenreHeavy metal[1]
Length4:31
Label
Songwriter(s)Steve Harris
Producer(s)Martin Birch
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"2 Minutes to Midnight"
(1984)		 "Aces High"
(1984)		 "Running Free (live)"
(1985)
Music video
"Aces High" on YouTube

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.

The music video was filmed in Poland during their World Slavery Tour in 1984. Directed by Jim Yukich, the promotional video itself features some footages during The Battle of Britain which was first used in their Poland concert video called Behind the Iron Curtain. The black-and-white footages would later be used as the "jumpstart before the drum beat" starting in 2008 in their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, 2012's Maiden England World Tour as the encore part and in 2018's Legacy of the Beast World Tour this time, with new footages added for the tour.

"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.

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.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Aces High"Steve Harris4:31
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."King of Twilight" (Nektar cover)Nektar4:49
12" single
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Aces High"Harris4:31
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
2."King of Twilight" (Nektar cover)Nektar4:49
3."The Number of the Beast" (live at Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany, 18 December 1983)Harris4:57
Japanese and Brazilian 12" maxi single
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Aces High"Harris4:31
2."The Number of the Beast" (live at Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany, 18 December 1983)Harris4:56
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
3."King of Twilight" (Nektar cover)Nektar4:50
4."Rainbow's Gold" (Beckett cover)
4:57
5."Cross-Eyed Mary" (Jethro Tull cover)Ian Anderson3:52

Personnel

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

Iron Maiden
Production

Appearances

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

See also

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

References
  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo (23 April 2015). "Iron Maiden Albums Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  2. "2 Minutes To Midnight". Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  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.
  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.
  14. "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive 31 March 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
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