Iron Maiden’s SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME WORLD TOUR got off to a flying start today in Australia, where Sydney’s Acer Arena sold out within 25 minutes of going on sale and Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena sold out within 15 minutes, leading to promoter Paul Dainty immediately putting on sale second shows in both cities and commenting; “Sales for the tour have been phenomenal with over 40,000 tickets being sold in the first hour. Ticketek reported that the queues have been the longest at their ticket outlets for any on-sale for ages. This is a hugely anticipated tour here.”

Australia is the first country on the 2008 tour to go on sale.  Full details of the rest of first tour leg in Feb/Mar 08, in which the band, crew and equipment will travel in a specially customised 757 jumbo piloted by vocalist Bruce Dickinson, will be announced next month, with tickets for most countries going on sale in November.

Manager Rod Smallwood commented “This is a great start to what promises to be a really memorable tour and year for the band. We haven’t been to Australia for over 15 years but l guess the incredible demand for tickets shows that Metal is truly back down under. And hopefully by returning there after all these years we can help re-establish it even more”

The full Australian dates for Feb 08 are now:

Mon 4th – Perth Burswood Dome
Wed 6th – Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
Thurs 7th – Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
Sat 9th – Sydney Acer Arena
Sun 10th – Sydney Acer Arena
Tues 12th – Brisbane Entertainment Centre