Headlining the Monsters Of Rock festival at Donington in 1988 should’ve been the crowning glory on a hugely successful period for Iron Maiden, but the day – 20 August, 1988 – will forever be connected with tragedy. As the mammoth show approached, Maiden were on a victory lap. The recently-released Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son – can you guess it was their seventh album? – had gone to Number One in the UK Album Charts, their second record to hit top spot, and they had played stadium shows in countries all over Europe.
That day at Donington, though, would be bigger than them all. The festival had been going since 1980 but the capacity would be a record that year – an estimated 107,000 people were in attendance. Before Maiden took to the stage, though, during a performance by the-then up and coming Guns N’Roses, catastrophe struck. “It was the biggest ever Monsters Of Rock, a fantastic bill with Iron Maiden, Guns N’Roses, Kiss,” promoter Stuart Galbraith told Classic Rock. “It was one of the best events, but definitely the worst experience of my career.”
