Aces High (song)

"Aces High"
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album Powerslave
B-side	"King of Twilight" (Nektar cover) "The Number of the Beast" (live)
Released	22 October 1984
Format	Vinyl (7", 12")
Recorded	1984
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	4:31
Label	EMI
Writer(s)	Steve Harris
Producer(s)	Martin Birch
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"2 Minutes to Midnight" (1984) "Aces High" (1984) "Running Free (live)" (1985)

"Aces High" is a song by the 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" & "2 Minutes To Midnight" singles.^[1][2]

Song information

The song's lyrics are written from the viewpoint of a British RAF pilot fighting against the German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain (1940), the first military engagement to be fought entirely with aircraft.^[3]

"Aces High" is one of Iron Maiden's most popular songs, and has been covered numerous times.^[4][5] 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.

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."^[6]

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
1.	"King of Twilight" (Nektar cover)	Nektar	4:49

12" single

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

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

Japanese and Brazilian 12" single

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

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

Personnel

Production credits are adapted from the 7 inch vinyl,^[7] and 12 inch vinyl covers.>^[8]

Iron Maiden

• Bruce Dickinson - vocals
• Dave Murray - guitar
• Adrian Smith - guitar
• Steve Harris - bass guitar
• Nicko McBrain - drums

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.^[9]
• It was covered in 2005 by Scott Lavender on the album The Piano Tribute to Iron Maiden.^[10]
• It was covered in 2006 by Concord Dawn (featuring State of Mind) on the album Chaos by Design.^[11]
• It was covered in 2006 by The Iron Maidens on the album The Iron Maidens^[12]
• It was covered in 2008 by Children of Bodom on the album Skeletons in the Closet.^[13]
• It was covered in 2011 by Reinxeed on the album 1912
• It was covered in 2013 by Thomas Zwijsen on the album Nylon Maiden

Chart Performance

Single	Chart (1984)	Peak position	Album
"Aces High"	Irish Singles Chart	29[14]	Powerslave
	UK Singles Chart	20[15]
Single	Chart (1990)	Peak position	Album
"2 Minutes to Midnight / Aces High"	UK Albums Chart[note 1]	11[16]	—

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. "2 Minutes To Midnight". Retrieved 2015-12-24.
2. "The Trooper". Retrieved 2015-12-24.
3. 92 Squadron - Geoffrey Wellum Archived 2 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine., RAF website
4. "Aces High - Iron Maiden". WhoSampled. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
5. "Aces High by Iron Maiden". SongFacts. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
6. Q #341, December 2014, p48
7. "Aces High" 7 Inch Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 22 October 1984.
8. "Aces High" 12 Inch Single (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 22 October 1984.
9. Numbers From The Beast Last.FM entry
10. Scott Lavender - Aces High Last.FM entry
11. Concord Dawn - Aces High Discography
12. The Iron Maidens Last.FM entry
13. Children of Bodom - Aces High Last.FM entry
14. "Irish Singles". IRMA. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
15. "Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive 10 November 1984". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
16. "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive 31 March 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2011.

External links

• Aces High - original video on Youtube