In the original press release announcing the tour, Bruce Dickinson confirmed that the band intended to perform "about two thirds of the original track list of Maiden England" along with "other favourites".
When asked why the band had chosen to focus on this specific period, guitarist Adrian Smith explained that they "thought it’d be fun to revisit that period in time... It's just great revisiting some of the songs we haven’t played for a long while.
It keeps us fresh", while Steve Harris stated that "We just felt like that's what we wanted to do.
We do what we think is right and that's it.
We'll never put a census out."
Drummer Nicko McBrain explained that "After [2010's] The Final Frontier, we took a backseat to recording records and asked what can we do on tour.
We put our heads together and thought of the [1988] Seventh Son [of a Seventh Son] album.
It's a great album and a lot of kids into the band haven't seen some of these songs live.
So it was decided that we revisit that."
Although the setlist consisted entirely of songs released at least 20 years earlier, Smith affirms that "We’ve never been a nostalgia band.
It's a way for the fans to hear the songs again.
I don’t see anything wrong with that."

According to Harris, the band were certain of "around 75 percent" of the tour's setlist before they began rehearsing, during which they "got a better feel for which ones would really work well live".
In regards to some tracks that were not included in the Maiden England video but which the band had decided to play anyway, Smith explained that including "Phantom of the Opera" (from 1980's Iron Maiden) was someone else's suggestion and "actually fits in great", while, speaking about material from 1992's Fear of the Dark, he stated that "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" offered "a nice contrast to what else is going on" while "Fear of the Dark" "has become quite a cornerstone of the set."

Smith stated that relearning "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" (from the 1988 album of the same name) "was a bit of a handful ... the more we rehearsed it the more the little bits that were sticking needed work.
It took quite a bit of work to get it right; it's more of a piece of music rather than a song", while rehearsing "The Prisoner" (from 1982's The Number of the Beast) and "The Clairvoyant" (from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son) was "pretty straightforward."
McBrain reports that the band spent "a couple days' rehearsal" going over regularly played tracks, while other songs, such as "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" and "Afraid to Shoot Strangers", which had not been performed for some time, required going over "with a fine-tooth comb."
McBrain also stated that, in order to relearn certain pieces, he watched the Maiden England video again and came to realise that they could not perform those songs "at that speed today and make it work", as they have become "more refined with where we go with the tempos now." "
Infinite Dreams" was rehearsed but was replaced by "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" according to the Iron Maiden Fan Club site where several members ran into manager Rod Smallwood after the second show in Atlanta and questioned the set list.
It was claimed Rod stated that "the band weren't really feeling it and decided to go with something different."
In the original press release announcing the tour, Bruce Dickinson confirmed that the band intended to perform "about two thirds of the original track list of Maiden England" along with "other favourites". When asked why the band had chosen to focus on this specific period, guitarist Adrian Smith explained that they "thought it’d be fun to revisit that period in time... It's just great revisiting some of the songs we haven’t played for a long while. It keeps us fresh", while Steve Harris stated that "We just felt like that's what we wanted to do. We do what we think is right and that's it. We'll never put a census out." Drummer Nicko McBrain explained that "After [2010's] The Final Frontier, we took a backseat to recording records and asked what can we do on tour. We put our heads together and thought of the [1988] Seventh Son [of a Seventh Son] album. It's a great album and a lot of kids into the band haven't seen some of these songs live. So it was decided that we revisit that." Although the setlist consisted entirely of songs released at least 20 years earlier, Smith affirms that "We’ve never been a nostalgia band. It's a way for the fans to hear the songs again. I don’t see anything wrong with that."
According to Harris, the band were certain of "around 75 percent" of the tour's setlist before they began rehearsing, during which they "got a better feel for which ones would really work well live". In regards to some tracks that were not included in the Maiden England video but which the band had decided to play anyway, Smith explained that including "Phantom of the Opera" (from 1980's Iron Maiden) was someone else's suggestion and "actually fits in great", while, speaking about material from 1992's Fear of the Dark, he stated that "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" offered "a nice contrast to what else is going on" while "Fear of the Dark" "has become quite a cornerstone of the set."
Smith stated that relearning "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" (from the 1988 album of the same name) "was a bit of a handful ... the more we rehearsed it the more the little bits that were sticking needed work. It took quite a bit of work to get it right; it's more of a piece of music rather than a song", while rehearsing "The Prisoner" (from 1982's The Number of the Beast) and "The Clairvoyant" (from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son) was "pretty straightforward." McBrain reports that the band spent "a couple days' rehearsal" going over regularly played tracks, while other songs, such as "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" and "Afraid to Shoot Strangers", which had not been performed for some time, required going over "with a fine-tooth comb." McBrain also stated that, in order to relearn certain pieces, he watched the Maiden England video again and came to realise that they could not perform those songs "at that speed today and make it work", as they have become "more refined with where we go with the tempos now." "Infinite Dreams" was rehearsed but was replaced by "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" according to the Iron Maiden Fan Club site where several members ran into manager Rod Smallwood after the second show in Atlanta and questioned the set list. It was claimed Rod stated that "the band weren't really feeling it and decided to go with something different."
Maiden England World Tour