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Aces High (song)

"Aces High"
Aces High (Iron Maiden single - cover art).jpg
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") cassette
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.

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.

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

"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.


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