Every Iron Maiden tribute band has to answer the same question: who on earth do you think you are? Fair. Maiden are one of the most beloved bands on the planet and their fans can hear a wrong harmony from the car park. So this is us answering it properly: who we are, who plays who, and how a band from the Leeds pub circuit ended up touring Iron Maiden's catalogue across the UK.
The short version
Ey Up Maiden are a five-piece professional Iron Maiden tribute from Yorkshire. We cut our teeth at venues like the Duck & Drake in Leeds, The Parish in Huddersfield and The Yorkshireman in Sheffield, took the Yorkshire's Finest Tour around the county, and now play pubs, clubs, theatres and festivals nationwide. The repertoire runs past 70 songs, the shows are two hours, and tickets are free entry or under £20 because we think seeing live metal shouldn't require a loan.
The name is exactly what it looks like: the most Yorkshire possible way of saying Up the Irons.
Who plays who
Jon Crowder, vocals, the Bruce Dickinson role. Our self-described "no-hair raid siren". Bruce's parts are the hardest job in tribute music: the range is enormous, the stamina required is worse, and the man himself is a qualified pilot and Olympic-level fencer, so the bar for stage presence is set stupidly high. Jon handles the notes, the sprinting and the flag-waving during The Trooper, though we've yet to let him land a plane.
Tony Rushworth, lead guitar, the Dave Murray role. Tony carries Murray's legato style and those liquid solos that make Maiden songs sing. He's also the subject of one of the stranger episodes in our history, when we spent a while publicly trying to track him down. He turned up. He stayed.
Nic Sheen, guitar, the Adrian Smith role. Maiden's sound lives and dies on the twin-guitar harmonies, which means Nic and Tony's parts have to interlock exactly or songs like The Trooper turn to soup. Nic holds down the Smith side of the equation: the tighter riffing, the melodic solos, the harmony lines.
Kurt "Bomber" Evans, bass, the Steve Harris role. Steve Harris is the engine of Iron Maiden, the writer of most of it, and the owner of the most imitated bass technique in metal. Kurt's job is the gallop: that relentless three-finger triplet attack that powers everything from Run to the Hills to Phantom of the Opera. When people say a Maiden tribute sounds right, they usually mean the bass.
Steve "Shippo" Shipman, drums, the Nicko McBrain role. A Sheffield lad behind the kit, handling Nicko's famously busy single-kick style. No drummer in metal swings quite like Nicko, and Shippo has put the hours into those fills so the rest of us have something solid to stand on.
We've written elsewhere about how we recreate the Iron Maiden sound, gear and all, if you want the technical detail.
Why a tribute band, honestly
Because these songs deserve to be heard loud, in a room, with a crowd shouting them back, and for most people most of the time that's not on offer from the real thing. Iron Maiden played one UK show in 2026 and have said there won't be another until at least 2028. Meanwhile there are 17 studio albums of this stuff, and we've made it our job to know all of them, including the corners the arena setlists never reach.
We're fans first. That's the whole qualification. Nobody rehearses Rime of the Ancient Mariner for the money.
Where this is all heading
Right now we're deep in the Piece of the Beast Tour, built around The Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind, playing everywhere from Aberdare to Blackpool. The diary runs months ahead and keeps filling; the gigs page has the current list.
If you're a fan, come to a show and introduce yourself; we're at the bar afterwards, always. If you run a venue, festival or event and fancy putting the Irons on your stage, get in touch. Either way: Ey Up the Irons.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the members of Ey Up Maiden?
Jon Crowder (vocals), Tony Rushworth (lead guitar), Nic Sheen (guitar), Kurt "Bomber" Evans (bass) and Steve "Shippo" Shipman (drums), covering the Dickinson, Murray, Smith, Harris and McBrain roles respectively.
Where are Ey Up Maiden from?
Yorkshire. The band came up through the Leeds pub circuit at venues like the Duck & Drake, and members hail from across the county, including Sheffield. We now tour the whole UK.
How many songs do Ey Up Maiden play?
Over 70 Iron Maiden songs spanning all 17 studio albums, from the Paul Di'Anno era through to Senjutsu. A standard show is two hours, with setlists rotating between hits and deep cuts.
What does the band name mean?
"Ey up" is the universal Yorkshire greeting, and Maiden fans salute each other with "Up the Irons". Put them together and the name was fairly inevitable.
How do I book Ey Up Maiden?
Through our contact page. We play pubs, clubs, theatres, festivals and private events across the UK, with fees starting from £450.
Last updated: 21 August 2026.