Iron Maiden’s Eddie Censored in Lithuania (“What About the Children?”)

The chances of Eddie the Head ever winning a beauty pageant are very slim. He has appeared in various incarnations from cyborg to Egyptian mummy, and each incarnation is just as creepy as the last. Censors in Lithuania have decided that the Iron Maiden mascot’s trademark creepiness might frighten children.

A poster for Iron Maiden’s concert in Kaunas, Lithuania later this month was taken down for that reason. A spokesperson for the Lithuanian branch of LiveNation told Delfi: “We received a letter that should stop advertising because it scares children.

“Right now, we have to decide how to carry on forward, but we must also immediately take down the posters”.

As with anything related to Iron Maiden, Eddie is featured on the poster in his most recent incarnation. The current Book Of Souls Eddie is inspired by Mayan civilization and shows Eddie in black and white with glowing red eyes. A 10-foot tall version will accompany the band on stage at the Lithuania gig and all of their other concerts during their current Book Of Souls World Tour.

While Lithuanian authorities are thinking of the children and censoring Iron Maiden’s concert posters, manager Ron Smallwood shared his relief about Chinese authorities interfering less than expected recently. He commented:

“High points [of the tour] to date have to include the two concerts in China, which clearly demonstrated the similarities of fans all around the planet. They knew every word and, even more amazingly, the Ministry of Culture allowed us to present our entire show with only a couple of very minor alterations, which I don’t think anyone expected would happen to this degree.

“We thought maybe Bruce ripping Eddie’s heart out on stage may pose an issue to them, but no, not at all. And the fans were terrific.

“We really have had a blast with our fans and expect that to continue at Download in front of our home fans and then across the rest of Europe. Make sure you don’t miss this.”