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Iron Maiden have spoken of their excitement at their headliner slot at Download Festival in 2013, saying they are 'over the moon' with the booking.
The legendary British metal band were confirmed as the first headliner for the festival last night, with organisers teasing fans throughout the day.
Speaking about his band returning to Donnington to headline, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson said: "We're absolutely over the moon to be headlining Donington again. The idea of returning exactly 25 years later with a show inspired by that same 1988 Seventh Son Tour was too good an opportunity to be missed."
Download 2012 was a huge success with headline slots from Black Sabbath, Metallica and The Prodigy.
Now the identity of Download's first headliner is known fans can rest assured there will be no hologram revival of a dead legend filling either of the other two slots. Despite seeing the huge success of Tupac's return to Coachella earlier this year, Download organiser Andy Copping has ruled out the possibility of reviving a metal legend through similar technology at his event.
Speaking to Metal Hammer about the chances of doing something similar at the annual metal festival, Copping said: "Absolutely not. If you're going to a live show, you want to see live bands with proper interaction. You're not going to see cartoons. I think the whole thing with Tupac and Dre and Snoop at Coachella was great, but it was a moment in time."
Adding: "Why would you want to go and see a fucking hologram? It doesn't sit comfortably with me at all. I don't get it."
Below: potential bands to perform at Download 2013