In the mid-1980s, hard rock and heavy metal were gaining worldwide popularity. Along with bands such as AC/DC, Metallica, Black Sabbath and Motörhead among others, the British Iron Maiden was making it to the top. 

In the summer of 1984, the band was on its tour across Communist Eastern Europe. Such a tour by a Western band on the other side of the Iron Curtain was something rare and special at the time

After a concert in the Poznań Arena, the Irons were looking for a club to have a couple of drinks. They were advised à certain club which, in reality, had been closed for years. Once there, they realised that a party with several hundred people was being held at the occasion of Piotr Żmudziński and Dorota Nawrocka.

After some negotiations at the entrance, the band was allowed in and quickly recognised. Indeed, many young men present at the wedding not only liked Iron Maiden but some of them even had tickets for their upcoming concert, including the groom. 

“We were asked if we would like to have a jam?” recalled the band’s drummer Nicko Mc Brain. “We thought to ourselves, why not?”

The band had to negotiate with the musicians playing at the party in order to use their instruments. “The drummer kept repeating ’what if they destroy my drums, what will I play on? I have one pull, I can’t live without it.’ But Nick (…) promised the man that the next day he will give him what he needs” Steve Harris explained. 

As a matter of fact, the heavy metal stars were travelling across Poland with four trucks full of professional equipment as well as two buses. 

For a long time, the married couple was not taken seriously when asked about their wedding. “For many years, after we told someone that Iron Maiden played at our wedding, people were sarcastically answering that at their wedding there were The Beatles or Pink Floyd,” Piotr Żmudziński recalls. 

Iron Maiden has been active for almost half a century. The married couple, on the other hand, divorced. One thing is sure, even though the Irons did not remember much the day after the party, their improvised concert at this Polish wedding remains one of the most memorable anecdotes of their long and successful career… and for the lucky guests! 

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen

Photo: Unsplash.