Iron Maiden’s first Australian shows in more than 15 years sold out within minutes of going on sale today.

In fact, many punters who had lined up for over an hour were shocked to find out that no further tickets were available, despite being at the front of the queue and ready to lay their claim to a ticket on the stroke of 9am.

The same holds true for thousands who attempted to purchase tickets online at 9am, prompted with a ‘no further tickets available’ message, much to there bewilderment.

Second shows for both Melbourne and Sydney have subsequently been announced and are selling fast however Promoter Paul Dainty suggests that there will be no further Australian shows added to this leg of the tour, given time limitations and pending shows elsewhere.

He also added that “sales have been phenomenal, Ticketek advised me this morning that the queues have been the longest at their ticket outlets for any on-sale for ages.”

The lightning fast sales are a testament to the hunger of Australian metalheads, long yearning for heavy metal’s biggest band to hit their shores.

Given that the band are bringing down the entire Powerslave stageshow (on a private Boeing jet, flown by vocalist Bruce Dickinson and emblazoned with Iron Maiden and Eddie artwork no less), it should prove to be well worth the wait.