AIRFORCE (feat. ex-IRON MAIDEN drummer) to play Poland and tour USA

AIRFORCE will be performing a very special set in Poland on March 29 organised by Radio Lublin (https://www.facebook.com/events/1123983721112951/permalink/1136395129871810/) . Admission to the concert is free, after registering for the event. Tickets can also be picked up in competitions organized on the air of Polish Radio Lublin (102.2 FM) and the official facebook page of the station. This will be the very first time Airforce perform in Poland.

After Poland Airforce immediately embark on a U.S.A. tour with 7 gigs in 6 states. And it all kicks off on April 5th. Although the band had already set foot on U.S. soil before, this time Airforce have prepared more dates than before and over a wider geographic area.

The line-up in this tour features 3 members from the original formation of 1986. This includes Doug Sampson, who had previously played drums with Iron Maiden at the time of their “Soundhouse Tapes” demo. On lead vocals will be Ivan Giannini. Ivan’s voice is as powerful as it is melodic and provides an ideal accompaniment to the distinctly British sound of Airforce . It’s no wonder that Italian Metal titans Vision Divine recently invited him to join their ranks.

Airforce guitarist Chop Pitman was particularly upbeat about this tour and said: “We’re really looking forward to this tour as the American people are just amazing and gave us such a warm welcome last time we were there.”

Meanwhile Airforce continue to work on a follow-up to their debut album “Judgement Day” (released in 2016). A number of new songs, in fact, have already started taking shape and the band might perform a few of these exclusively on their North American tour.

More information about the Airforce 2019 North American tour can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/chop.airforce/

APR 5 Fri ‘The Rail’ Smithtown, NY. U.S.ofA.
APR 6 Sat ‘212’ – Westbrook, ME. U.S.ofA.
APR 7 Sun ‘Alchemy’ – Providence, RI. U.S.ofA.
APR 9 Tues ‘Ground Zero’ – Spartanburg, SC. U.S.ofA.
APR 12 Fri ‘Penny Road’ – Barrington, IL. U.S.ofA.
APR 13 Sat ‘Chrome Lounge’ – Omaha, NE. U.S.ofA.
APR 14 Sun ‘The Royal Grove’ – Lincoln, NE. U.S.ofA.

AIRFORCE is:
Ivan Giannini – lead vocals
Chop Pitman – guitars & backing vocals
Tony Hatton – bass
Doug Sampson – drums

About the band

Airforce are an original, classic rock band from London who formed in 1987 and were a major force within the early NWOBHM scene.

The roots of Airforce go back to when Doug Sampson played drums in a band called Smiler, who split up shortly after their bass player left to form a band calledIron Maiden; that bass playerʼs name was Steve Harris. Years later, Steve Harris invited Doug Sampson to join Iron Maiden, and Dougʼs drumming can be heard on the legendary “Soundhouse Tapes” demo, which gave Iron Maiden their first record deal. In 1987, some years after Doug Sampson left Iron Maiden, Steve Harris introduced him to guitarist Chop Pitman. The two hit it off straight away, and Chop Pitman asked Tony Hatton, an old bandmate of his, to join them on bass. At the same time, Sam Sampson joined them on vocals. Sam was later succeeded by Rolf Prommel.

After disbanding in 1997, Airforce took to the stage once again in 2008 with Chop Pitman being the only original member involved. The band underwent a number of line-up changes over the next 8 years until 2016, when the retrospective album “Judgement Day” was released. This album marked the return of the original Airforce line-up of Chop Pitman, Doug Sampson and Tony Hatton, with new recruit Dilian Arnaudov on vocals. Soon after, Airforce released 2 EPs: “The Black Box Recordings” Volumes 1 and 2. Two promotional videos were released in 2018, both of which were enthusiastically received on social media. Late in 2018, the recruitment of vocalist Ivan Giannini (also of Vision Divine) added a new dimension to the bandʼs music.

In January of 2019, Airforce released a double A side single (Band of Brothers/Sniper) which features guest vocals from Paul Diʼanno and Paul Mario Day and was recorded at Steve Harrisʼs studio, The Barn. These two original Iron Maiden vocalists have also collaborated with Airforce in writing material for their upcoming album. All members of Airforce contribute to the bandʼs music and lyrics. This gives the band its distinctive style of solid riffs, powerful vocals and abundant hooks that evoke the spirit of the bandʼs live shows.