IT might have been the silver screen, but the content was an altogether heavier metal when Iron Maiden fans gathered in a Colchester cinema to watch a new film about the legendary rock band.

The Odeon cinema, in Head Street, was most definitely ready to rock, as a sell-out crowd of fans packed in to watch the documentary, Iron Maiden – Flight 666.

The film is a blow-by-blow account of the band’s Somewhere Back in Time tour and was screened for one night only at 40 cinemas across the land.

A horde of fans – many sporting impressive facial hair, faded tour T-shirts, ripped denim and black leather – was determined not to miss this special night, Rowhedge fan Jay Binstead proudly boasts he was caught every single Maiden UK tour since 1988 and was thrilled at the chance to watch the band in Colchester – even if it was only at the cinema.

“When I found out the film was on, I booked tickets straight away,” the 37-year-old rock fan said.

“The film is about the fans more than the band, and how well-received they are across the globe.

“I’ve been a fan since I was about ten, when my uncle played me one of the early albums. I caught a gig on the tour this film is about, at Twickenham.

“It was the first stadium gig they’d done in this country and it was awesome. They played all the classic early stuff, and to see it on film now just brings all the memories back.”

Jay, who runs the student union bar at Essex University, says Colchester has “a massive metal scene”, with gigs at the Twist and arts centre and a monthly night at Sky Rooms nightclub.

He added: “You see the same faces at all the nights, then you’ll see them walking around town in the day and exchange a nod and smile.”

The tour in the film saw Iron Maiden play 23 sold-out stadium gigs across 13 countries in 45 days.

Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson –a qualified commercial pilot in his spare time – flew the band, its crew and equipment from city to city in a customised Boeing 757.

Ewan Last, 64, chose a more conventional form of transport to get in from Sudbury to watch the film. He said: “I’ve seen Maiden four times and they’ve always been fantastic.

“My son, who I’ve educated as an Iron Maiden fan too, got me tickets, but he’s gone off to see it at another cinema with friends.”

Firmly in the “never-too-old-to-rock” camp, he confessed: “The only reason I didn’t go to Twickenham was because I’d pulled my back and could barely stand!”

Giuseppe Musarra, the Odeon’s marketing co-ordinator, said the documentary was being screened as part of a programme of cultural films – including performances by Bolshoi Ballet and Bizet’s opera, Carmen.

He added: “We hope to get more of these. “It could be back to opera or ballet next time, which would get a very different crowd than this!”