Iron Maiden withdraw from Vodafone awards

11:11 | Friday August 8, 2008

By Ben Cardew

Iron Maiden have pulled out of the running for best live return at the 2008 Vodafone Live Music awards.

The vintage British group were nominated for the award alongside recently reformed acts Led Zeppelin, the Spice Girls and The Verve.

However, the group has told organisers that they do not wish to feature in this category as they have toured regularly through their career.

A Vodafone spokesperson says, "We respect and support the band's decision and have complied with their request to be removed from this year's shortlist. We are also extremely pleased to announce that James will be replacing them in the category of best live return”.