Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dickinson has performed in the band across two stints, from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present day. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage presence.
Dickinson began his career in music fronting small pub bands in the 1970s while attending school in Sheffield and university in London. In 1979, he joined British new wave heavy metal band Samson, with whom he gained some popularity under the stage name "Bruce Bruce" and performed on two studio records. He left Samson in 1981 to join Iron Maiden, replacing Paul Di'Anno, and debuted on their 1982 album The Number of the Beast. During his first tenure in the band, they issued a series of US and UK platinum and gold albums in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Dickinson quit Iron Maiden in 1993 (being replaced by Blaze Bayley) to pursue his solo career, which saw him experiment with a wide variety of heavy metal and rock styles. He rejoined the band in 1999, along with guitarist Adrian Smith, and has released six subsequent studio albums with the band. Since his return to Iron Maiden, he has released two further solo records, in 2005, Tyranny of Souls and The Mandrake Project in 2024.[1] His younger cousin, Rob Dickinson, is the former lead singer of British alternative rock band Catherine Wheel, while his son, Austin, fronted the metalcore band Rise to Remain. Since Bruce Dickinson joined Iron Maiden in 1981, the band has sold well over 100 million albums as of 2024.[2]
Outside his career in music, Dickinson has pursued a number of other activities. He undertook a career as a commercial pilot for Astraeus Airlines, which led to a number of media-reported ventures such as captaining Iron Maiden's converted charter aeroplane, Ed Force One, during their world tours. Following Astraeus' closure, in 2012 he created his own aircraft maintenance and pilot training company, Cardiff Aviation. Dickinson presented his own radio show on BBC Radio 6 Music from 2002 to 2010, and has also hosted television documentaries, authored novels and film scripts, created a beer with Robinsons Brewery and competed at fencing internationally.
Early life
Paul Bruce Dickinson was born on 7 August 1958 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.[3] His mother, Sonia, worked part-time in a shoe shop, and his father, Bruce, was a mechanic in the British Army.[4] His birth hurried the young couple, who were then just teenagers, into marriage.[3] Initially, he was brought up by his grandparents; his grandfather was a coal-face worker at the local colliery, and his grandmother was a housewife.[3] This is referred to in his song "Born In '58" from the album Tattooed Millionaire.[5] Dickinson started school at Manton Primary in Worksop while his parents moved away to Sheffield.[3] Soon afterwards, when he was six, he was also despatched to Sheffield,[6] where he attended a primary school in Manor Top.[7] After six months, his parents decided to move him to a small private school called Sharrow Vale Junior.[7] Due to constant moving, Dickinson states that this period of his life taught him to be self-reliant as he was unable to make close friends.[8] Dickinson has a younger sister, professional showjumper Helena Stormanns, who was born in 1963.[9] He tried to isolate himself from her as much as he could when he was young, supposedly out of spite because she, unlike him, was a planned pregnancy and birth.[10]
Dickinson's first musical experience was dancing in his grandparents' front room to Chubby Checker's "The Twist", when he still lived with them in Worksop.[11] The first record Dickinson recalls owning was the Beatles single "She Loves You", which he managed to persuade his grandfather to buy him, which made him more interested in music.[11] He tried to play an acoustic guitar belonging to his father, but it blistered his fingers.[7] By the time he moved to Sheffield, Dickinson's parents were earning a good living from buying property, refurbishing it and then selling it for a profit.[12] As a result, much of Dickinson's childhood was spent living on a building site, until his parents bought a boarding house and a bankrupt garage where his father began selling second-hand cars.[7] The income from their business success gave them the opportunity to give Dickinson—then 13 years old—a boarding school education and they chose Oundle, a public school in Northamptonshire.[7] Dickinson was not opposed to moving away from home because he had not built "any real attachment" to his parents, having been raised by his grandparents in Worksop until he was six.[7]
At Oundle, Dickinson was picked on and routinely bullied by the older boys of Sidney House, the boarding house that he belonged to,[13] which he described as "like systematic torture" and meant that he became an outsider.[10] His interests at Oundle were often military; he co-founded the school wargames society with Mike Jordan, and he joined the school's cadet force.[13] This gave him access to live ammunition, which he used to create explosions as booby-traps.[14] Oundle was where Dickinson became attracted to progressive rock and early heavy metal after hearing Deep Purple's "Child in Time" being played in another student's room.[14] As a result, the first album he ever bought was Deep Purple's In Rock, which created his interest in rock and metal music.[15] After In Rock, he went on to buy Black Sabbath's debut, Jethro Tull's Aqualung and Tarkus by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.[15] Every term, a band would play at the school, the first of these which Dickinson saw was called Wild Turkey, featuring former Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick.[15] After that, he saw Van der Graaf Generator and Arthur Brown.[15]
Dickinson initially wanted to play the drums,[15] later obtaining a pair of bongo drums from the music room for practice.[16] He remembers playing "Let It Be" with his friend Mike Jordan, during which Dickinson discovered his singing voice while encouraging Jordan to sing the high-notes.[16] Shortly afterwards Dickinson was expelled from Oundle for participating in a prank in which he allegedly urinated in the headmaster's dinner.[16] Returning home to Sheffield in 1976, Dickinson enrolled at King Edward VII School, at which he joined his first band.[17] He had overheard two other pupils talking about their band and that they needed a singer and so volunteered immediately.[17] They rehearsed in the garage of the drummer's father, and the band were impressed by Dickinson's singing, encouraging him to buy his first microphone.[17] Their first gig took place at the Broadfield Tavern in Sheffield.[17] Originally called "Paradox", the band changed their name on Dickinson's suggestion to "Styx", unaware of the American act with the same name.[18] They made local newspaper headlines when a steel worker was awoken by their performance and tried to smash the band's drum kit.[19] Soon afterwards the band split up.[18]
After leaving school with A-levels in English, History, and Economics, Dickinson confessed, "I didn't really know what I wanted to do."[18] The first thing he did was join the Territorial Army for six months.[18] Although he enjoyed his time in the TA, Dickinson realised that it was not a career choice, and so he applied for a place to read history at Queen Mary College, London.[18] His parents wanted him in the army, but he told them that he wanted to get a degree first, which acted as his "cover story", and immediately began playing in bands.[18] At university, Dickinson got involved in the Entertainments Committee: "one day you'd be a roadie for the Jam, the next you'd be putting up the Stonehenge backdrop for Hawkwind or whatever."[20] In 1977, Dickinson met Paul "Noddy" White, a multi-instrumentalist who owned a public address system (PA) and other equipment, with whom Dickinson, along with drummer Steve Jones, would form a band together called Speed.[20] According to Dickinson, the band was called Speed because of the way in which they played, rather than a reference to drug-taking.[20] In Speed, Dickinson began writing his own material after White taught him how to play three chords on the guitar.[20]
Although Speed would play several gigs at the Green Man pub in Plumstead, the band did not last long, but it encouraged Dickinson to continue to work towards being a musician.[20] Dickinson spotted an advertisement in Melody Maker with the caption "Singer wanted for recording project" and replied immediately.[20] He recorded a demo tape and sent it with a note which read: "By the way, if you think the singing's crap, there's some John Cleese stuff recorded on the other side you might find amusing."[20] They liked what they heard and invited Dickinson down to the studio to make "Dracula", the first song he would ever record, with a band called "Shots",[20] formed by two brothers, Phil and Doug Siviter.[21] The song would later appear on the second disc of The Best of Bruce Dickinson compilation. The brothers were impressed with Dickinson's vocal abilities and asked him to join their group.[22]
Dickinson played pubs with Shots on a regular basis to small audiences.[22] One particular night, Dickinson suddenly stopped in the middle of a song and started interviewing a man in the audience, heckling for not paying enough attention.[22] He got such a good response he started doing it every night until it became a regular routine used to catch the audience's attention. Dickinson states that this experience taught him how to be a frontman.[22] The next step in Dickinson's career was taken in a pub called the Prince of Wales in Gravesend, Kent, where Shots were playing regularly, when Barry Graham ("Thunderstick") and Paul Samson paid a visit.[23] Impressed with his stage-act, they talked with Dickinson afterwards and invited him to be their new singer.[24] Dickinson agreed to join their band, Samson, but only once he'd finished taking his History finals two weeks later.[24] Until that point, he had been neglecting his University education.[24] As a result, the university had tried to kick him out for failing his Second Year exams and not paying his accommodation fees, but he was saved because of his role as Entertainments Officer.[24] After writing six months' worth of essays in the space of two weeks and some last minute cramming for his exams, Dickinson achieved a 2:2.[24]
"In my naïvety, I thought people who were in rock 'n' roll bands were great artists, and it was a huge shock to the system to realise that they weren't, that they didn't even aspire to be, really. Some of them did, maybe, but some of them, like Samson, were very frightened of the idea."
After meeting Paul Samson and Barry Purkis at the Prince of Wales, and while still undertaking his final university exams, Dickinson joined Samson onstage at Bishop's Stortford to perform one of their songs, "Rock Me Baby", cementing his role as their new lead vocalist.[26]
The band had already released their debut album, Survivors, in 1979 on an independent label, two months before Dickinson joined.[24] Immediately following the completion of his University work, he met up with the band at Greenwich's Wood Wharf studios to learn the Survivors album.[27] Although the tracks did not suit his vocal style,[28] the band soon wrote the majority of the following Head On album in their earliest rehearsal sessions,[29] some of which were immediately incorporated into their live set.[28]
It was during these early rehearsals that the nickname "Bruce Bruce" came about, derived from Monty Python's "Bruces sketch".[29] The name became very tiresome as the band's management continually wrote dud cheques, made payable to "Bruce Bruce", as a joke.[30] Dickinson later commented that he did not like it but considered it "a sort of stage name" and accepted it.[30]
Dickinson was dismayed to learn that not all rock performers were "great artists"; he felt that some, such as Samson, were only interested in women, drugs and alcohol, which he was unable to relate to.[25] Although he had smoked joints before,[25] Dickinson discovered that it was impossible to communicate with other band members if he was sober, deciding that it was "the price that had to be paid".[30]
While fronting the band, Dickinson also came across Iron Maiden for the first time, who were supporting Samson at the Music Machine in 1980.[31] As Dickinson recalls; "I was watching them, and they were good, really fucking good, and at that moment, I remember thinking, 'I wanna fucking sing for that band. In fact, I'm going to sing for that band! I know I'm going to sing for that band!' ... I just thought, 'This is really me. Not Samson.'"[31]
Dickinson remained in the band for another year, recording two studio albums with them—Head On and Shock Tactics.[30] However, Samson soon ran into difficulties with their record label, Gem, who went out of business and failed to finance their European tour in support of Iron Maiden.[32] The band were turned over to RCA, which began neglecting the group, and so they promptly fired their management team and the resulting injunction meant that their equipment was reclaimed and they could not be paid for their concert performances.[32] The band's last gig was at Reading Festival, after which Dickinson was approached by Iron Maiden's manager, Rod Smallwood, who asked him to audition to be their new lead vocalist.[33]
Dickinson, left, performing on his first world tour with Iron Maiden in 1982
Dickinson went to audition for Iron Maiden at a rehearsal room in Hackney in September 1981 and immediately discovered that this was a much more professional operation than he was used to with Samson.[34] In the practice rooms, the band played through "Prowler", "Sanctuary", "Running Free" and "Remember Tomorrow", before asking Dickinson to sing the same songs again in a recording studio, and he was immediately inducted into the group.[34]
Iron Maiden had a strict and organised routine that suited the band's writing style, which Dickinson described as a "time table".[35] After a few gigs, they began writing new material for their third album, The Number of the Beast, released in 1982. In the wake of Samson's contractual problems, Dickinson could not legally be credited on any of the record's songs,[36] having to make, what he called, a "moral contribution", later revealing that he had contributed to "The Prisoner", "Children of the Damned" and "Run to the Hills".[37] In the documentary 12 Wasted Years, manager Rod Smallwood refers to "The Prisoner" as being co-written by Dickinson and Adrian Smith. The album was a major success, topping the British charts,[38] and earning platinum status in the UK and the US.[39] Following the release, the band embarked on a supporting tour around the globe.
"I guess it was the first time I really thought about leaving. I don't just mean Iron Maiden, I mean quitting music altogether. I just thought, 'Nothing is worth feeling like this for.' I began to feel like I was a piece of machinery, like I was part of the lighting rig."
– Bruce Dickinson on 1984–85's World Slavery Tour.[40]
On the following albums, 1983's Piece of Mind and 1984's Powerslave, Steve Harris's song-writing monopoly was pushed aside in favour of other members' ideas, with Dickinson contributing to a number of tracks, including the singles "Flight of Icarus" and "2 Minutes to Midnight".[41] Throughout the World Slavery Tour, as part of the new theatrical elements incorporated into the band's stage-show, Dickinson wore a feathered mask during "Powerslave".[42] This was the band's longest tour to date, during which Dickinson considered going home mid-tour, due to the high number of shows.[43] Iron Maiden's management were continually adding dates, until Dickinson demanded that they stop or he would leave the group.[40]
Growing tensions and departure: 1986–1993
After a six-month break, which Dickinson mostly spent practising fencing,[44] Iron Maiden began writing their next album, Somewhere in Time. Dickinson was disappointed with the effort as he felt that the band needed a more dramatic stylistic departure from past records to remain relevant, despite its introduction of synthesised bass and guitars.[45] He has no writing credits on the release, as his material, based on his own suggestion that the album should be more acoustic-focused, was rejected by the rest of the band.[45] Steve Harris, on the other hand, stated that his material was rejected because it was not good enough, and that Dickinson "was probably more burnt out than anyone at the end of the last tour".[46]
After a subsequent tour, Iron Maiden started working on their next studio effort, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, which featured more progressive rock elements than the band's previous records.[47] Although it became their second release to top the British charts,[38] it was also Dickinson's first album with the band that did not achieve platinum status in the US.[48] Unlike Somewhere in Time, Dickinson was much more enthusiastic about this album due to its concept and has several song-writing credits.[49] After the following tour in 1988, the band decided to take a year off.[50]
"I thought it wouldn't be a problem to go out and do the shows at all ... but it wasn't a good vibe ... we walked out onstage and it was like a morgue. The Maiden fans knew I'd quit, they knew these were the last gigs, and I suddenly realised that, as the frontman, you're in an almost impossible situation. If you're like, 'Wow, this is really fucking cool tonight, man,' they're all gonna sit there going, 'What a wanker. He's leaving. How can it be cool?' Or do you go on and say, 'Look, I'm really sorry I'm leaving – not to put a damper on the evening, but I am quitting'? I mean, what do you do?"
– Dickinson on his farewell tour with Iron Maiden.[51]
After the Fear of the Dark Tour, Dickinson decided to leave Iron Maiden to concentrate on his solo career.[56] At that point the band had already booked a following tour in 1993, which Dickinson did not enjoy. Throughout the tour, Dickinson drew a lot of criticism from his bandmates, with Steve Harris in particular saying, "I really wanted to kill him."[51] According to Harris, Dickinson would only perform when the press was there,[57] whereas at other concerts he would only mumble his way through songs.[51] Dickinson has since denied the accusations that he was deliberately under-performing, arguing that it was impossible to give a decent performance some nights because of the atmosphere.[57] His last performance with the band on 28 August 1993 was filmed by the BBC at Pinewood Studios and released as a live video the following year, entitled Raising Hell.[58]
Return: 1999–present
Performing on 6 July 2010 during The Final Frontier World Tour. The 2010 leg consisted primarily of material released since Dickinson's return to Iron Maiden in 1999.
Along with Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined Iron Maiden in 1999 with Janick Gers remaining in the band, after he was approached by manager Rod Smallwood.[60] Smallwood also spoke to Steve Harris about Dickinson's return, who initially had reservations about the prospect, but soon came round to the idea, deliberating that they knew of his abilities and that it was a case of "better the devil you know".[60] Harris and Dickinson agreed to meet at Smallwood's home in Brighton in January 1999 for the first conversation they would have with each other since 1993.[61] Although both men were nervous about the encounter, upon seeing each other the tension immediately dissipated and both agreed that Dickinson should return to the group.[61]
After embarking on a small tour, the band set about recording Brave New World, their first studio album with Dickinson since 1992. Dickinson insisted that they find a replacement for the now retired Martin Birch, the band's regular producer, and record in a different studio than the one in which they made No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark, to which Harris agreed.[62] The album was recorded at Guillaume Tell Studios, Paris with producer Kevin Shirley,[63] after which Iron Maiden undertook a supporting tour culminating with a performance at the Rock in Rio festival before a crowd of 250,000.[64]
In September 2014, Iron Maiden began recording their sixteenth studio album, The Book of Souls, at Guillaume Tell Studios, Paris.[73] The release features two songs written solely by Dickinson for the first time since Powerslave, "If Eternity Should Fail" and "Empire of the Clouds",[74] the former originally penned for a possible solo record.[75] "Empire of the Clouds" is the band's longest ever song, at over 18 minutes in length,[76] and features Dickinson on piano for the first time, which is how the song was written.[75] The band toured the album in 2016, during which Dickinson once again piloted the band's private plane, Ed Force One (now a Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet).[77]
Ozzfest incident
Performing "The Trooper" with Iron Maiden in Paris, France, 1 July 2008. Dickinson has always waved a Union Flag during live renditions of the song.
In 2005, Iron Maiden co-headlined the US festival tour, Ozzfest, with Black Sabbath. Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne's wife, Sharon, encouraged family friends and members of other bands to sabotage Iron Maiden's last performance at Hyundai Pavilion in San Bernardino, California, on 20 August,[79] in an attack which Rod Smallwood criticised as "vile, dangerous, criminal and cowardly", as well as disrespectful to fans who had paid to see the band perform "a full unhindered performance".[80] Osbourne ordered interference with the band's PA, delayed the entrance of Eddie, the band's mascot,[81] and encouraged members of the Osbourne camp to throw eggs, lighters and bottle tops from the front of the audience.[82] According to Dickinson, the attack was in response to his "disparaging remarks about reality TV shows that she took personally",[citation needed] although The Guardian reported that he slated[vague] the Osbournes' reality series and accused Ozzy Osbourne of using a teleprompter.[81] Dickinson has since denied making comments against Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath,[83] but admitted that he criticised Ozzfest throughout the tour, attacking their "corporate" seating layout and saying, "Most of the bands are there because they paid to be there."[84]
Following the concert at San Bernardino, Osbourne released a further statement which accused Dickinson of making several anti-American comments,[85] for which Classic Rock stated that "nobody can present any cast-iron evidence".[78] In addition, Osbourne claimed that the flag-waving during "The Trooper" was disrespectful to American troops,[85] at the time fighting alongside the British in Iraq, even though Dickinson had always held a Union Flag during the song, being based on the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.[78] It was also reported that Steve Harris had spoken to Ozzy Osbourne in San Bernardino, apologising for Dickinson's comments,[86] which Harris denies, stating that his words had been "twisted".[83]
July 2022 Athens concert incident
Dickinson is known for publicly reprimanding fans at Iron Maiden concerts if he feels they are out of line. One such incident occurred during the band's Legacy of the Beast Tour concert at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece, on July 16, 2022, when Dickinson used offensive language to attack the nationality of a Greek fan who had lit up a flare as the frontman was about to sing "The Number Of The Beast".[87] His fans in Greece showed a degree of sympathy, but most were disappointed by the gesture, as lighting up flares when the band plays a classic hit is customary at Greek concerts to honor the band.
In February 2024, Dickinson admitted in an interview for the Greek magazine Rock Hard that he had lost his temper when asked about his reaction to the flare at the Athens 2022 concert.[88]
Solo career
In early 1989, Zomba asked Dickinson to produce a track for the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child,[89] providing a budget, a studio, and a producer, Chris Tsangarides. Dickinson took up the opportunity and called an old friend of his, former Gillan guitarist, Janick Gers, and, shortly after meeting up, they had "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" ready for the studio,[90] then recorded with the assistance of bassist Andy Carr, and drummer Fabio del Rio.[91] "I wrote it in about three minutes", states Dickinson, "I don't know where the title 'Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter' came from, but it just popped into my head. I thought, 'Bloody hell, straight out of AC/DC!' And I thought, 'Nightmare on Elm Street. Yeah, that'll do.'[92] Impressed with the results, Zomba asked Dickinson if he was willing to record a whole album as well.[92] With the same line-up and producer, Dickinson's solo debut, Tattooed Millionaire, was written and recorded within two weeks, and released in May 1990,[92] followed by a supporting tour.[93]
Dickinson performing with Tribuzy in São Paulo, 11 November 2005. The performance was recorded for a live album, entitled Execution – Live Reunion.
For his second solo effort, Dickinson received the collaboration of American producer, Keith Olsen, and, while working on the record in LA, decided to leave Iron Maiden.[56] Unhappy with the direction he was taking with Olsen, Dickinson began working with Tribe of Gypsies guitarist Roy Z and started the album again from scratch.[35]Balls to Picasso was recorded with Tribe of Gypsies as the backing band,[35] and was released in 1994. That same year, Dickinson recorded a cover version of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" with the band Godspeed for Black Sabbath's tribute album Nativity in Black.[96] Tribe of Gypsies departed to work on their own material and Dickinson tracked down another band, including his new writing partner and guitarist, Alex Dickson.[35] While touring with this new outfit in 1994, Dickinson performed in Sarajevo, then under siege during the Bosnian War; a documentary film based on the concert, entitled Scream For Me Sarajevo, completed filming in December 2015.[97]
After the Balls to Picasso supporting tour finished, he started working on a new studio record, Skunkworks. Dickinson decided that Skunkworks would be the title of the band as well, but the record company refused to release the album without his name on the cover.[98] Dickinson hired producer Jack Endino, most noted for producing the first Nirvana album. The "Skunkworks" entity ceased to be when the tour ended. "I was devastated by the Skunkworks thing", stated Dickinson, "Skunkworks was a record which I tore myself apart to make and nobody seemed to give a shit."[99]
After a short period of inactivity, Dickinson once again teamed up with Roy Z and Tribe of Gypsies to record his next album, Accident of Birth; "It was actually Roy that dragged me back into some assemblance, because he called up and he said, 'Listen, I've got some stuff and it's like a metal record.' And I wasn't thrilled, I wasn't really sure that I had anything to offer... Then he played me some backing-tracks he'd done for what was to become Accident of Birth down the phone and I thought 'There is something there.'"[99] Former Iron Maiden guitarist, Adrian Smith, was asked to guest on the record, but remained as a full-time member of Dickinson's solo outfit.[100] The album marked a return to heavy metal for Dickinson, with Sputnikmusic remarking, "The album's heavy feel is very satisfying, and definitely fills that void left by Maiden during the 90's."[100] The follow-up, The Chemical Wedding, was a semi-concept album on alchemy, which drew inspiration from William Blake's writings; with some songs, such as "Book of Thel", having the same title as some of his poems, and the cover artwork featuring one of his paintings.[99] The record was even more successful than its predecessor, with Sputnikmusic commenting, "Bruce had shattered all expectations to create an album that might even be better than the previous one."[101] During The Chemical Wedding's supporting tour, the live album, Scream for Me Brazil was recorded in São Paulo, after which Dickinson and Smith returned to Iron Maiden in February 1999.
In 2000, Dickinson performed vocals on the song, "Into the Black Hole", for Ayreon's Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator.[102] Later that year, he collaborated with Judas Priest's front-man, Rob Halford, recording, "The One You Love to Hate", for Halford's debut, Resurrection.[103] A compilation, entitled The Best of Bruce Dickinson, was released in late 2001, including two new songs and a bonus disc of rarities.[104] His sixth solo album, Tyranny of Souls was released in May 2005. This time the song-writing was all split between Roy Z and Dickinson and many songs were composed by Z sending recordings of riffs to Dickinson while he was on tour with Iron Maiden.[105] On 21 June 2005, Dickinson's complete solo discography was re-released, featuring bonus discs with rare and remastered tracks. That same year, Dickinson contributed to the song, "Beast in the Light", from Tribuzy's album, Execution, and their subsequent live album.[106] A three-DVD box set, entitled Anthology, was released on 19 June 2006, containing concerts and promo videos from throughout his solo career, as well as an old Samson video, entitled "Biceps of Steel".[107]
A fan of the Monty Python comedy troupe, in 2009 Dickinson appeared in Monty Python: Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut). He also recorded a new version of the theme song from Monty Python's Life of Brian for the sixth and final episode.[108] In December 2017, Dickinson said that he has tentative plans for his next solo album to be "a whole concept album", with the title being If Eternity Should Fail, the same song name from Iron Maiden's album The Book of Souls, in which he confirmed that it was originally penned as a solo track, "So if I did do another solo album, which I think I will, I might just stick to my original plan and have that as the title track. I mean, I did write it – it was the first track that I wrote for it. So, yeah, I'd probably still include that song. But it would be… the feel would be slightly different – not very much, though – from the Maiden version."[109] Dickinson released The Mandrake Project, his first solo studio album in 19 years, in March 2024. It was produced by Roy Z.[110]
Dickinson married Erica "Jane" Barnett in 1984,[111] and they divorced in 1987.[112] With his second wife, psychotherapist Patrice "Paddy" Bowden, he has three children.[113] All three were born in the Chiswick area of London,[113] where Dickinson lived for a few decades beginning in 1981.[114] In 2020, it was reported that he and Bowden had separated earlier after almost 30 years of marriage; Bowden died in an accident at her home in May 2020.[115]As of May 2020[update] Dickinson lives with his girlfriend Leana Dolci in Paris.[115]
In an interview with Sarah Montague for BBC's HARDtalk in 2012, Dickinson agreed that he is a conservative and a Eurosceptic.[121] Dickinson said in a 2018 interview with French magazine L'Obs that, despite residing mainly in France, he supported Brexit and voted for the UK to leave the EU during the 2016 referendum.[122][123] In 2021, after the Withdrawal Agreement entered into force, Dickinson said he was angry that British musicians and performers were restricted from free travel through Europe.[124]
In 2015, Dickinson underwent seven weeks of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for a cancerous tumour found at the back of his tongue.[125] Dickinson's medical team expected him to make a full recovery as the tumour was discovered in the early stages.[126] On 15 May, Dickinson was given the all-clear by his specialists.[127]
In 2019, Dickinson was made an honorary citizen of Sarajevo and received the city's prestigious Sixth April Award for his efforts in performing under siege in 1994. According to the city's mayor, it was his arrival in Sarajevo that "was one of those moments that made us realize that we will survive, that the city of Sarajevo will survive, that Bosnia and Herzegovina will survive".[129] He is also credited as a producer on the critically acclaimed 2016 documentary Scream for Me Sarajevo, which chronicles this performance and his return to Sarajevo.[130]
In 2019, Dickinson was also presented with an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy by the University of Helsinki.[131]
In 2024, Dickinson was made an honorary citizen of Curitiba City, Brazil.[133]
Other work
Dickinson's interests and non-musical activities include writing, broadcasting, fencing (at which he has competed internationally, placing 7th in Great Britain,[134] and has founded a fencing equipment company under the brand name "Duellist"),[135] beer brewing and aviation. Due to the wide variety of Dickinson's pursuits, Intelligent Life named him as a living example of a polymath in 2009.[136]
Dickinson learned to fly recreationally in Florida in the 1990s[137] and now holds an airline transport pilot's licence. He regularly flew Boeing 757s in his role as captain for the now-defunct British charter airline Astraeus,[138] which, from 16 September 2010, employed him as marketing director.[139] One of his key roles in that position was to promote Astraeus' services by increasing their number of videos,[140] leading to the Civil Aviation Authority releasing a video featuring Dickinson on aircraft loading safety in June 2011.[141]
Following Astraeus' closure on 21 November 2011, Dickinson branched into entrepreneurship when he launched Cardiff Aviation Ltd on 1 May 2012, an aircraft maintenance business based at the Twin Peaks Hangar in St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.[142] According to The Wall Street Journal, in January 2013 Cardiff Aviation had created 40 jobs and hoped to have over a hundred personnel by the summer of 2013.[143] In June 2013, The Daily Telegraph reported that the business had expanded to between 60 and 70 employees and were in discussions to set up their own airline.[144] In August 2015, Cardiff Aviation signed a deal to provide airline support to Air Djibouti,[145] for whom Dickinson piloted their maiden flight the following year, a Boeing 737 from Cardiff to Djibouti.[146] As a result of his business ventures, Dickinson delivered keynote speeches at events around the globe, including Queen Mary University of London's Innovation Showcase in November 2012,[147] Connect2Business, Stockholm in March 2013,[148]Aviation Week's MRO Europe Conference, London in October 2015[149] and "Blog Now, Live Forever", Mumbai in October 2015.[150]
Iron Maiden's Boeing 747-400, Ed Force One, as used during The Book of Souls World Tour in 2016
Dickinson presented Bruce Dickinson's Friday Rock Show on BBC radio station 6 Music from 2002 to 2010. In March 2010, the BBC announced that, after over eight years, Dickinson's show was to be axed.[158] His final broadcast was on 28 May 2010, with the regular format abandoned in favour of a personal and musical tribute to the recently deceased Ronnie James Dio. Dickinson scorned BBC executives for the cancellation, playing the Johnny Paycheck version of "Take This Job and Shove It".[159] In addition to his show on 6 Music, Dickinson also hosted a series entitled Masters of Rock on BBC Radio 2 from 2003 to 2007.[160] Dickinson's catalogue of 6 Music programmes were acquired in 2014 by TeamRock radio, who began re-broadcasting episodes in December.[161]
In 2005, Dickinson hosted a five-part historical TV series about aviation, Flying Heavy Metal, shown on the Discovery Channel and later on Discovery Turbo in the UK.[113] He was a guest on an episode of the Military Channel's The Greatest Ever, where he drove a Russian T-34 tank. In 2006, Dickinson presented a documentary for Sky One called Inside Spontaneous Human Combustion with Bruce Dickinson, in which he investigated the phenomenon by enlisting the help of several experts and performing various experiments to determine its possible cause.[162] Other television appearances include guesting on quiz shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks and the short-lived Space Cadets, as well as the chat show Clarkson, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson.[163] Dickinson has also appeared in a BBC series called The Paradise Club, undertaking the role of a musician named Jake Skinner.[93] On 27 July 2012, Dickinson spent a day being filmed as a guest star for a season four episode of Ice Pilots NWT, in which he flew a Douglas DC-3 and took part in "touch-and-go drills" in a Douglas DC-4 with Buffalo Airways.[164]
Writing
"I always fancied the idea of writing a book, and I was bored on the road, so I sat down and started at page one! I had an idea for this character called Lord Iffy Boatrace, who's an upper class chinless wonder. I wrote it the same way I write a song. Write the first note, and don't know what the second one's going to be. About halfway through you suddenly realise what it is you're writing about."
During a 1986–1987 Iron Maiden tour, and in the wake of a divorce, Dickinson started writing his first book.[112] Inspired by the novels of Tom Sharpe, in addition to Biggles and Penthouse, he created The Adventures of Lord Iffy Boatrace,[166] which Kerrang! describes as "a satirical swipe at fetishism among the upper classes",[165] and whose title character is a "semi-transvestite" British land owner.[166]
Following its completion, Dickinson approached Sidgwick & Jackson, who, according to Dickinson, agreed to publish the book before reading it, solely based on Iron Maiden's album sales.[165] Released in 1990 ( ISBN0-283-06043-3), the novel sold more than 40,000 copies almost immediately.[167] Due to the high demand, Sidgwick & Jackson asked Dickinson to produce a sequel,[167] which became 1992's The Missionary Position( ISBN0-283-06092-1), a satire of televangelism.[167] No further additions to the series have been published, although Dickinson did write the first 60 pages to a prequel, set during "Lord Iffy's schooldays", which he "just thought was rubbish and ripped it all up. I didn't think it was funny."[168]
On 15 October 2015, HarperCollins and Dey Street announced that they would publish Dickinson's memoirs.[169]What Does This Button Do?[170] was released on 19 October 2017.[171]
Beer
In 2013, Iron Maiden collaborated with Robinsons Brewery in Stockport to create Trooper, a 4.8% cask/4.7% bottled ale[172][173] whose recipe Dickinson formulated with head brewer Martyn Weeks.[174] As of May 2014, the beer has sold 2.5million pints in 40 countries, making it Robinsons' most successful export.[174]
Following Trooper's success, Dickinson, a fan of traditional English cask beer,[175] stated that he intends to develop more beers in the future, although new products will be "under the umbrella of Trooper and not Iron Maiden [as] Trooper has taken on a life of its own. People drink it because they like the beer, not because they are Maiden fans."[176] Additional beers have included Trooper Red 'N' Black Porter (5.8 per cent ABV), Trooper Hallowed (6.0 per cent ABV), and a limited-edition "666" (at 6.66 per cent ABV).
In 2023, Dickinson created a Trooper Progressive Lager[177] together with the German craft beer brewery Crew Republic.
Dickinson's singing varied in the 1990s in the recording of albums such as No Prayer for the Dying, Fear of the Dark and his first solo work Tattooed Millionaire, making use of a much more raspy and unpolished sound,[180] befitting their stripped down style.[181] Since returning to Iron Maiden in 1999, his singing style has returned to much like it was in the 1980s,[182] though his voice has lowered with age.[183] According to a report published in the Daily Mirror, Dickinson has an estimated vocal range of 4.25 octaves.[184] His voice led to the nickname "The Air Raid Siren", which Billboard states is "due to the ferocious power of his singing",[185] although Dickinson said it actually originated from a fan complaint.[186]
In addition to his vocal ability, Dickinson has been described as an energetic stage performer.[187] He considers including the audience "the essence of the Maiden experience" and that his role is to "shrink the venue ... to turn that football stadium into the world's smallest club".[188] To achieve this, Dickinson seeks eye contact with audience members[189] and urges them to join in with the phrase "scream for me" (followed by the concert's location).[190] He is critical of performers who do not connect with their fans, particularly those who "[hide] behind the amps" and use an autocue, remarking that "people pay good money and [they] can't even remember the sodding words".[189]
Awards, accolades and titles
ASTRAEUS Airlines Capitan
2007: Astraeus Capitan Title – Bruce Dickinson, Iron Maiden[191]
2019: Relief Salon De Los Pasos Perdidos – State prize for individual Iron Maiden musicians for their contribution to the development of the country's culture and music. For the first time ever awarded to a foreign artist[198]
El Salvador Ministry of Tourism
2016: Honorary Visitors of the Country Award – Dickinson as the member of Iron Maiden[199]
Film Festival of Sarajevo
2016: Human Rights Award – Scream For Me, Sarajevo, Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)[200]
2016: Special Jury Prize – Scream For Me, Sarajevo, Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)[200]
2016: Audience Award – Scream For Me, Sarajevo, Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)[200]
2017: Official Competition Award – Scream For Me, Sarajevo, Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)[200]
Golden Raspberry Award
1989: The Worst Original Song – Bring Your Daughter to... the Slaughter, Bruce Dickinson (author)[201]
Hollywood's RockWalk
2005: RockWalk of Fame Inductee – Bruce Dickinson as the member of Iron Maiden[202]
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most of the band's history has consisted of Harris, lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers. As pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, Iron Maiden released a series of UK and US Platinum and Gold albums, including 1980's debut album, 1981's Killers, and 1982's The Number of the Beast – its first album with Bruce Dickinson, who in 1981 replaced Paul Di'Anno as lead singer. The addition of Dickinson was a turning point in their career, establishing them as one of heavy metal's most important bands. The Number of the Beast is among the most popular heavy metal albums of all time, having sold almost 20 million copies worldwide.
The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 22 March 1982 in the US by Harvest and Capitol Records, and on 29 March 1982 in the UK by EMI Records. The album was their first to feature vocalist Bruce Dickinson and their last with drummer Clive Burr.
Stephen Percy Harris is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, primary songwriter, founder, and leader of heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He is the band's only constant member since their inception in 1975 and, along with guitarist Dave Murray, the only member to appear on every album.
Dance of Death is the thirteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released first in Japan on 2 September and then 8 September 2003 in the rest of the world excluding North America. The album was an analogue recording.
Killers is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was first released on 16 February 1981 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and on 11 May in the United States by Harvest and Capitol Records. The album was their first with guitarist Adrian Smith, and their last with vocalist Paul Di'Anno, who was fired after problems with his stage performances arose due to his alcohol and cocaine use. Killers was also the first Iron Maiden album recorded with producer Martin Birch, who went on to produce their next eight albums until Fear of the Dark (1992).
Brave New World is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 May 2000. It was their first studio release since the return of longtime lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999, as well as the band's first studio recording as a six-piece, as Janick Gers, who replaced Smith in 1990, remained with the band.
Adrian Frederick Smith is an English guitarist and singer best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.
Piece of Mind is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 16 May 1983 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Nicko McBrain, who had recently left the band Trust and has been Iron Maiden's drummer ever since.
Virtual XI is the eleventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 23 March 1998. It is the band's second and final album with Blaze Bayley on vocals. It also marks the first album to utilise a slightly modified logo, with the letters R, M, and N the same size as the other letters as opposed to them being extended. This goes on for the next few albums, until The Final Frontier, in 2010.
Clive Ronald Burr was an English musician. He was the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982. Together with fellow Iron Maiden member Dennis Stratton, he joined Praying Mantis for the recording of their 1996 live album Captured Alive in Tokyo City.
Roy Z Ramirez is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Bruce Dickinson, Halford, and Judas Priest. He also is the founder of Tribe of Gypsies, a Latin-influenced hard rock band. Roy also helped write and produce the band Life After Death in 1996.
Rock in Rio is a live album and video by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, recorded at the Rock in Rio festival, Brazil in 2001 on the last night of the Brave New World Tour. The band played to approximately 250,000 people; the second largest crowd of their career and with the relatively recent return of lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the band, they recorded their fifth live release.
"Run to the Hills" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as their sixth single and the first from the band's third studio album, The Number of the Beast (1982). It is their first single with Bruce Dickinson as vocalist. Credited solely to the band's bassist, Steve Harris, Dickinson contributed to the song but could not be credited due to a contractual agreement with his former band Samson. "Run to the Hills" remains one of the band's most popular songs, with VH1 ranking it No. 27 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs, No. 14 on their list of the Greatest Hard Rock Songs, and Rolling Stone ranking it No. 10 on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs
"The Number of the Beast" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is Iron Maiden's seventh single release, and the second single from their 1982 studio album of the same name. It was reissued in 2005 and also prior to that in 1990 in The First Ten Years box set on CD and 12" vinyl, in which it was combined with the previous single, "Run to the Hills".
A Matter of Life and Death is the fourteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 25August 2006 in Italy and Finland and 28August worldwide—excluding the US, Canada and Japan, where it was released on 5September. It is the first album in Iron Maiden's career to enter the US Billboard charts in the top10, achieving significant chart success in many other countries as well.
Bruce Dickinson, a British heavy metal singer, has released seven studio albums, two live albums, one compilation, ten singles, three video albums, fourteen music videos, and one box set. In 1979, after playing in local groups, Dickinson joined hard rock band Samson. He departed after two years to become Iron Maiden's lead vocalist. His debut with this band is considered a "masterpiece", which was followed with a series of top-ten releases. In 1989, while Iron Maiden were taking a year off, Dickinson and former Gillan guitarist, Janick Gers, composed a song for a film soundtrack. His solo debut, Tattooed Millionaire (1990), was an effort that favoured a hard rock/pop metal approach, different from what fans assumed would be an aggressive, Iron Maiden-like album. Four songs—the title track, "Dive! Dive! Dive!", "Born in '58", and a cover version of David Bowie's "All the Young Dudes"—were released as singles. Dickinson returned to Iron Maiden, accompanied by Gers as the new guitarist, and the project went on hiatus. Dive! Dive! Live! was a live video recorded from a concert in Los Angeles, California, in August 1990, and released in July 1991.
Stagno, Mike (12 August 2006). "Iron Maiden – Brave New World". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 10 September 2011. As with his solo material, Dickinson ditched his painfully bad raspy vocal style and returned to the operatic vocal style found on earlier Maiden records.
Stagno, Mike (27 August 2006). "Iron Maiden – A Matter of Life and Death". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 20 September 2012. Bruce's wails may not be at the same level as they were 23 years ago
Stagno, Mike (17 September 2006). "Iron Maiden – Fear of the Dark". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 10 September 2011. Much like the previous album, Bruce Dickinson employs a raspy singing style.
"(Pussy Pussy Pussy) Whose Kitty Cat Are You?" – Music and Lyrics by Marvin Montgomery (1996)
The entire song score from The Postman – Music and Lyrics by Jeffrey Barr, Glenn Burke, John Coinman, Joe Flood, Blair Forward, Maria Machado, and Jono Manson (1997)
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