Every day, a personality invites itself into the world of Élodie Suigo. Tuesday February 20, 2024: the singer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson. He is releasing a new solo album “The Mandrake Project” and will be in concert in France.
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Bruce Dickinson is an atypical character, a multidisciplinary artist. So who is Bruce Dickinson? First up, the lead singer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He is also a solo singer and airline pilot. He releases his new solo album entitled: The Mandrake Project and will be on stage at the Olympia on May 26 and at the Hellfest Festival in June.
franceinfo: This is your seventh album. Ten pieces, ten stories that talk about power, abuse, the struggle for identity, for freedom. Is it the sinews of war, of life, to be free and to succeed in preserving this freedom?
Bruce Dickinson: I tell stories. That’s what I do and it doesn’t matter whether I’m telling them on stage, speaking, or singing songs with Iron Maiden or solo, or writing. I have a problem because I’m just very curious about life in general and things. That’s why I ended up doing so many different things. If I’m interested in something, I want to dig really deep.
Morality is omnipresent and remains so even in this album. Does she scare you?
No, but I will be very disappointed, I think, because I want to find out the next chapter of the story, whether it’s following my children, following what’s happening in the world. The world has its own story, of course, but for me, life is something very exciting. Life is better than all other options.
You were on stage initially before joining Iron Maiden thanks to Steve Harris and Rod Smallwood who chose you to replace Paul Di’Anno in 1982 with the album The Number of the Beast. Did you quickly understand that this group was going to be an extraordinary human adventure?
No, I didn’t realize at the time that I would still be doing this more than 40 years later. But the concept of simply still being alive after 30, for me, was something very new. It’s not something you think about when you’re 20 years old.
“Joining Iron Maiden was like being a football player in a small team. Starting there, and overnight being the biggest player in Manchester or PSG! It’s awesome! I’m not complaining, I love every day of work.”
Bruce Dickinsonat franceinfo
Since 1993, you have decided to also launch a solo career. Were you afraid that the public would not follow? And why did you need to take back part of yourself?
I think I was rebelling against the institution that I felt like I was part of because Iron Maiden was really something very professional, it still is, but I felt like it was controlling me too much. And I said to myself: I have to find what else is in the world. So I went out. I had no idea what effect it would have on the public who might say, “Oh, they’ll bring back another singer, it doesn’t matter, Iron Maiden will survive“. And of course, they survived, but, it was like there was an international catastrophe. And I thought: Wow, I’m just the singer! I also went through difficult things when I “started trying to do new stuff solo, I realized I didn’t know how to do anything other than write songs with Iron Maiden. It scared me because you’re an artist, you write songs songs.
“Being in a band is like being in a very comfortable prison and then suddenly coming out into the real world. Playing solo, I was in the real world. I had my ups and downs. low, but it was worth it to discover this world.”
Bruce Dickinsonat franceinfo
There, you will be at the Hellfest Festival in June and before that on the Olympia stage on May 26. Is the scene adrenaline-inducing?
Yes, on stage, I am a juggler. Yes, I sing, but I have to juggle what the audience is doing. I have to think about the group. We also have a big show, especially with Maiden. We have explosions, pyrotechnics so I have to be careful not to explode myself! So when people say, “Wow“, I look at the audience, and I never tell myself that they are all there for me, I never think that. Never.
In your title Face in the Mirroryou sing : “Look at your face in the mirror“. Is this the same appearance you see? What does the man with 130 million albums sold answer to this question?
No, I do not think so. When I look at my face in the mirror in the morning, it’s a shock because in my head, I’m 21 years old.
Watch this interview on video: