Fourteen months after beginning treatment to remove a cancerous tumor on the back of his tongue, Bruce Dickinson and his Iron Maiden cohorts are back raising hell on the road. With the singer literally flying the group around the globe on their customized Ed Force One plane, the metal legends are conquering the few remaining places they’ve left untouched including an April 24 date with Beijing and April 26 date with Shanghai.
“The Book of Souls is a very important tour for Iron Maiden,” Dickinson says. “The very fact that the tour is happening makes it a highlight in itself, especially for me.”
It’s a couple of weeks into the 70-concert tour that will take the septet to 35 countries across six continents, and somewhere in South America the 57-year-old has found time to chat.
The iconic singer conveys the group’s excitement about their first visit to China, which stops off at LeSports Center on April 24 and Mercedes-Benz Arena on April 26. Still riding high from their debut El Salvador concert where they set an attendance record by drawing 25,000 fans, Dickinson breaks down the group’s live mindset.
“Every single show we perform is the most important one while we are playing it,” he explains. “Fans are relying on us to deliver. They have come to see us, to share the music and the vibe with us.”
Described by Avenged Sevenfold’s singer M. Shadows as “by far the best live band in the world,” Iron Maiden are equipped to deliver the goods. They’ve played over 2,000 concerts in their 41-year-long career and Dickinson beams with pride about Ed Force One, showing off photos of the customized Boeing 747 he recently became qualified to fly.
“We’ve been using a jet to tour since 2008 and it worked out to be the most economically viable way of traveling,” he explains. “We can put the band, the crew, all our equipment and the entire stage production on board, then just fly off where we want to go.”
Private planes are just one of the perks that come with selling over 90 million records. Emerging out of the East London mid-70s pub scene, Iron Maiden quickly became one of the leading lights of the new wave of British metal.
Despite little radio support, the group has been packing stadiums since 1980 due to their hell raising sound. With his 4.25 octave voice, Dickinson was one of the pioneers of the operatic vocal style that would become a power metal trope. The group’s horror and sci-fi inspired imagery, best encapsulated by their iconic mascot Eddie, continues to inspire bands today.
However, the metal legends are no nostalgia act. Last year’s The Book of Souls topped the charts in 40 countries (“a personal best”), 33 years after their first number one album, The Number of the Beast.
Dickinson praises the Guillaume Tell Studio in Paris where they recorded the disc and 2001’s Brave New World, noting, “The place has a very special vibe to it.” He also credits a different recording process for the group for producing the critically acclaimed double album.
“We wrote a lot of it in the studio,” he says. “Then we rehearsed and recorded it straight away, which gave The Book of Souls more of a spontaneity and live feel.”
With such an extensive discography to dip into, Dickinson assures us that Iron Maiden takes responsibility in appealing to their wide fanbase at their shows extremely seriously.
“We know people look forward to hearing the older songs if they are seeing us play live for the first time,” he says. “Of course, people want to hear the brand new album too. So we have managed to achieve a good balance on this tour with some songs from the new album, older fan favorites and a couple of songs fans have not heard us play live for many years.”
While the band is fully focused on The Book of Souls tour that wraps up in August, Dickinson takes a few minutes to reflect on their past. With 17 former members to the group, he admits that Iron Maiden has suffered from the same internal fissures that have destroyed countless lesser acts.
“Being in a band is like being in a close-knit family,” he notes. “There are always going to be clashes and disagreements. That’s actually normal and healthy; it means you care. As long as there’s an underlying love and respect, which there is with Maiden, then nothing is insurmountable.”
Beijing: Apr 24, 7pm; RMB380-1480. LeSports Center, tickets.
Shanghai: Apr 26, 7pm, RMB380-1,380. Mercedes-Benz Arena, tickets. See event listing.
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