5 Things We Learned From Bruce Dickinson In Conversation With MI

Here’s five things we learned from the Musicians Institute In Conversation Series with Iron Maiden legend Bruce Dickinson, presented by Z2 and Loudwire.

Hosted by respected music industry veteran Ryan J. Downey, the basis of the interview was centered around The Mandrake Project, which is both Dickinson’s latest solo album and ongoing comic series in partnership with Z2.

As is always the case with Dickinson, there’s much more going on in his world than any one particular project. He’s been balancing touring with Iron Maiden and reactivating his presence on the world’s stages as a solo artist over the last two years, having previously embarked on spoken word tours as well.

Impressively, he never compromises any of his efforts, realizing there are limitations, as we’ve now learned.

Those in attendance also had the opportunity to present questions for Dickinson. Who is the French experimental artist on his wife’s playlist who is completely blowing his mind? That’s one more thing we learned!

Below, we share some of the most memorable and insightful moments from this two-part video (which you can watch at the bottom of the page), along with photos to bring you closer inside this exclusive event at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood with Z2!

5 Things We Learned From Bruce Dickinson ‘In Conversation’ With MI

1. Bruce Dickinson CAN Work Too Hard

It is exhausting just trying to recollect all the different things Bruce Dickinson has done and continues to do with his life and career. He’ll turn 67 later this year and seems to have taken a drink from the well of everlasting life.

When asked where all this energy is coming from with another daunting tour schedule coming up, balancing Iron Maiden and his solo venture, Dickinson simply replies, “I just do it. I’m supposed to be a singer, so, I mean… you sing, right?”

Apparently, he does have a threshold, but we’re not entirely convinced.

“I do like working hard,” he says, admitting, “I don’t like working too hard. That’s when your performance is actually slowly sliding down the cliff because you’ve overdone it. Last year, two big tours back to back, was like, ‘Okay, calm down a little bit.'”

For Dickinson, calming down means leaving his North American solo tour this fall after a Sept. 4 performance in Florida to play at The Town festival in Sao Paolo, Brazil on Sept. 7 and be onstage in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sept. 10.

That solo excursion, of course, kicks off 20 days after Iron Maiden wrap up over 30 dates of a 50th anniversary tour that begins in late May.

2. New Iron Maiden Drummer Brings a Different But Familiar Style

Iron Maiden’s Run For Your Lives tour will celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary with material spanning the first album through Fear of the Dark. It also marks the debut of new drummer Simon Dawson, who has been brought in following the retirement of the legendary Nicko McBrain.

Dickinson reveals that on The Future Past Tour last year, Iron Maiden had Dawson along with them as an emergency failsafe.

“It was kind of insurance for us because we were hoping Nick was going to make the tour, but there were some times during the show where, not so much his drumming, but his physical body was really [ailing] and we needed to have a backup,” he explains.

McBrain had remarkably worked his way back from a stroke that left him partially paralyzed just months before a 2023 tour. The drummer, currently 72, recently opened up about his retirement from the road, acknowledging the difficulty in managing his body day-to-day.

Harris suggested Dawson as a backup, already having chemistry with him through their years in British Lion together. Still, Dickinson confesses that the band wondered if and how it would or could work.

While on tour, Maiden rented a rehearsal space in Portland, Oregon and practiced with Dawson.

“Honestly, I was pleasantly shocked,” the singer says, “We went through the whole set without a break. This guy had not rehearsed with us… We went through the entire set of the tour that we were on at the time. It was all there. I thought, ‘My god, we could do a show tonight if we had to. That’s unreal.'”

Dickinson notes other drummers were name-checked by fans as potential suitors. “One of the reasons we didn’t pick those other type of drummers — they were very good drummers, nothing wrong with their drumming — they all wanted to sound like Nick. You can’t replace Nicko. You shouldn’t even try to replace him, you don’t want a Nicko clone,” the singer reasons, “You want a drummer that plays the material and plays their own style.”

The energy Dawson plays with, however, does bring a certain level of familiarity.

Dickinson notes, “If I closed my eyes during rehearsal, it’s like having Clive Burr back in the band.”

3. He Has 18 Songs Demoed for the Next Solo Album

Nearly 20 years passed between the release of Tyranny of Souls and Dickinson’s most recent solo album, The Mandrake Project. But don’t worry — you won’t have to wait that long again for a new solo album!

“I’ve just been in the demo studio with everybody for the last three weeks and we ended up with 18 tracks in 15 days,” the singer says of the follow-up record.

“It’s gonna be a really cool album. And, obviously, the guy that’s producing it, Brendan Duffey, he mixed Mandrake. We started off with him doing the [Dolby] Atmos mixes and then kind of morphed into, ‘I take it you do stereo as well.’ And he’s great. So, we are just keeping the same crew on this record. And [I’m] looking to record it next year, early next year. I’ve got some gaps. January, February, March, April is kind of free zone for me next year.”

READ MORE: Bruce Dickinson Put His Hero’s Grave Dirt Into Deluxe Edition of ‘The Mandrake Project’ Graphic Novel

4. His Wife’s Music Playlists Keep Blowing His Mind

Taking questions from the crowd, one person, who dubbed themselves Groove Juggernaut, asked what bands Dickinson is currently listening to.

The singer repeats the name of the person who submitted the question and it appears to have brought French experimental artist Igorrr to the forefront of his mind. “It is absolutely extraordinary talent. It goes from classical baroque, full-on opera into death metal and back again, within like 15 seconds. His output is prolific. So yeah, he’s pretty darn cool.”

He also listens to a lot of his wife Leana’s Deezer playlists because “she has pretty good taste.” What’s on the playlists? “Cookie Monster” death metal stuff to Uli Jon Roth-era Scorpions to Chicago to Yes.

While in the car, an unnamed Chicago song mesmerized him. “This is such a well put together song. Wow. I know it’s a bit AOR/middle of the road, but damn that’s a good song.” The 10-minute “You and I” off Yes’ 1972 masterpiece Close to the Edge was another standout, as well as some stuff by Toto.

Igorrr, “Parpaing” ft. George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher

5. Bruce Needs a New Bird Mask (Hint, Hint?!)

When talking about onstage influences such as Jethro Tull’s codpiece-clad Ian Anderson and Deep Purple guitarist and rock ‘n’ roll agitator Ritchie Blackmore, Dickinson explains how he was drawn to their physical energy onstage.

“He was doing all this crazy stuff with his codpiece and twirling his flute around,” he says of Anderson, “And I liked Ritchie because Ritchie was always chucking his guitar.” For those reasons, he decided the music he’d pursue would have a similar “kinetic” quality. “Which is why I still to this day run around like a lunatic.”

Downey quips that if not for those influences, we may have never seen Dickinson running onstage with a “bird mask” on, referencing the feathery face covering the singer is known to wear when Iron Maiden play “Powerslave” live.

“That reminds me,” Dickinson says, eyes moving left to right. “I need to phone up my costume girl and say, ‘Can you make me another bird mask, please?'”

A spoiler for Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary Run For Your Lives tour, which kicks off in just a couple of weeks?! We’ll know soon enough…

WATCH: MI Conversation Series With Bruce Dickinson

Watch parts one and two of the MI Conversation Series With Bruce Dickinson below, as well as a green room interview with the icon, below.

Musicians Institute, in Hollywood, California, offers a comprehensive, hands-on education in contemporary music performance, recording, guitar making and music business.

If you’re serious about your music, your education, and your career, take a look around the site to see what MI has to offer, visit the Musician’s Institute website.

Bruce Dickinson: Green Room Interview

About Bruce Dickinson’s The Mandrake Project Deluxe Edition Z2 Graphic Novel

Z2 recently announced a deluxe edition graphic novel dubbed The Mandrake Project: Year One.

This deluxe edition features the first four issues of the comic series, as well as the prologue, spanning 184 pages with extensive interviews and essays recounting the creative process. Kurt Sutter, creator of Sons of Anarchy, provides the intro and it’s all housed in a slipcase with a rotating embossed Mandrake dial. Foil collector cards and a cast metal version of the medallion that has graced the comics and music videos come with it, too.

Spectacularly, dirt from English poet William Blake’s grave was even mixed into the ink of the graphic novel.

“Finally we are at the end of the beginning. I honestly have to pinch myself to believe that Volume 1 of The Mandrake Project is upon us. I sometimes get the feeling that I am not fully in control of the story, and that some other entity is squeezing the blood out of my subconscious and turning it into ink on the page before my very eyes. We are just getting going. We are all… formed… of the dead,” Dickinson enthuses.

“William Blake has given me so much over the years and I want to repay the debt by helping to restore the Cottage,” he adds. “Despite his impact on the world, there is no center for Blake, nowhere people can visit to see where he actually lived and worked during a key part of his life. I want to change this.”

Pre-orders can be placed now at the Z2 webstore.

Iron Maiden and Bruce Dickinson Tour Dates

Iron Maiden’s first stop on the Run For Your Lives 50th anniversary tour is in Budapest, Hungary on May 27. That tour will extend through Europe and the U.K. through Aug. 2 with Halestorm, The Raven Age and Avatar supporting on select dates.

A 50th anniversary documentary and book were also announced to further celebrate this milestone.

Once Maiden get off the road, Bruce Dickinson will head out on a North American solo tour that begins on Aug. 22 in Anaheim, California and wraps up Oct. 5 in Los Angeles.

For more details, visit Iron Maiden’s website.