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 (Head On and Shock Tactics. 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.
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 between 1990 and 1998 ( Tattooed Millionaire, Balls to Picasso, Skunkworks, Accident of Birth, and The Chemical Wedding). He rejoined the band in 1999, along with guitarist Adrian Smith, with whom he has released all subsequent studio albums. Since his return to Iron Maiden, he issued one further solo record in 2005, Tyranny of Souls. 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.
Outside his career in music, Dickinson is well known for his wide variety of other pursuits. Most notably, 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 airplane, Ed Force One, during their world tours. Following Astraeus' closure, he created his own aircraft maintenance and pilot training company in 2012, 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 successful beer with Robinsons Brewery and competed at fencing internationally.
Although Dickinson never received formal training, he still possesses a wide vocal range which was trademarked by his quasi-operatic tenor. Along with Ronnie James Dio and Rob Halford, Dickinson is one of the pioneers of the operatic vocal style later to be adopted by power metal vocalists and regularly appears near the top in lists of the greatest rock vocalists/front-men of all time. Dickinson says that his style was influenced primarily by Arthur Brown, Peter Hammill (Van der Graaf Generator), Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and Ian Gillan (Deep Purple).
Dickinson's singing varied notably 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, befitting their stripped down style. Since returning to Iron Maiden in 1999, his singing style has returned to much like it was in the 1980s, though his voice has lowered with age. According to a report published in the Daily Mirror, Dickinson has an estimated vocal range of 4.25 octaves. His voice led to the nickname "The Air Raid Siren", which Billboard states is "due to the ferocious power of his singing", although Dickinson claims it actually originated from a fan complaint.
In addition to his vocal ability, Dickinson is known for his energetic stage performances, which he delivers consistently despite his age. 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". To achieve this, Dickinson insists on gaining eye contact with audience members and urges them to join in with the phrase "scream for me" (followed by the concert's location). 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".
Discogs with Iron Maiden
The Number of the Beast (1982)
Piece of Mind (1983)
Powerslave (1984)
Somewhere in Time (1986)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
Fear of the Dark (1992)
Brave New World (2000)
Dance of Death (2003)
A Matter of Life and Death (2006)
The Final Frontier (2010)
The Book of Souls (2015)
Senjutsu (2021)
For the UK guitarist of Little Angels, see Bruce John Dickinson.
Black Widow
Bruce Dickinson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Isn't she lovely? And so deadly.
Her kiss is fifteen times more poisonous than the rattlesnake.
And you see her venom is highly neurotoxic
Which is to say that it attacks the central nervous system
Causing intense pain
Profuse sweating
Difficulty in breathing
Violent convulsions
And finally death.
You know what I think I love the most about her
Is her inborn need to dominate and possess.
Such power and dignity, unhampered by sentiment.
If I may put forward a slice of personal philosophy
I feel that man has ruled this world as a stumbling dimented child-king long enough!
And as his empire crumbles, my precious Black Widow shall rise as his most fitting successor!
These words he speaks are true
We're all humanary stew
If we don't pledge allegiance to
The Black Widow
The horror that he'll brings
The horror of his sting
The unholiest of kings
The Black Widow
Our minds will be destroyed
And every girl and boy
Will learn to be employed
The Black Widow
Love me
Yes we love me
Love him
Yes we love him
Love me
Yes we love him, oh
He sits upon his throne
And picks at all the bones
Of his husbands and his wives
He's devoured
He stares with a gleam
With a laugh so obscene
and the children and the virgins
He's deflowered
Love me
Yes we love me
Love him
Yes we love him
Love me
Yes we love him, oh
Our thoughts are hot and crazed
Our dreams are webbed in haze
Mindless, senseless daze
The Black Widow
These words he speaks are true
We're all humanary stew
If we don't pledge allegiance to
Ha-ha-ha, the Black Widow
The Black Widow
Sets free, oh, the children to me
The first half of the song describes the black widow spider and its characteristics. The singer describes the spider's venom and how it affects the central nervous system, causing pain, sweating, difficulty breathing, unconsciousness, and death. The singer then praises the spider's innate desire to dominate and possess, which he sees as a fitting successor to man, who he believes has ruled the world like a child-king for too long. The singer offers a personal philosophy about the need for a new ruling force to replace man's crumbling empire, with the black widow as the most fitting successor.
The second half of the song speaks to the black widow as a metaphorical ruler, where the spider represents a tyrant who sits on a throne, picking at the bones of his husbands and wives, devouring them. The spider has deflowered children and virgins, showing a true disregard for humanity. The lyrics describe how people have become mindless and senseless under the spider's rule, with their dreams being webbed in haze. The song concludes with a pledge of allegiance to the black widow, symbolically stating that if they don't follow the spider, they will become the humanary stew that he speaks of.
Line by Line Meaning
And here, my prize, the Black Widow.
The singer shows admiration towards the Black Widow, implying that he considers having her to be a grand achievement.
Isn't she lovely? And so deadly.
The singer finds the deadly Black Widow spider to be beautiful, despite the danger it poses.
Her kiss is fifteen times more poisonous than the rattlesnake.
The spider's venom is highly toxic, surpassing even that of the deadly rattlesnake.
And you see her venom is highly neurotoxic
The venom of the spider has nerve-damaging properties, which causes severe and deadly symptoms when introduced into the bloodstream.
Which is to say that it attacks the central nervous system
The spider's venom attacks the central nervous system, which is the most critical part of the human body and essential for all bodily functions.
Causing intense pain
Profuse sweating
Difficulty in breathing
Loss of consciousness
Violent convulsions
And finally death.
When the venom attacks, it causes a slew of unpleasant side effects such as intense agony, heavy sweating, difficulty breathing, passing out, severe muscle spasms, and ultimately death.
You know what I think I love the most about her
Is her innate need to dominate and possess.
The singer admires the Black Widow spider's desire to dominate and control, seeing this drive as a desirable trait.
Such power and dignity, unhampered by sentiment.
The artist has a profound respect for the spider's power and dignity, which he believes is not influenced by emotion.
If I may put forward a slice of personal philosophy
I feel that man has ruled this world as a stumbling demented child-king long enough!
The artist believes that humans have been governing the world as foolish, unwise leaders for far too long, and it is time to relinquish power.
And as his empire crumbles, my precious Black Widow shall rise as his most fitting successor!
The artist thinks the reign of human leadership is ending, but in their stead, the Black Widow will rule, which is fitting as the spider embodies the artist's ideals of power and possessiveness.
These words he speaks are true
We're all humanary stew
If we don't pledge allegiance to
The Black Widow
The singer's message is that all humans are at the mercy of the natural order; therefore, they must pledge loyalty to the new supreme ruler, the Black Widow spider.
The horror that he'll brings
The horror of his sting
The unholiest of kings
The Black Widow
The artist describes the power of the Black Widow spider as terrifying while also praising its venomous sting, a weapon by which she will rule as an unholy king.
Our minds will be destroyed
And every girl and boy
Will learn to be employed
The Black Widow
Once under the Black Widow's reign, the singer believes that each person's mind will be taken over, and they will become loyal subjects serving her.
Love me
Yes we love me
Love him
Yes we love him
Love me
Yes we love him, oh
These lines suggest that the singer is in a position of power and demanding affection from others, likely wanting others to acknowledge the Black Widow's supremacy and his part in it.
He sits upon his throne
And picks at all the bones
Of his husbands and his wives
He's devoured
The singer depicts an image of the Black Widow spider sitting on her throne, surrounded by the bones of her former mates, which she has killed and devoured.
He stares with a gleam
With a laugh so obscene
And the children and the virgins
He's deflowered
The artist portrays the Black Widow spider as a wicked and malevolent ruler, whose laughter and stare are disturbing. Furthermore, she enjoys using children and virgins for her own pleasure.
Our thoughts are hot and crazed
Our dreams are webbed in haze
Mindless, senseless daze
The Black Widow
Under the rule of the Black Widow spider, the people's thoughts and dreams are unclear and tangled, thus causing them to become directionless and confused.
The Black Widow
Sets free, oh, the children to me
As the song concludes, the singer leaves listeners with a cryptic sentence that suggests that somehow, the Black Widow spider sets children free. How, and to what end, is left up to interpretation.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ALICE COOPER, DESMOND CHILD, DIANE WARREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind