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.
Freak
Bruce Dickinson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The prince of darkness plays his games
You're hypnotized, under velvet skies
He breathes the red wind 'cross your eyes
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
But it feels too good to make a stand
Bad is bad, but this is worse
Let judgment come, you love this curse
When you look at man, you're like a God
Swimming in the tide of life
Somersault into the flood
Washes you away
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
The lyrics of Bruce Dickinson's "Freak" describe the power that addiction and dark temptations can hold over a person. The "prince of darkness" mentioned in the opening lines represents these vices, and the singer of the song is a slave to them. The imagery of being hypnotized under velvet skies and breathing in the red wind shows how all-consuming these addictions can be.
Despite knowing that their life is lost and their soul is damned, the singer is unable to resist the draw of their vices. The line "Bad is bad, but this is worse" highlights how destructive and dangerous these temptations are. While judgment is expected to come, the singer cannot help but love the curse that they're under.
The chorus questioning who leads to the dark secret and who the mistress is that leads to the darkness shows how these addictions and temptations can feel like they have a life of their own, as if they're being controlled by a separate entity.
Overall, "Freak" is a cautionary tale about the dangers of giving into temptation and the power that addictions can hold over a person.
Line by Line Meaning
He rides the wave, aspiring slave
He is following the crowd blindly
The prince of darkness plays his games
The dark force is manipulating him
You're hypnotized, under velvet skies
You are mesmerized under the false sense of comfort
He breathes the red wind 'cross your eyes
His influence is too strong to resist
Your life is lost, your soul is damned
You have lost everything in the pursuit of darkness
But it feels too good to make a stand
But the pleasure is too great to resist
Bad is bad, but this is worse
The evil is disguised in comfort
Let judgment come, you love this curse
You are too invested in darkness to turn back now
When you look at man, you're like a God
When you rise above others, you feel superior
Swimming in the tide of life
Riding the wave of existence
Somersault into the flood
Diving headfirst into chaos
Washes you away
You are consumed by the darkness
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is the force that drives you into the abyss?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is the one that takes you towards the darkness?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRUCE DICKINSON, ROGER RAMIREZ, ROGER H RAMIREZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vladvampirelord8910
He rides the wave, aspiring slave
The prince of darkness plays his games
You're hypnotized, under velvet skies
He breathes the red wind 'cross your eyes
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Your life is lost, your soul is damned
But it feels too good to make a stand
Bad is bad, but this is worse
Let judgment come, you love this curse
When you look at man, you're like a God
Swimming in the tide of life
Somersault into the flood
Washes you away
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
@vladvampirelord8910
He rides the wave, aspiring slave
The prince of darkness plays his games
You're hypnotized, under velvet skies
He breathes the red wind 'cross your eyes
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Your life is lost, your soul is damned
But it feels too good to make a stand
Bad is bad, but this is worse
Let judgment come, you love this curse
When you look at man, you're like a God
Swimming in the tide of life
Somersault into the flood
Washes you away
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress, who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
@williamjamesayers7719
Accident at Birth is a great production from Bruce Dickinson. He did a great job with this piece.
@vladpav
rly? is that his new album? i love his old one "Accident Birth"
@williamjamesayers7719
@@vladpav not new. This is the original album. I just love the production from it. Especially the title track
@danielsan2142
Fantastic song! My favorite opening track from Bruce Dickinson's career.
@donnyrankin8330
Most certainly one of Bruce's greats.
@juancarlosruizoviedo1330
La garganta de acero será alguien eterno 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
@hazyshade9648
One of Bruce's best
@makytrakys
What an ALBUM!!!!!
@ramonmartin4627
Este hombre es un puto genio, que pedazo de sonido!!!!!.