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.
God
Bruce Dickinson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I thought I saw a star
I could smell the holy spirit
It was coming from the bar
It's magic they said
Back from the dead
It's not Christmas yet
God's not coming back
You turn my water into wine
You fix my table, it's just fine
Two ton rocks he rolled away
Lepers cured every Sunday
(Okay, goodnight, thank you very much)
(Be back next Sunday, alright)
It's magic they said
Back from the dead
It's not Christmas yet
God's not coming back
Hanging with Magdalene
He never dug the little queen
(She's a little stunner, you know what I mean?)
You look like Ian Gillan
But I bet you couldn't scream, aah
It's magic they said
Back from the dead
It's not Christmas yet
God's not coming back
God's not coming back
God's not coming back
God's not coming back
Oh well
The first verse of Bruce Dickinson's song "God's Not Coming Back" describes the scene of the three kings, who are often referred to as the wise men in the biblical story of the birth of Jesus. However, instead of seeing a star, which is the biblical symbol for the coming of Jesus, the singer smells the holy spirit coming from a bar, which is a place where people go to drink and socialize. Through this subtle element of irony, the singer expresses his doubts about the existence of God and the idea of his returning to earth.
The following verses continue with sarcastic references to biblical miracles and stories. When the singer talks about turning water into wine, it is a reference to Jesus' first miracle according to the Bible. Fixing the table is referencing how Jesus was a carpenter before he began his public ministry. Rolling away two ton rocks references Jesus' resurrection, and the healing of the lepers references Jesus' miracles of healing the sick. The tone of this song portrays a skeptic's view of religion, implying that the world would be better off if we stopped relying on the hope of a divine savior and focused on making tangible improvements in our own lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, standing by the three kings
I was waiting with the wise men
And I thought I saw a star
I saw a celestial object
I could smell the holy spirit
I felt the presence of something sacred
It was coming from the bar
It emanated from the drinking establishment
It's magic they said
People believed it was mysterious
Back from the dead
Like a resurrection
It's not Christmas yet
It's not the season for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ
God's not coming back
The divine being isn't returning
You turn my water into wine
You transformed my H2O into a fermented grape beverage
You fix my table, it's just fine
You repaired my dining surface and made it satisfactory
Two ton rocks he rolled away
He moved incredibly heavy stones
Lepers cured every Sunday
People with leprosy were healed weekly
(Okay, goodnight, thank you very much)
End of performance
(Be back next Sunday, alright)
Announcing next week's event
Hanging with Magdalene
Spending time with Mary Magdalene
He never dug the little queen
He wasn't interested in the young monarch
(She's a little stunner, you know what I mean?)
Commentary about her appearance
You look like Ian Gillan
You resemble the singer Ian Gillan
But I bet you couldn't scream, aah
A challenge to scream like Ian Gillan
God's not coming back
The divine being isn't returning
God's not coming back
The divine being isn't returning
God's not coming back
The divine being isn't returning
Oh well
An expression of resignation
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALEX JOHN DICKSON, BRUCE DICKINSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MyRecordingTV
Everything he does, says .. makes sense all the time ! Up the Irons ! Up the Dickinson !
The Fog
This was a great peace of film
samhain3112
Great album,thanks Bruce
Winonasalibi
He gets the Miller quote slightly wrong...it's actually: "All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without the benefit of experience" But it's Bruce, so we'll let him slide.
FRAIL-T
Well said.
Metal Mama
Love the music, miss the hair
D Cartellone
Love Bruce's music both solo and maiden.but get the sense he a atheist for some reason.
skizoooooo
Thanks the vid!!!!
gina decastro
What happened to Sephardic Jew Henrique DeCastro "s coin collection??