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.
Son of a Gun
Bruce Dickinson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Riding on his rig of steel in the rising sun.
This was no grim reaper.
But a man with a smile who took a pride in a job well done.
Ohh in a blood red sunrise.
He's preaching conversion as you lay down and die.
Just a god given holy roller.
He didn't choose this killing ground.
He didn't want this scrap of land.
You've got to scorch the earth, yeah.
and make the rivers run dry.
until we learn to hate like him.
Kill for killin'. Live to die.
[Chorus]
Ride on you son of a gun. Ride on. Ride into the setting sun.
You've gotta be a hero, for one last time.
To prove through your destruction.
That killing is a great way of life.
There's a wooden cross somewhere.
Where they'll bury you down deep.
You lie to your people, You lie to yourself.
Your in love with death babe.
You've got no shame.
[Chorus]
The preacher laughed. The preacher cried.
He loaded bullets as he smiled.
Congregation sat and wondered.
Would they live or would they die.
Just an ordinary man, with his orders and his plans.
In the shadows of a cross.
Oh in a blood red sunrise.
Take me to Jesus, with Judas my guide.
[Chorus]
Ride on your bleeding heart.
Ride on you play no part.
Ride on you feel no pity.
Ride on you feel no pain.
Ride into history.
The lyrics to "Son of a Gun" by Bruce Dickinson paint a picture of a charismatic preacher who possesses a striking presence as he rides his rig of steel at the break of dawn. Despite the gruesome appearance of his occupation, he is not a grim reaper; he takes pride in his job and wears a smile on his face. The lyrics suggest that the preacher's mission is to convert his audience to his way of thinking as they lay down and die in a blood-red sunrise.
The song implies that the preacher is a holy roller in a god-forsaken land; he didn't choose this killing ground, nor did he want this scrap of land. However, he's decided to scorch the earth and make the rivers run dry until they learn to hate like him. Kill for killing and live to die. He is seen as a hero for one last time, proving that killing is a great way of life. The lyrics hint that he is in love with death, telling his people and himself lies, and without any shame.
The chorus is a plea for him to 'ride on' into the setting sun for one last time as his bleeding heart, which feels no pity or pain, propels him into history. The preacher is torn between laughing and crying, loading bullets with a smile as people under his influence sit and ponder whether they will live or die. In the shadows of a cross, the singer contemplates a bloody but righteous end, with the preacher leading the way to Jesus, with Judas as his guide, as the sun rises red.
Line by Line Meaning
Holy was the preacher.
The preacher was viewed as holy and righteous.
Riding on his rig of steel in the rising sun.
He arrived on his motorcycle during sunrise.
This was no grim reaper.
The preacher was not a symbol of death and destruction.
But a man with a smile who took a pride in a job well done.
He took pride in his work and enjoyed it.
Ohh in a blood red sunrise.
The preacher's arrival coincided with a vivid red sunrise.
He's preaching conversion as you lay down and die.
The preacher preached about a religious conversion.
Just a god given holy roller.
The preacher was divinely inspired.
In a god forsaken land.
The area was abandoned by God.
He didn't choose this killing ground.
The preacher did not choose this place of violence.
He didn't want this scrap of land.
The preacher did not desire this small piece of land.
You've got to scorch the earth, yeah.
To achieve his goals, the preacher believes they must destroy everything.
And make the rivers run dry.
The rivers in the area should be dried up.
Until we learn to hate like him.
The preacher believes people should hate like he does.
Kill for killin'.
Killing should be done just for the sake of killing.
Live to die.
They should live life with the purpose of dying.
[Chorus] Ride on you son of a gun. Ride on. Ride into the setting sun.
The preacher should continue on his mission into the sunset.
You've gotta be a hero, for one last time.
One final act of courage is necessary.
To prove through your destruction.
Destruction serves as proof of their beliefs.
That killing is a great way of life.
Killing is a valid way of living.
There's a wooden cross somewhere.
There is a cross made of wood in the area.
Where they'll bury you down deep.
The cross will be the preacher's final resting place.
You lie to your people, You lie to yourself.
The preacher lies to everyone, including himself.
Your in love with death babe. You've got no shame.
The preacher is obsessed with death and unashamed of it.
[Chorus] Ride on your bleeding heart.
The preacher should continue to follow his heart, even if it leads to pain.
Ride on you play no part.
The preacher is not a passive bystander, he actively participates.
Ride on you feel no pity.
The preacher does not feel pity for his enemies.
Ride on you feel no pain.
The preacher is not affected by pain.
Ride into history.
The preacher's actions will go down in history.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRUCE DICKINSON, JANICK GERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fabrizio Ortu
Great song and brilliant solo by Janick.
star rage
Brilliant opener to an album
Fabbattsing (Fabrice Tejou)
💯💯👍👍👍👍
André Luiz theophilo maximiano Luiz
Eternal song
Rotting Christ Guitar Covers
The song that inspired Wasting Love and Judas be my Guide... absolute masterpiece
HTS-21
How exactly?
Rotting Christ Guitar Covers
The clean guitar part of this song was used (slightly changed) in the song Wasting Love in the part "maybe one day...etc". The song Judas be my Guide inspired from the lyrics of this song…"Take me to Jesus with Judas my guide"
HTS-21
@Rotting Christ Guitar Covers Did he addressed or confirmed that? never heard anything like this before anywhere, or it is just fun speculation?
Rotting Christ Guitar Covers
@HTS-21 i study their music almost 30 years i know and understand some stuff...Up The Irons
Ömür Öztürk
Let's say he copied himself with that guitar run