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.
Tower
Bruce Dickinson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There are twelve divisions
Twelve are the pagans who have mapped the sky
In the outer circle
To the inner sanctum
From the octave at the end of time
The pilgrim is searching for blood
To look for his own free will
The stone of infinity, washed in the flood
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
And the hanged man smiles
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
Let the fool decide
In the atom circle
Where we break the stars
Hammer into anvil, stuffing out the sun
Witness all the killing
See the birth of Mars
Our religion thrown into the fire
The fountain, the trinity
The pilgrim is searching for blood
To look for his own free will
The stone of infinity, washed in the flood
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
The hanged man smiles
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
The magician laughs
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
And the priestess kneels
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
Let the fool decide
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
And the hanged man smiles
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
Let the fool decide
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
The priestess kneels to receive
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
The magician laughs
"The Tower" by Bruce Dickinson is a deeply symbolic and enigmatic song that seems to be alluding to the concept of enlightenment and spiritual transformation. In the first stanza, the twelve commandments and divisions, as well as the twelve pagans who have mapped the sky, hint at a notion of cosmic order and the search for ultimate truth. The fountain, the trinity, and the stone of infinity all seem to be references to mystical or alchemical symbols, suggesting that the singer of the song is on a quest to uncover the secrets of the universe and to attain a state of transcendence.
The second stanza sees the song shift to a more violent and apocalyptic imagery. The atom circle and the breaking of stars suggest a cataclysmic event, perhaps the end of the world, and the witnessing of all the killing and the birth of Mars hint at a rebirth or renewal that is both brutal and transformative. The religion being thrown into the fire is a clear allusion to the idea of spiritual purification, and it seems to suggest that the singer of the song is willing to sacrifice all that he has held dear in his search for ultimate truth and enlightenment.
The last stanzas return to the imagery of the tower, where the moon and sun are divided, and where lovers, priests, magicians, and fools all find themselves in a state of flux and transformation. The hanged man smiles, and the magician laughs, hinting at a sense of acceptance and understanding that comes with spiritual transformation, while the priestess kneels to receive, suggesting a sense of surrender to a higher power. The fool is left to decide, perhaps implying that the ultimate choice lies with the individual in their quest for spiritual truth.
Line by Line Meaning
There are twelve commandments
There are twelve core beliefs or values to be followed.
There are twelve divisions
There are twelve sections to be divided into.
Twelve are the pagans who have mapped the sky
Twelve pagan gods were associated with the signs of the zodiac and had individually mapped the sky.
In the outer circle
In a peripheral area away from the central point or area.
To the inner sanctum
To the innermost sacred part of a religious building or temple.
From the octave at the end of time
From the eighth and final interval in the series of musical octaves.
The fountain, the trinity
The source of life, which is made up of three parts or elements.
The pilgrim is searching for blood
The traveler is searching for a sacrifice, usually of blood, to fulfill a religious ritual or custom.
To look for his own free will
To search for the ability to act or make decisions independently of fate or destiny.
The stone of infinity, washed in the flood
The eternal infinite object, cleansed by the waters of a great flood or disaster.
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
And the hanged man smiles
A pair of people in a high place, separated by the dichotomy of opposing cosmic powers, and observed by a person being hung, who is ironically cheerful.
Let the fool decide
Allow a foolish person to make the ultimate decision, even if it means disaster.
In the atom circle
Within the smallest fundamental unit of matter, where fundamental reactions occur.
Where we break the stars
Where the power to destroy even the most distant celestial entities is held.
Hammer into anvil, stuffing out the sun
Using a powerful tool to crush and remove the central universe-stabilizing force.
Witness all the killing
See the birth of Mars
Our religion thrown into the fire
Observing the mass destruction of individuals and the creation of a new god of war, which causes the destruction of traditional religious beliefs.
The magician laughs
The priestess kneels
Lovers in the tower
The moon and sun divided
Let the fool decide
A magician joyfully prepares for a ceremony, while a priestess kneels to attend it. A couple is still separated by the divided opposition of cosmic powers, while a foolish person still makes the ultimate decision.
The priestess kneels to receive
The magician laughs
A priestess humbly accepts a sacred ritual or blessing from a magician who cheerfully performs the ceremony.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRUCE DICKINSON, ROGER RAMIREZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind