On October 17th at Troxy in London, England, Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson read from his new autobiography, What Does This Button Do?, and answered audience questions during a special event that was streamed live via Facebook, and can now be seen in the video below - you may want to skip the first 16 minutes.

One fan in attendance asked how Maiden managed to stay together for as long as it has? "I wish I could tell you," said Dickinson. "Again, I allude to that in the book, and the closest I can get is the porridge has to be just right. All familiar with the fairytale story The Three Bears? 'Too hot, too cold, just right. And bands are like that, personalities are like that. We're fragile little organisms, really. Even though we have loads of trucks and make lots of noise and things like that, the relationships in the band are quite fragile. But with Maiden we're very lucky that we're all born of the same mothership, which is Iron Maiden, and our loyalty is primarily to Maiden and probably then to each other. Which makes life really kind of easy in terms of getting on with your fellow bandmates, because you give everybody space, 'cause we realize that we're all there together to do the same thing, which is to deliver an amazing Iron Maiden show or an amazing Iron Maiden record, or do whatever it takes to do that. So that's the secret."

Hear Bruce read from his autobiography, talk about the experience of writing it (and no doubt many other things) and answer questions from the audience.

US events:

October
30 - Huntington, NY - Book Revue - 7 PM
31 - New York City, NY - Hudson Union Society - 12 PM
31 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus Bar, Hosted by Word Bookstore - 7:30 PM

November
1 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater, Hosted by Book Soup - 7 PM
2 - Menlo Park, CA - Kepler’s Books - 7:30 PM
3 - New York City, NY - Gramercy Theatre, Hosted the Strand Bookstore - 6 PM
4 - Ridgewood, NJ - Bookends Bookstore - 1 PM

Heavy metal pioneers since their formation in 1975, Iron Maiden have sold over 90 million albums and played over 2000 shows in 63 countries, making them one of the most successful and globally influential bands of all time. One of the world’s most storied musicians, Bruce Dickinson has been the band’s internationally-acclaimed lead singer for more than 30 years, and quite aside from the decades spent delivering high-octane performances with his larger-than-life persona, Bruce has lived an extraordinary off-stage existence too. A true polymath, Bruce is, or has been, an airline pilot and captain, an aviation entrepreneur, a beer brewer, motivational speaker, film scriptwriter, twice-published novelist, radio presenter, TV actor and a world-class fencer.

Over the last couple of years, and throughout Iron Maiden’s The Book Of Souls World Tour, which has covered 39 countries and 117 shows since February 2016, Bruce has turned his unbridled creativity to writing his memoirs, longhand (in seven A4 notebooks no less).

In What Does This Button Do?, Bruce (a man who famously never gives interviews about his personal life) shares, for the first time, the most fascinating recollections, including his thirty years with Maiden, the early days, his childhood within the eccentric British school system, going solo, realising his dream of flying jumbo jets and his recent battle with tongue cancer. Bruce Dickinson is so much more than the frontman of one of the biggest bands on the planet. A rock icon, a true renaissance man, Bruce has been, and remains, a man of legend.

Bold, honest, intelligent and very entertaining, What Does This Button Do? is the long-awaited window into the life, heart and mind of one of our most adventurous and multifaceted sons.