Belgium's RTBF recently spoke with Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson for their Classic 21 program. In the interview, which can be viewed here, he discusses variosu projects he has on the go, his readings for What Does This Button Do? that turned into a one man show, and he looks back at when he first joined Iron Maiden. 

Dickinson on his one man show:

"It started out being about the book. This was last October. The publishing company said 'Do some readings, we'll get a small theater' and I said 'That sounds really boring. Maybe I should tell some stories that are not in the book, maybe I'll read some from the book, maybe I'll have a Q&A with the audience.' I did a little bit of very basic improvisation drama stuff and I've directed a few plays at school - schoolboy stuff - and I thought back on it and thought this could be a really cool thing to do. When you do improv, normally you have a partner. He says 'one, you say 'two', he says 'apple', you say 'pie' and you come up with the story. In this case my improv partner is the audience; they come up with the story and then I tell it with the questions (they ask)."

During his September 8th spoken-word presentation at DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark in support of his autobiography, What Does This Button Do?, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson took questions from the audience on a number of subjects including Iron Maiden giving the orchestral treatment to their catalogue, and Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord, and American traffic court, and making music videos. Check out the session below.

Dickinson: "It's been tried a lot by all kinds of people, many of whom I respect, and, to be really honest with you, I don't think it works. I think it might work for the odd specific song. For example, 'Empire Of The Clouds', my thing, has kind of got orchestra all over it, but that's just one song and that was written specifically with that kind of thing in mind. And I can see that working under certain circumstances, but that's only one song. And the problem with orchestras is what do you do with them when they're not in use? Which is actually quite a lot of songs, if they're gonna be really proper rock and roll-type songs."

In What Does This Button Do?, Dickinson (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. The global publication on October 19th will be accompanied with a commensurate international book tour. More details to come soon.