Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, who is also a licensed pilot and has flown the band's customized 747, Ed Force One, around the world has been included in a Reuters report on the last Boeing 747 coming off the assembly line. The 747-8 freighter is the 1,574th plane of its kind to be manufactured during 55 years of production; it will be delivered to Atlas Air next week.

Dickinson: "On the ground it's stately, it's imposing. And in the air it's surprisingly agile. For this massive airplane, you can really chuck it around if you have to. The 747 is the most beautiful and easy plane to land. It's just like landing an armchair."

Dickinson has added six new dates to his upcoming series of special performances celebrating Deep Purple's 1969 album, Concerto For Group And Orchestra, and Jon Lord's greatest hits on an unprecedented tour.

The shows will be presented by Bruce Dickinson on vocals, who leads a band featuring John O'Hara (Jethro Tull) on keyboards, Tanya O'Callaghan (Whitesnake) on bass, Kaitner Z Doka (Jon Lord, Ian Paice) on guitar, Bernard Welz (Jon Lord, Don Airey) on drums and Mario Argandonia (Scorpions) on percussion.

Confirmed dates are listed below, find ticket links here.

March
15 - Sala Palatului - Bucharest, România
18 - National Palace Of Culture - Sofia, Bulgaria
22 - Sports Hall Mirza Delibasic - Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
24 - Hall Drazen Petrovic - Zagreb, Croatia
25 - Cancarjev Dom - Ljubljana, Slovenia

April
2 - Hala University Palacheho - Olomouc, Czech Republic
15 - Vibra - Sao Paulo, Brazil
19 - Teatro Positiva - Curitiba, Brazil
21 - Vivo Rio - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
25 - Auditorio Araujo Vianna - Porto Alegre, Brazil