Speaking to The Big Issue for his "Letter To My Younger Self", Iron Maiden frontman, Bruce Dickinson, reflected on his schooldays, his time squatting in London and dealing with success. An excerpt follows...

"One gift boarding school did give me was music. Deep Purple were big for me. And we had an art teacher who was probably quite advanced in his smoking habits – he put on gigs at the school. We had Arthur Brown when I was 15, which blew my mind, Van der Graaf Generator did two gigs because the singer had gone to our school, and Magma, a crazy French jazz rock band that are still going turned up. We also had metal bands – including one called Wild Turkey, who were awesome.

"I decided to be the John Bonham of the bongos - but then realized I could sing! I tried acting and had loved it, but it was more like acting up. At least I knew I loved performing. So I stole some bongos from the music room to try to be a drummer. It didn’t work out, but in the process, I discovered I could sing. And singing and running around on stage felt like theatre. So that set me on my way - I kept the theatrical part, the prog bit, a bit from Arthur Brown, a bit of the Deep Purple vibe and then there was Sabbath and it all came together."

Read more at The Big Issue.

On May 24, Dickinson played a solo show at at O2 Forum Kentish Town in London, England. Fan-filmed video of the entire concert can be viewed below.

Setlist:

“Accident Of Birth”
“Abduction”
“Laughing In The Hiding Bush”
“Afterglow Of Ragnarok”
“Chemical Wedding”
“Many Doors To Hell”
“Jerusalem”
“Resurrection Men”
“Rain On The Graves”
“Frankenstein” (The Edgar Winter Group cover)
“The Alchemist”
"Tears Of The Dragon"
“Darkside Of Aquarius”

Encore:

“Navigate The Seas Of The Sun”
“Book Of Thel”
“The Tower”

Bruce's next show is scheduled for Tuesday, May 28, at 013 in Tilburg, Holland. Find his complete tour itinerary, as well as ticket links, here.