It’s normally the case that it’s the “worst kept secret”, but when it came to Iron Maiden releasing their 17th studio album, Senjutsu, last September, it was quite the opposite. It was the “best kept secret”, as fans around the world were literally in shock while they were hearing the first single, “The Writing On The Wall”, last June. But unlike any other album roll-out in their long and treasured history, they couldn’t embark on the usual jaw-dropping world tour. 

Singer Bruce Dickinson, a man always ready to spring into action, decided to make lemonade out of lemons.  

“That was the reason why I had a really long chat with (manager) Rod (Smallwood) during the lockdown,” he tells BraveWords in an upcoming episode of Streaming For Vengeance, set to air this Saturday (January 15th), just before he embarks on his spoken word tour, An Evening With Bruce Dickinson 2022. 

“And I said ‘Look, it’s not going to happen this summer (2021) is it? Anywhere. It’s going to have to happen next year. But we have to do something. Why don’t we just do an amazing video, something that really knocks peoples socks off. Because we haven’t done one for ages like that. Let’s do something.’”

“That’s when the idea of the animation came up,” Dickinson continues. “I scripted the video out (for 'The Writing On The Wall'). Then we found Andrew Gordon and Mark Andrews, the ex-Pixar guys who then found us the animators from BlinkInk and then we were into the process of making it. Which was fascinating. And we just got such a great result out of that in every single way. There were no negatives from that video at all. And what I love about it, it’s exceeded beyond my wildest imagination, because what I had hoped for was the video to be enough to be everything to everybody. And it kind of is. And if you are a conspiracy theorist, you’ll love the video. If you think that we are all being oppressed and it’s the end of the world, global warming, then it’s for you. There’s something in that video that appeals to absolutely everybody without taking a position. It’s a weird reality we create and it kind of has an ironic happy ending. The ending is a complete nod to the ending of Dr. Strangelove from Stanley Kubrick, with all the bombs going off.”

Fans around the planet are looking at this stunning new Senjutsu artwork and imaginations are running wild as to what it will look like in a live setting. Where are you at with all the designing and building?

“I’ve seen the drawings, I’ve seen the pictures,” the singer reveals. “I haven’t seen it actually up yet, but it’s actually going to happen! My guess is sometime in April or something that we will start dragging the set out and putting it back together. And obviously we still have all the Legacy things that we are going to be doing on the tour as well. It’s all going to happen. The Spitfire is going to be there and Eddie’s going to be there, the sword fight will be there, the flamethrowers, Icarus, it’s all there.”

During the interview, Dickinson also talks about his upcoming solo effort that he's working on with long-time partner Roy Z and reveals the Trooper beer plan for 2022. So grab a cold one 🍻 and watch/listen to Streaming For Vengeance this Saturday, January 15th at 3:33 PM EST on the BraveWords Facebook page or the BraveWords YouTube channel. For more information about Streaming For Vengeance, visit this location.

Dickinson is bringing his spoken word tour, An Evening With Bruce Dickinson, on an extensive US and Canada starting next week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Split into two parts, the first section of the show sees Bruce taking a humorous and often satirical look at the world from his own very personal perspective, treating the audience to private insights into his drive and ambition, peppered with plenty of Maiden anecdotes, and a myriad of other experiences encompassing not just the giddy heights but also the extreme lows, told first-hand in his inimitable anarchic style, punctuated with photographs and sometimes even erupting into song a-capella, to illustrate a point.

The final section of the evening is devoted entirely to a Q&A session, with the opportunity to pose questions on any subject whatsoever. As Bruce’s answers will all be completely improvised – the more left-field and quirky the question, the more interesting and compelling the response is likely to be!

Dates:

January
17 - Ft Lauderdale, Florida - Parker Playhouse
18 - Orlando, Florida - Plaza Live
20 - Tampa, Florida - Theatre
21 - Jacksonville, Florida - Florida Theatre
23 - Atlanta, Georgia - Tabernacle
24 - Raleigh, North Carolina - Meymandi Concert Hall at Duke Energy Center
26 - Nashville, Tennessee - Polk Theater
27 - Columbus, Ohio - Jo Ann Davidson Theatre
29 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
30 - Detroit, Michigan - The Fillmore

February
1 - Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York - Buffalo State Performing Arts Center
2 - Albany, New York - The Egg
4 - New York City, New York - The Town Hall
5 - Boston, Massachusetts - Schubert Theatre at the Boch Center
7 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Fillmore
8 - Washington, DC - Warner Theatre
10 - Cleveland, Ohio - MGM Northfield Park
11 - Chicago, Illinois - Vic Theatre
13 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Pantages Theatre
14 - Milwaukee-Racine, Wisconsin - Pabst Theater
16 - Des Moines, Iowa - Hoyt Sherman Place Theatre
17 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Rose State College Hudiberg Chevrolet Center
19 - Kansas City, Kansas - Uptown Theater
20 - Denver, Colorado - Paramount Theatre
22 - Dallas, Texas - Majestic Theatre
23 - Houston, Texas - Stafford Centre
24 - Austin, Texas - Paramount Theatre
26 - Phoenix, Arizona - Mesa Arts Center
28 - San Diego, California - Balboa Theatre

March
1 - Los Angeles, California - Orpheum Theatre
3 - San Francisco, California - Palace of Fine Arts
4 - Portland, Oregon - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
6 - Seattle, Washington - The Moore Theatre
12 - Las Vegas, Nevada - House Of Blues
14 - Vancouver (New Westminster), British Columbia - Massey Theatre
16 - Victoria, British Columbia - Royal Theatre
18 - Edmonton, Alberta - Winspear Centre
20 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Burton Cummings Theatre
21 - Calgary, Alberta - Jack Singer Concert Hall
23 - Montreal, Quebec - MTELUS
26 - Ottawa, Ontario - Algonquin Commons Theatre
27 - Quebec City, Quebec - Palais Montcalm
29 - Hamilton, Ontario - FirstOntario Concert Hall
30 - Kitchener, Ontario - Centre in the Square

(Photo credit Bruce live: Thomas Mazerolles)