He has blazed trails all over the world with heavy metal legends Iron Maiden \u2013 sometimes flying the band himself, in his side gig as a qualified airline pilot \u2013 and sonically super-powered singer Bruce Dickinson has \u201cbloody good\u201d reasons to keep Australia on the must-return list. <\/p>\n
Among them, our general attitude, which he rates highly; the forthcoming Rugby World Cup; and something small, brown and furry.<\/p>\n
Yes, the hard rocker loves a cuddly quokka.<\/p>\n
Recalling a previous visit as \u201cone of the best times of my life,\u201d the affable Brit says \u201cmy wife and I \u2026 spent most of our time hunting for quokkas on Rottnest Island and came back with a million fridge magnets about quokkas, and some movies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI love it,\u201d he enthuses, then moots further wildlife-focused exploration, before adding a note of realism: \u201cIf I ever get time\u201d.<\/p>\n
Because time, for a veteran band as vital and hardworking as Maiden, is a ticking inconvenience. There is a sense that Dickinson \u2013 extraordinarily energetic for a 67-year-old, especially one who has faced cancer \u2013 and the gang do not want to waste a moment: whether that\u2019s playing together, crafting side projects or releasing must-have Maiden content beyond the music, such as last year\u2019s Infinite Dreams book, to their worldwide fanbase.<\/p>\n
The newest such creation, big-screen documentary Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition, shows how that titular drive has spanned the band\u2019s five-decade journey, from starting out in the pubs of London\u2019s East End to filling stadiums worldwide.<\/p>\n
The movie, which opens in cinemas worldwide on May 7, is a feast of old and recent footage, new interviews and guest contributions, all meshed together with so much music. And it stays true to the Maiden formula: down-to-earth people, epic finished product.<\/p>\n
Directed by filmmaker Malcolm Venville, it is fascinating, fun and frank, at times fearlessly so \u2013 for example, when showing how the relentless pace of the album-tour-album-repeat cycle of their 80s ascent took a heavy toll: five band members dropped out, not always voluntarily. Even Dickinson left, replaced for two albums in the 90s, before returning along with fan-favourite guitarist Adrian Smith to kickstart Maiden\u2019s even-more-successful 2000s era: two-plus decades of extraordinary achievements punctuated by the challenges of Dickinson\u2019s throat cancer and drummer Nicko McBrain suffering a stroke that forced his withdrawal from touring.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the film,\u201d Dickinson says. \u201cWe (the band) were pretty hands-off in terms of the storyline. Obviously, the timeline is fairly fixed. Things happened at certain points in our career. But the nuance and the dramas, the relationships, the shock, the people sadly passing away, people getting sick, illness, how we coped with that, you know, me leaving, me coming back, all of that, I think, was dealt with very honestly. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I wouldn\u2019t want to change anything in the film. People say, \u2018Oh, there\u2019s that bit where Nicko slags you off for leaving the band\u2019 and I\u2019m just like, \u2018that\u2019s great\u2019. \u201cBecause it\u2019s true, it\u2019s emotional, it is real. Does Nicko slag me off now? No, we get on great, he\u2019s my mate and he\u2019s still in the band, but stuff like that happens, you know, so I think it\u2019s really cool. It\u2019s well done. I think (director) Malcolm has done a fantastic job. We did hours of interviews for the film, individually, obviously. And Malcolm just picked the bits he wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no shortage of levity either. Among utterly joyous moments is footage of the band gatecrashing a wedding reception during a tour of Cold War-era Poland, jamming Deep Purple for delighted and bemused guests. At one point an ebullient Dickinson tells an earnest fan \u201cyou can\u2019t play heavy metal with synthesisers\u201d, presumably not realising Maiden would start using synths on their very next album and continue to this day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the joys of callow youth, you know the self-confidence of somebody full of piss and vinegar and 25 years old, or however old I was,\u201d he laughs. \u201cAnd it\u2019s brilliant because it\u2019s truthful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The band\u2019s request that the new interviews be audio-only \u2013 \u201cone of the few stipulations we made\u201d \u2013 was a canny one: it makes room for a treasure chest of archival material, which in turn creates a tighter visual pace.<\/p>\n
(Side note: The doco does feature some traditional \u201ctalking heads\u201d, from ordinary fans to big names like Kiss main man Gene Simmons, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, Public Enemy rapper Chuck D, Rage Against The Machine guitarist and Bruce Springsteen collaborator Tom Morello; movie star Javier Bardem is particularly animated in his enthusiasm for Maiden.)<\/p>\n
Another stipulation was the inclusion of former members alongside the iconic line-up of band leader and founding bassist Steve Harris, guitarists Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers, Dickinson and McBrain, whose stool is now occupied on stage by Simon Dawson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only requirement we made at the beginning of the film, after we saw the first edit, was maybe we should have a little bit more Clive in there,\u201d says Dickinson, referring to the late Clive Burr, drummer for the first three of Maiden\u2019s 17 studio albums.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you have to respect the legacy of everybody that\u2019s been in the band, you know. I mean (original singer) Paul Di\u2019Anno, Clive, they were huge contributors to the style of the first two and three records. So it\u2019s really important that you respect that, and in particular, because both of them now have passed away (Burr in 2013, Di\u2019Anno in 2024), so they can\u2019t talk for themselves anymore. Luckily, we had interviews with Paul before he very sadly passed away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mortality and time. There they are again, but Dickinson does not seem unduly worried. Asked if a new album might follow 2021\u2019s muscular Senjutsu, he says, \u201cNo plans for it at the moment. If you ask me as an individual, would I like to do another album, I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, get me in the studio next week\u2019. But I think Steve\u2019s take on it is that he just wants to play live until he can\u2019t play live anymore. That\u2019s more his focus. <\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I\u2019m putting words into his mouth, obviously. You\u2019d have to speak to him about it. But that\u2019s the impression I get: he\u2019s not averse to the idea of doing another album, but only when we\u2019ve basically stopped touring. And that won\u2019t be for a while, you know, so you\u2019ll have to put up with my solo album next year, which is a banger. It really is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Underscoring the touring point, Maiden \u2013 who last played Australia in late 2024 \u2013 will be back in November on the Run For Your Lives tour, which means the band won\u2019t be present in person for their long-overdue induction into the Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll Hall of Fame. Sadly for their WA fans (and those quokkas), they won\u2019t be playing Perth this time, for which Dickinson apologises. And, slightly mysteriously, he offers the reassurance \u201cthere\u2019s never going to be an actual end\u201d to Iron Maiden.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause although we might retire from touring \u2013 and we\u2019re not going to do that anytime soon \u2013 we have plans and plans and plans\u201d. Indicating the band\u2019s unmistakeable mascot Eddie, he grins: \u201cEddie will continue. Eddie has a great future. He might even do his own album, who knows?\u201d <\/p>\n
Fine by me: let\u2019s just hope Eddie\u2019s backing band features Messrs Dickinson, Harris, Smith and the boys.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition opens worldwide in cinemas on May 7.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He has blazed trails all over the world with heavy metal legends Iron Maiden \u2013 sometimes flying the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[316357,316348,316330,104935,64,63,689,316349,316355,202272,316353,90881,42076,316340,93599,316331,316336,316361,11301,134,2057,316360,316333,52605,316362,316363,316337,316338,2898,316364,56900,316358,117959,316354,2022,316347,316351,136,316359,316350,3583,677,316344,76865,316332,46,5427,316335,316342,310126,176534,316352,95265,316343,316341,25791,173321,316356,112650,316329,316346,316339,21237,291810,316345,3586,316334,316365,114757,3439],"class_list":["post-654174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-actual-end","tag-adrian-smith","tag-album-tour-album-repeat-cycle","tag-archival-material","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-backing-band","tag-band-leader","tag-band-members","tag-big-screen-documentary","tag-bruce-dickinson","tag-bruce-springsteen","tag-callow-youth","tag-chuck-d","tag-clive-burr","tag-dave-murray","tag-earnest-fan","tag-eastern-europe","tag-entertainment","tag-europe","tag-extraordinary-achievements","tag-fan-favourite-guitarist","tag-fantastic-job","tag-filling-stadiums","tag-five-decade-journey","tag-football-fanatic","tag-fridge-magnets","tag-gene-simmons","tag-grim-but-loveable-mascot","tag-javier-bardem","tag-kiss-star","tag-lars-ulrich","tag-legends-reveal","tag-london","tag-malcolm-venville","tag-metal-legends","tag-music","tag-musical-epics","tag-must-return-list","tag-northern-europe","tag-oceania","tag-ordinary-fans","tag-paul-dianno","tag-people-getting-sick","tag-perth","tag-poland","tag-rage-against-the-machine","tag-reveal-surprising-reason","tag-rock-legend","tag-rottnest-island","tag-shannon-tweed","tag-side-gig","tag-side-note","tag-side-projects","tag-simon-dawson","tag-steve-harris","tag-studio-albums","tag-throat-cancer","tag-ticking-inconvenience","tag-time-hunting","tag-titular-drive","tag-tom-morello","tag-treasure-chest","tag-two-plus-decades","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unmistakeable-mascot","tag-veteran-band","tag-wedding-reception","tag-western-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}