Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson has drawn a parallel between life on the road and military service, reflecting on the personal cost of decades of touring and the dislocation from family it entails.
Speaking with the Pad Wives Unfiltered podcast during appearances ahead of the U.K.’s Armed Forces Day on June 27, the 67-year-old said: “I have three grown-up kids now, who, mercifully, have all ended up as fantastic individuals. And I’d love to say it was all down to me — but for half of their [lives] I was not there, because I was on tour. Part of me will always regret that. But it’s a price you pay — and we’re closer now than we ever were. So I think that would be my biggest regret — the dislocation from what most people perceive to be a normal life.”
That reflection then prompted Dickinson to question whether a conventional life offers any real advantage: “Having a normal life — I’m not sure you’re any better off — because that’s full of so many uncertainties. At least in the military, if you have a problem, generally somebody’s always got your back.”
On the significance of Armed Forces Day, Dickinson said: “The armed forces operate largely unseen. So it seems distant — and these things are distant because we keep them distant, to protect this country. Armed Forces Day opens the book. I think they do a great job and I think they deserve a day where the great British public can meet them.”
Dickinson, an experienced pilot, was made an honorary group captain of the Royal Air Force in 2020. Iron Maiden is currently in the midst of the “Run For Your Lives” world tour. The band is set to headline Eddfest — their 50th anniversary celebration at Knebworth — on July 11, where they will also complete filming for their forthcoming cinematic tour documentary after a power outage cut their June 22 Paris concert short.
