Legendary Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson thinks that most big-name metal bands are bourgeois. In an interview with The Telegraph’s Matt Mills that Dickinson managed to squeeze in before his fencing practice, the longest-running Iron Maiden lead vocalist who famously used to ferry the band around on their private jet said that heavy metal isn’t as working class as the stereotype suggests, saying that “with the exception of Black Sabbath, probably, none of the big heavy metal bands are anything other than bourgeois.” That’s fair because Ozzy’s Los Angeles estate that was listed for $18 million in 2022 just screams “working class.”
When asked by the interviewer if Dickinson was ever viewed by metalheads as a “posh boy” because he attended a public school (and, keep in mind, in the UK the term “public school” means an elite private school, because the UK is apparently Opposite Land), the heavy metal giant scoffed at the question.
“I wasn’t a posh lad at all, which is why [my classmates] kicked the s–t out of me at school. I thought they were a bunch of posh c—s, and I told them that.”
One can only assume that the words that The Telegraph bleeped out of that quote were the words “snot” and “cats,” respectively.
The interview for The Telegraph was to promote Dickinson’s upcoming solo album, The Mandrake Project, and, in the conversation, he talked about some of his extracurricular activities from over the years, most notably his time as a commercial airline pilot. But the singer said that beating cancer has reaffirmed his commitment to Iron Maiden, even as he launches back into his solo project:
“I realised, with the best will in the world, it’s great that I can be an airline pilot, but thousands of people can do that. Creating things is different. Being the lead singer of Iron Maiden is like Highlander: there can be only one.”
I mean, there have been five Iron Maiden lead singers, but who’s counting, really? Well, I guess technically I am.