By DARRYL STERDAN, QMI Agency Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson isn't that keen to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Despite the space-odyssey lyrics and themes of the veteran metal brigade's 15th studio album The Final Frontier, their frontman -- who is both a licensed commercial pilot and an old-school Trek fan -- isn't racing to book passage on a suborbital airline such as Virgin Galactic.
"I think I'd want to take a long hard look at those little suborbital things before I got on one. As a famous airline designer once said, 'The airplane -- they've not yet perfected it,'" the 52-year-old singer says, laughing. "And for the amount of money it costs, well, I could think of a lot of things you could do that would be a lot more fun, and last a lot longer."
Presumably, that would include spending most of the past 30 years circling the globe with his bandmates: Bassist and chief songwriter Steve Harris, drummer Nick McBrain and guitarists Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith. As the sextet counted down the final shows of this year's Final Frontier tour, Dickinson called up from an Italian villa to discuss getting high with fans, wearing Capt. Kirk's corset and the chances of him being the new Simon Cowell.
What does it mean to put out a 15th album? It can't give you the same thrill as the first one.
Well, it's not really a numbers game. Not for us, anyway. Every album you put out is important because it could be the last one -- especially when you get up to 15. I'd like to think this album would be a great starting point for our next album, or an equally great finishing point if we decide never to make another one. Not that we think of it as our last album. But never say never at this point.
This record has some of your longest and most complex songs. Is that about challenging yourselves? You, in particular, seem like a man who not only likes challenges, but needs them.
Yeah. Without them, I'd get bored very quickly. But I think you have to find what challenges are appropriate. It's like the Clint Eastwood thing: A man's got to know his limitations. Once you know your limitations, then you can exceed them.
Speaking of bringing people in, you literally fly planeloads of fans to and from shows as part of a VIP package. What happens on those flights?
We try and make it special. The flights are all Fight 666 -- that's on the boarding passes and everything. And we make up goodie bags -- you get a hat and Bruce Air sunglasses and flags and all kinds of good things. And the only way you can get this stuff is if you're on the flight. You can't go and buy it on a website. And I dish out signed photographs as well, and I chat to everybody. I come back and take pictures, I hang out with the cabin crew and sign stuff.
Since you called the album The Final Frontier, I have to ask who the biggest Star Trek fan is in the band.
That's probably me. But I'm an old Star Trek fan. Not that I'd like to dis' the new series, because I think it's great. Jean-Luc Picard is terrific, and all the spinoffs have some great stories. But I love the cheesy naiveté of the original.
So, if Maiden were Trek, you'd be Kirk?
Oh please, no. I'd rather ... well, you know what? Unfortunately, I probably would be Kirk. Maybe I'm cheesy enough. But please don't put me in that corset he wore.
American Idol needs a new acerbic Brit judge. Interested?
Absolutely not. You couldn't pay me enough to go on that show. I find it a bit sad that people enjoy it. There's another show called Britain's Got Talent which is clearly just an exercise in laughing at people's inability. It's sad. Reality TV leaves me completely cold. I couldn't tell you who won any of those shows. I've never watched them for longer than 30 seconds, which is sufficient to go, 'I can't believe people sit and watch this s---.'
darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca
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