Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson: “We’re Never Going to F*cking Retire”
Some bands start to lose their fire, passion and energy as they fade into their sunset years. Iron Maiden are absolutely not one of those bands, as anyone who’s seen them perform in recent years will tell you. And thankfully for all that is good, holy and right with the world, Maiden aren’t planning to hang it up any time soon… they’re planning on dying with their boots on, you might say (hyuck hyuck).
Bruce Dickinson hosted a TED Talk-style one-man speaking show on February 8 in Bucharest, Romania, and during an unscripted Q&A session afterwards, one fan asked what would happen when Iron Maiden’s current members retire. Dickinson’s answer, naturally, was gold:
“I like that. There’s always hope. ‘After the current members retire,’ there’ll be a whole load of Iron Maiden members. We won’t even have to have fucking holograms. You know what I mean? You can actually have real Iron Maiden members that kind of look like us but are not us. That’s good. I like that. It’s not a bad idea. Then we can just sit back and [collect] royalties and do no work. Good idea!
“It’ll never happen, because we’re never going to fucking retire.”
While it’s hard to imagine anyone doing on stage what the members of Maiden still do — particularly Bruce Bruce — going into their 80s, it’s not at all a stretch to envision that continuing for another decade or so, even with all five of them well into their 60s (Bruce is the youngest at 61, Nicko McBrain the oldest at 67). While Bruce surely speaks in hyperbole and physical limitations or — deep breath — death will ultimately bring about the permanent demise of his band, you’ve got to admire the vim and vigor with which the man continues to attack life.
Rumors recently surfaced that a new Iron Maiden album has been completed and is scheduled to come out this year. Meanwhile, catch the band on tour at the following dates, young (at heart) and fit as ever:
05/01 – Perth, Australia @ RAC Arena (w/ Killswitch Engage) [tickets]
05/03 – Adelaide, Australia @ Entertainment Centre (w/ Killswitch Engage) [tickets]
05/05 – Brisbane, Australia @ Entertainment Centre (w/ Killswitch Engage) [tickets]
05/07 – Sydney, Australia @ Qudos Bank Arena (w/ Killswitch Engage) [tickets]
05/11 – Melbourne, Australia @ Rod Laver Arena (w/ Killswitch Engage) [tickets]
05/13 – Auckland, New Zealand @ Spark Arena (w/ Killswitch Engage) [tickets]
05/16 – Manila, Philippines @ Pulp Summer Slam [tickets]
05/19 – Tokyo, Japan @ Pia Arena MM [tickets]
05/20 – Tokyo, Japan @ Pia Arena MM [tickets]
05/22 – Osaka, Japan [venue to be confirmed] [tickets]
05/27 – Dubai, UAE @ Coca-Cola Arena [tickets]
05/30 – Tel Aviv, Israel @ Bloomfield Stadium (w/ Orphaned Land) [tickets]
06/05-07 – Tampere, Finland @ Rockfest [tickets]
06/09 – Bremen, Germany @ Buergerweide (w/ Disturbed & Airbourne) [tickets]
06/10 – Cologne, Germany @ Rhein-Energie-Stadium (w/ Airbourne & Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
06/13 – Donington, UK @ Download Festival [tickets]
06/15 – Belfast, UK @ Belsonic Festival [tickets]
06/18 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting [tickets]
06/20 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Copenhell [tickets]
06/23 – Berlin, Germany @ Waldbuehne (w/ Airbourne & Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
06/25 – Oslo, Norway @ Tons Of Rock [tickets]
06/27 – Gothenburg, Sweden @ Ullevi Stadium (w/ Alter Bridge & Airbourne) [tickets]
06/30 – St Petersburg, Russia @ Ice Palace (w/ Airbourne) [tickets]
07/02 – Moscow, Russia @ VTB Arena Dynamo Central Stadium (w/ Airbourne) [tickets]
07/05 – Warsaw, Poland @ PGE Narodowy (w/ Within Temptation & Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
07/07 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Sinobo Stadium (w/ Airbourne & Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
07/09 – Weert, Holland @ Evenemententerrein (w/ Alter Bridge & Airbourne) [tickets]
07/11 – Paris, France @ Paris La Defense Arena (w/ Airbourne & Avatar) [tickets]
07/16 – Wiener, Austria @ Neustadt Stadium (w/ Airbourne & Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
07/18 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Mercedes-Benz Arena (w/ Airbourne & Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
07/20 – Bologna, Italy @ Sonic Park (w/ Airbourne & Lord of the Lost) [tickets]
07/23 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Estadio Nacional (w/ Within Temptation & Airbourne) [tickets]
07/25 – Barcelona, Spain @ Olympic Stadium (w/ Within Temptation & Airbourne) [tickets]
[via Blabbermouth]
