"I Want People To Go, ‘Wow! Fucking Hell, You’ve Gotta See This Show!’ Bruce Dickinson

In our world exclusive cover feature with Iron Maiden, vocalist Bruce Dickinson takes us on a trip down memory lane, detailing the shows that changed his life. But with the band gearing up for their forthcoming Legacy Of The Beast tour, we couldn't not ask him about what they have in store. Here's a taster…

THIS IS A ‘CLASSICS’ TOUR TIED IN WITH THE LEGACY OF THE BEAST GAME. HOW’S THAT COMING TOGETHER?
“From my perspective, I haven’t paid too much attention to the game element, to be honest. I’m focused on what’s gonna constitute an amazing setlist, and what’s gonna constitute an amazing stage show. I’m looking at the show as something that should certainly exceed what we did on the Book Of Souls tour, and I’m approaching things a slightly different way. I’m approaching some of the songs a slightly different way. I’m conscious that over the years we’ve fallen into a little groove with some songs, so I want to try to shake that groove up a little bit.”

IS THERE LESS PRESSURE DOING A ‘CLASSICS’ TOUR THAN LOADING UP A SETLIST WITH NEW MATERIAL FOR AN ALBUM TOUR?
“It’s different. But when you do a show like we’re planning to do, I want it to be really slick, but awesome. I want people to go, ‘Wow! Fucking hell, you’ve gotta see this show!’ I want people to be surprised as well. I want them to go home going, ‘Fucking hell, I can’t believe they played <<that>> song!’ That’s the reaction I want. When you do an album tour, it’s more… you can take time to be a bit goofy with people and for them to digest it and what have you. On the Book Of Souls tour there was quite a lot of chatting with the audience. I’m not planning that on this tour because we’ve got so much to do and there’s so much going on. The show and the music is gonna carry the whole bloody thing. I’m pretty intimately involved in the show. There’ll be a couple of moments of chat with the audience, but it should be completely self-explanatory what’s going on – the drama should be in the transitions of the stage and the music. And we’re playing one or two things that people are gonna be really surprised by. There’ll be social media madness after the first show.”

CAN YOU REVEAL ANYTHING ABOUT THAT? COME ON…
“Not really! We’ve spent ages on it, though. And I’m already walking through it in my mind and going, ‘Where can I input those moments of meaning? To shift people’s perceptions?’ It’s like ‘Climb Like A Monkey’ – where’s that? That came from seeing someone at the front doing it, and it just became this massive thing! It’s a laugh, why not?”

Scream For Me Sarajevo is released April 17, in cinemas for one night only. For tickets visit www.screamformesarajevo.com. Iron Maiden’s Legacy Of The Beast tour starts on May 26 in Tallinn, with UK dates from July 31 to August 11. Remember the new issue of Kerrang! can be purchased anywhere in the world when you order online from Newsstand. It's also available in shops in the UK. Look out for this…