Iron Maiden's incomparable frontman Bruce Dickinson is gearing up for a whirlwind of a 2024. Dickinson's new solo album The Mandrake Project drops on March 1 and he's got a packed touring schedule, a comic book series release, and even plans for new music already in the works.
In a recent interview with Loudwire Nights, the 65-year-old singer spoke about the impact of the pandemic on his creative process: "We all got locked up for three years, so in that time, it gives you a lot of things — perspective, a chance to let ideas breathe, and a chance to discriminate against what's truly important and what's really not important. Now, of course, the world is back and we are just crazy busy."
Now with the world reopening, Dickinson is diving headfirst into a jam-packed schedule. His itinerary boasts a staggering 90 shows, split between his solo tour (concluding in July) and the upcoming Iron Maiden tour kicking off in September.
"This year is gonna be nuts for me, which I don't have a problem with. As long as my legs stay attached to the rest of my body, I'm gonna be okay. Don't go swimming with sharks. I've got basically 90 shows this year, just under, between the solo tour, which goes up to 21 of July, and then the Maiden tour that starts at the beginning of September and goes right the way through to just two weeks before Christmas."
With a brief three-week break in between, Dickinson acknowledges the intensity but remains enthusiastic: "So that's full-on. There's like a three-week break in the middle, but that's it, during which time we'll be doing absolutely nothing — lying down somewhere going, 'Okay.' Recharge the batteries and off we go for round two. But it's really exciting, the intensity of it all."
Beyond music, Dickinson is also venturing into the world of comics with the release of his 12-issue The Mandrake Project series. And the creative spark doesn't stop there. He hints at plans for a new album with his longtime collaborator, Roy Z.
"The comic's gonna go on for three years, just under. And in terms of music, obviously The Mandrake Project, the album is done, out March the 1st, and then we'll see how people take to it. But I'm going to be writing music in two or three weeks, I hope, with Roy again, because we've got more stuff we wanna do. So, yeah, there'll be another album, because we already have 10 or 12 different ideas for it."
