Bruce Dickinson on Iron Maiden

The Iron Maiden front man reflects on the band he has sung with, off and on, since 1982.

The legendary British metal band had recently released Senjutsu, a seemingly Japanese-themed album. This was the most recent album to be released, a large gap between now and 2015's The Book of Souls. He describes the music as "real music played by a bunch of old geezers."

"Every now ang again we come up with an album that really seizes the day and, Senjutsu is one of them. The last album where I think we had a similar sort of sensation was probably [Bruce's return to Maiden 2000 album] Brave New World, because there were lots of cynics going 'It's just going to be retreads and a lot of old crap.

It wasn't and people went "Oh my God, it's really good." After that, people went "oh well, it's another Maiden album, it's another Maiden tour." But quietly we were getting a lot bigger than we ever were back in the day.

But this time you had covid, and people were locked in and they missed going to see this big, monstrous band with Eddies and everything. They were thinking "Where the hell is that in my life?" and then you come with an album like Senjutsu - which was recorded before covid was even dreamt of - and it fills that hole.

It's very heartening that people really got it. Musically it's a stunning album - it's complex, it's emotional, it's got multiple layers. People go [disgruntled voice] "It doesn't sound a bit like 1983". No, of course it doesn't, we've all moved on a little bit. As we get older, we get more contrarian and cantakerous. It's a bit like Neil Young - he's been at it for years, but he still manages to come up with things that rub the establishment the wrong way.

We did have our little animated secret weapon, which was the video for [first single] "Writing on the Wall". I knew we weren't going to be going anywhere for a while, and Maiden certainly weren't going to be setting up our gear in some rehearsal studio and pretending we're playing some huge live gigs, cos we'd just look like a proper bunch of Charlies. So I said "We should put our resources into doing an incredible video." My template for it was the Rammstein video [for Deutschland], which was a piece of art. Rammstein and Maiden are different styles, but what I was after was the emotional impact that video had. And I think we captured the emotional impact.

Then there was the teaser stuff we did. I can't take any credit for that - it was all assembled by Sarah, who does all the social media and internet magic. When she and her team came up with it, I said 'Is this really going to work? Are people really going to be fascinated by this or is it just a bunch of Maiden geeks?' Which shows how much I knew. We went head to head with Drake the week the album was released [the rapper narrowly beat Maiden to the No.1 spot]. I don't really get what he does, though a lot of people do, but going head to head with him felt like 'No, this is real music played by a bunch of old geezers who make no concessions to the times in which we live.' People say 'You're dinosaurs.' And we go 'Yeah, and there aren't too many of those left.'

This is who we are, it's what we do. But by and large our audience has moved on with us. Maiden's audience is like a table made of plywood: every year you add a new layer and the table just gets bigger and bigger. We've grown organically - not through social media or any of that stuff. We've grown by going out and doing it in front of people. I can't wait to get back out there and play these songs. We're still fired up, and to get back together in a room with the guys to just play music is something I'm looking forward to more than you can ever imagine. I did this gig in Hungary recently with me and [Deep Purple bassist] Roger Glover doing [Purple's] Concerto for Group and Orchestra, and that was the first time I've played music in front of an audience for a few years. It was unbelievable. Roger was in tears. And the Maiden thing will be that to the power of ten."

Dr. No (1962)

The first James Bond film to start the series. This is the film that got everyone interested in the highly skilled British spy known simply by "Bond. James Bond"

Summary

-A highly skilled British government agent is looking for answers in the disappearance of a colleague and disruptions in the American space program

Cast

-Sean Connery: James Bond

-Ursula Andress: Honey Rider

-Joseph Wiseman: Dr. No

-Jack Lord: Felix Leiter

-Bernard Lee: M

-Lois Maxwell: Miss Moneypenny

-Anthony Dawson: Professor Dent

-Zena Marshall: Miss Taro

-John Kitzmiller: Quarrel

-Eunice Gayson: Sylvia Trench

Did You Know?

-All the sets were created smaller than they were in real life to make Bond appear larger

-Since Sean Connery had started losing his hair at 17, he had to be fitted with a wet toupee for water scenes and a dry one for other scenes. From Goldfinger on, he wore a full wig.

-Sean Connery was deathly afraid of spiders. The scene with the spider in his bed was filmed with a sheet of glass between him and the spider

-Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond stories, called this movie "dreadful"

-Initially, Bernard Lee, who plays M, states he works for MI7. He said, during the take, MI6. It had been dubbed out of fear of offending the real-life MI6. In the later movies, it's clear Bond works for the famed British intelligence agency

-Ian Fleming was strongly against Connery being cast as Bond because of the vast differences. Connery was Scottish while Bond was English. Bond came from an upper-class background while Connery came from a working-class background. Bond was highly educated and refined while Connery seemed too rugged. After seeing the film, Fleming relented and agreed Connery was perfect. In the film In Her Majesty's Secret Service, Bond revealed his Scottish heritage and Bond's girlfriend Theresa "Tracy" Vicenzo was described using Ursula Andress' details

-Producers were skeptical of whether Connery could play Bond. Because of Connery's working-class background and leaving school at fifteen to join the Royal Navy and holding various jobs, including milkman, his working-class background made him perfect

-The suits Connery wore were made by Anthony Sinclair, a tailor on London's famous Saville Row. Sinclair stated that his suits would be truly great and take a lot of abuse and still look good afterwards. To prove a point, Sean Connery was asked to sleep in his suit. When he woke up the next morning, it still looked good

-Sean Connery won the role of James Bond after producer Albert Broccoli saw Connery's film Darby O'Gill & The Little People

-The rumors of Ursula Andress being naked in the shower are false. The scene showing her "naked" after washing off the radiation are false. She's actually wearing a nude-colored one-piece swimsuit

-James Bond author Ian Fleming served in the military during WWII. He served in British Naval Intelligence and was friendly with David Niven, who was then a Major in the British Commandos. David Niven was Fleming's choice to play James Bond. Niven even has the honor of being the only actor mentioned in the novels, specifically You Only Live Twice

-United Artists financed this movie on June 20, 1961 after many other studios labelled this film "too British" or "too blatantly sexual"

-Two weeks prior to filming, the role of Honey Rider was yet to be cast. A picture of an unknown actress named Ursula Andress in a wet t-shirt was seen and producers offered her the role without meeting her

-Despite filming on location in Jamaica, the majority of the film crew were British. During the time of filming, Jamaica was part of the West Indies Federation and a British Crown Colony. Jamaica won its independence from Britain on Aug. 6, 1962, two months prior to the release of the movie

-Due to the low budget, Lois Maxwell, who plays Miss Moneypenny, wore her own clothes to cut costs

-This film has the most unique card games in a James Bond film. The card games are Bridge, Patience (solitaire), Texas Hold 'em and Chemin de Fer/Baccarat. Bond plays the first three

-Lois Maxwell won the role of Miss Moneypenny after Ian Fleming thought she fit the character perfectly

-Marguerite LeWars, who plays Annabel, had been working as a flight attendant for then airline British West Indies Airlines. Terence Young approached her with the old cliche line "Would you like to be in movies?" LeWars' brother-in-law Reggie Carter plays the chauffeur, the first villain James Bond meets

-This film marks what is the first technical "Bond Car". It's a 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible. The first car James Bond drives that he chooses is a Sunbeam Tiger convertible. The novels state he drives a 1930 Bentley convertible. This car is seen once, parked in From Russia With Love. It's not until the third film in the series, Goldfinger, that Bond drives the iconic Aston Martin DB5

-The music of this movie is said to have started the reggae/ska trend in Britain

-During a scene on the beach where Dr. No's henchmen come on to the beach to kill Bond, Quarrel and Honey, the gunfire attracted the attention of US Naval officers, who were off duty and were curious about the gunfire

Glenn Tipton denies KK Downing's "crazy" Judas Priest stories

It's been forever known that, while both KK Downing and Glenn Tipton were the twin lead guitarists of Judas Priest, outside their leather-clad guitar playing time, the two weren't friendly with each other. Glenn is now coming out with his two cents on the "crazy" stories from KK

Glenn Tipton recently heard about some of the stories KK had said and he said that's "just crazy". Downing had quit Judas Priest in 2011, citing tensions with management and Tipton as being some of the reasons, according to his 2018 memoir Heavy Duty: Nights and Days in Judas Priest. The band was due to start their Epitaph tour when Downing quit. He was quoted as saying "an ongoing breakdown in working relationships between myself, elements of the band and management for some time." He also revealed in his memoir that he "never found Glenn to be particularly easy to get along with" and "If you were going to relate to him, you would do so entirely on his terms".

Downing now performs with former vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens. He had expected Judas Priest to quit after the Epitaph tour. But he said "They didn't want any part of me, even though I was one of the original members."

Tipton now gets to put his two cents in on the subject in an interview with Guitar World. "I never wanted to get into a public argument after KK left. I never said a word and I stuck to my guns for 10 years, but there comes a point when you read things that have been said that are just crazy. It's time to say something, really because he's saying things that he really shouldn't be saying. They aren't fair. He's insinuated that he's the driving force of the band. It just isn't true. Priest [are] made up of five guys working together. [There's] not just one person driving the band. He's said all these things that, I think, are meant to upset us and get us to say something in response and for a long time we didn't. But I've got a lot to say and enough's enough."

Tipton took offense to Downing's accusations that Tipton's pre-show drinking and post-show drinking was "slowing us down". "Everyone knows it's not true. Like I said, the fans aren't stupid and they've seen me for 50 years playing around the world. I may have had a couple of beers onstage, but that's all. It's never affected the concert or my performance whatsoever and he knows that."

Tipton also claimed that he "used to piece [Downing's] leads together" in the studio and "did a lot of editing to make his lead breaks worthwhile." Tipton had all but retired full time from touring in 2015 after receiving a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. He remains "actively involved" with the band and will still join them onstage. The band recently announced they would tour as a four-piece unit with one guitarist when they resumed their 50 Heavy Metal Years tour in March, but they decided against it and would return to the five-man band with guitarists Andy Sneap and Richie Faulkner

February Birthdays

Since it's February, time to say Happy Birthday!

Rod Smallwood

-Birth name: Roderick Charles Smallwood

-DOB: 2/17/1956

-Where: Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England

-He ran such a tight management with Iron Maiden that the band soon dubbed him Rod Smallwallet because he wouldn't let the band spend ANY money unless it was put back towards pushing the band forward

Tony Iommi

-Birth name: Anthony Frank Iommi

-DOB: 2/19/1948

-Where: Aston, Birmingham, England

-He wrote "Paranoid" in under three minutes because their producer said they needed something to fill the last bit of time on their 1970 album Paranoid

Duff McKagan

-Birth name: Michael Andrew McKagan

-DOB: 2/5/1964

-Where: Seattle, Washington

-He invested in Amazon and Starbucks before they got big because they were local, Seattle-based companies

Adrian Smith

-Birth name: Adrian Frederick Smith

-DOB: 2/27/1957

-Where: Hackey, London, England

-Formed a band called Urchin prior to joining Iron Maiden. His good friend, current Maiden guitarist Dave Murray, played in the band for a bit

Andy Taylor

-DOB: 2/11/1956

-Where: Newcastle, England

-He and fellow Trinity student Rod Smallwood founded Sanctuary Records in 1979

Alice Cooper

-Birth name: Vincent Damon Furnier

-DOB: 2/4/1948

-Where: Detroit, Michigan

-His father was a preacher

Alan Rickman

-Birth name: Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman

-DOB: 2/21/1946

-Where: London, England

-DOD: 1/14/2016

-Where: London, England (pancreatic cancer)

-He was not the original choice to play Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. The original choice was Tim Roth, who had chosen to star in the 2001 film Planet of the Apes.

Steve Irwin

-Birth name: Stephen Robert Irwin

-DOB: 2/22/1962

-Where: Essendon, Victoria, Australia

-DOD: 9/4/2006

-Where: Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia (sting ray attack)

-He was known for his extraordinary love of animals and wildlife

Matt Groening

-Birth name: Matthew Abram Groening

-DOB: 2/15/1954

-Where: Portland, Oregon

-Best known as the creator of animated series The Simpsons

George Harrison

-DOB: 2/25/1943

-Where: Liverpool, England

-DOD: 11/29/2001

-Where: Los Angeles, California (throat cancer)

-He got the reputation of "the quiet one" because when The Beatles went to America, he was sick and had laryngitis and couldn't talk

Vince Neil

-Birth name: Vince Neil Wharton

-DOB: 2/8/1961

-Where: Los Angeles, California

-He and Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley were in a car crash in 1984. Neil was going to the liquor store and was driving drunk when they got into a crash. The wreck killed Razzle

Rachel Bolan

-Birth name: James Richard Southworth

-DOB: 1/9/1966

-Where: Point Pleasant, New Jersey

-Two of his favorite bands are The Ramones and The Sex Pistols

Henry Rollins

-Birth name: Henry Lawrence Garfield

-DOB: 2/13/1961

-Where: Washington, D.C.

-His best friend, Joe Cole, was murdered during a robbery attempt. His murder remains unsolved to this day

Ricky Medlocke

-DOB: 2/17/1950

-Where: Jacksonville, Florida

-He was the former vocalist/guitarist for fellow Southern rockers Blackfoot

Billie Joe Armstrong

-DOB: 2/17/1972

-Where: Piedmont, California

-The song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is about the death of his father and how he manages to deal with the grief

Johnny Van Zandt

-Birth name: John Roy Van Zandt

-DOB: 2/27/1960

-Where: Jacksonville, Florida

-His brother Ronnie was the former frontman Lynyrd Skynyrd and his other brother Donnie is the current front man for .38 Special

Paul Wight aka "Big Show"

-Birth name: Paul Randall Wight Jr.

-DOB: 2/8/1972

-Where: Aiken, South Carolina

-He shares a birthday with Jim Neidhart (The Hart Foundation) and "Classie" Freddie Blassie

Dark Side of the Ring (2019)

This 2019 television series on the Vice channel talks about various wrestlers, the feuds they've had with other wrestlers and more. You learn a lot about your favorite wrestlers from their own mouths, their families and people who've worked with them. Major wrestlers, announcers, the CEOs of WWE and WCW, Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff, are also interviewed

Summary

-This TV delves into the world of professional wrestling. From investigating mysterious deaths to major controversies and more

Cast

-Chris Jericho

-Jim Ross

-Eric Bischoff

-Vince McMahon

-Jim Cornette

-Mick Foley

-Dave Meltzer

-Bruce Prichard

Episodes

Season 3

Brian Pillman - Part One

-The life, career and death of "Flyin'" Brian Pillman

Brian Pillman - Part Two

-After surviving a terrible car accident, Brian Pillman hides his injuries while pushing himself to the breaking point. His untimely death leaves his family reeling

The Ultra-Violence of Nick Gage

-Nick Gage calls himself the king of deathmatch wrestling. His path to this kingdom, however, is marred by personal tragedies and a six year prison sentence for armed robbery

The Collision in Korea

-Wrestlers had gone to North Korea to entertain the locals there. But the match would turn into a match where they fought for their lives

Becoming Warrior

-Jim Hellwig was an aspiring chiropractor who instead made the step into wrestling. He became known as the Ultimate Warrior. His first wife says he actually thought about going into medicine to work as a chiropractor

In the Shadow of Grizzly Smith

-Jake the Snake Roberts was conceived via rape and molested by his stepmother and father as a child. His father was Aurelian Smith, aka Grizzly Smith. His siblings then experienced the same thing and his sister had been abducted and killed. It was discovered she was pregnant 3x before she turned 18

The Dynamite Kid

-Tom Billington was a British wrestler known for a showy style of wrestling involving flips, rolls, a generally gymnastic style. Outside of the ring, however, his abuse of various substances would destroy him, his family and his legacy he leaves behind

The Plane Ride from Hell

-A privately owned 757 chartering wrestlers home turns into a nightmare as three full carts of alcohol are consumed, in addition to drugs. A flight attendant is nearly raped by a naked Ric Flair, Razor Ramone is under the influence of drugs and alcohol and attempts to lick a stewardess and two wrestlers engage in a mid-air battle. When the plane finally lands, flight crew have a mess to clean up-vomit, food, alcohol and a wrestler's ponytail

The Double Life of Chris Kanyon

-Chris Kanyon is secretly a gay wrestler working in the macho world of wrestling, that promotes negative gay stereotypes. He struggles to keep his sexuality a secret amongst the wrestlers

Blood & Wire: Onita's FMW

-When a Japanese wrestler named Atsushi Onita creates a Japanese wrestling company called FMW, it soon becomes known for XXX-level gore, explosions yet high flying, mind-blowing matches. The person he chooses to be the successor is drowning in debt and takes his own life

Bikers, Bombs & Bedlam: Johnny K-9

-Ion Croiteru, aka Johnny K-9, worked as both a wrestler and the leader of an outlaw motorcycle club called Satan's Choice in Ontario, Canada. He was implicated in a double murder, accused of bombing a police station and drug trafficking

The Many Faces of Luna Vachon

-In the ring, she was a heel (bad character). Luna Vachon is secretly battling mental illness and addiction while championing and inspiring future women's wrestling

Extreme & Obscene: Rob Black's XPW

-Rob Black's interest in hardcore porn and deathmatch wrestling come together as XPW. But this empire comes falling to the ground after a war he started with federal authorities

The Steroid Trials

-The early to mid 1990s was shaken to its core by rampant accusations of steroid use. Prosecutors are trying to get star witness Hulk Hogan to testify against Vince McMahon and Pennsylvania urologist Dr. George Zahorian, to prove that McMahon is ordering steroids for his wrestlers

Season 2

Benoit - Part One

-Legendary wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife Nancy and 7-year old Daniel and committed suicide. Those close to him never spoke about this controversial issue until now

Benoit - Part Two

-Chris Benoit talks about the life and times of his career before he committed double murder-suicide

The Life and Crimes of New Jack

-He is the most feared and controversial wrestler in the entire world of wrestling. His career reads more like a criminal's rap sheet than stunning career record

The Brawl for All

-The worst idea ever - a legit boxing/wrestling tournament that seems more like a death match

Jimmy Snuka and the Death of Nancy Argentino

-Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka was a legendary wrestler whose girlfriend Nancy Argentino had to fight for justice after she died mysteriously in a motel room in 1983

The Assassination of Dino Bravo

-Dino Bravo was brutally murdered 30 years ago. Family and friends tell the story of one of Montreal's legendary wrestlers

David Schultz & The Slap Heard Around the World

-David Schultz was a superstar wrestler until he had a violent run-in with a 20/20 reporter

Cocaine & Cowboy Boots - The Herb Abrams Story

-Herb Abrams wanted to build a wrestling empire to rival WWF and WCW, but it all fell apart once cocaine entered the story in addition to his massive ego

The Last Ride of the Road Warriors

-The ultimate tag team is sidelined by substance abuse and alcohol abuse

The Final Days of Owen Hart

-Owen Hart, younger brother of Bret "Hitman" Hart, was a famed wrestler in his own right. His wife Martha reveals the mistakes that cost Owen his life on May 23, 1999, when he fell 80 feet to his death in the ring

Season 1

The Fabulous Moolah

-The fame and legacy of one of the first female wrestlers, The Fabulous Moolah, are questioned after highly controversial allegations come to light after her death in 2007

The Mysterious Death of Gorgeous Gino

-The family of wrestler Gino Hernandez believed his death was drug-related for over 30 years. New investigations reveal more to his still grieving mother

The Last of the Von Erichs

-The only surviving member of the Von Erich family talks about the series of tragedies that haunted this iconic dynasty of a wrestling family

The Killing of Bruiser Brody

-A sad evening in 1988 saw wrestler Bruiser Brody getting into a fight in the locker room that eventually killed him

The Montreal Screwjob

-This is wrestling history here. Survivor Series '97 marks the night when wrestling changed forever. Bret Hart was stripped of the title when he refused to drop the title to Shawn Michaels in Montreal. It was engineered by Vince McMahon, Triple H and Shawn Michaels to have Bret Hart trapped in his own signature move, the sharpshooter and then have the bell rung, declaring Michaels the winner

The Match Made in Heaven

-The relationship between Randy "Macho Man" Savage and his wife Miss Elizabeth couldn't have been sweeter and romantic if it tried. But all was not as it seemed. Their relationship had tragic consequences

Did You Know?

-When scenes are reenacted, several Canadian wrestlers play the parts of their peers

-This was the highest rated series on Vice TV