Bruce Dickinson Biography

Paul Bruce Dickinson was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England to Bruce Dickinson, an army mechanic, and Sonia Dickinson, who worked part-time at a shoe shop.

He attended the Manton Primary School in Worksop, where he lived with his grandparents. He later moved into his parents’ home in Sheffield, at the age of six, where he attended the Sharrow Vale Junior.

At the age of 13, he was enrolled at the Oundle, a school in Northamptonshire. He also developed a passion for heavy rock here.

In 1976, he returned to Sheffield, where he attended a local comprehensive school. It was here that he first became a member of a band, ‘Styx’, which eventually split.

In 1977, he became a part of the band ‘Speed’, along with multi-instrumentalist Paul ‘Noddy’ White. He wrote his own material for the band and also learned to play the guitar.

In 1980, he gave the vocals for the band ‘Samson’, for the album titled, ‘Head On’. The album featured the tracks, ‘Take It Like a Man’ and ‘Hard Times’.

In 1982, after he became a part of the heavy metal band, ‘Iron Maiden’, he made his vocal debut with the band’s third studio album titled, ‘The Number of the Beast’.

In 1983, he gave the lead vocals for ‘Iron Maiden’s’ fourth studio album, ‘Piece of Mind’. The album was both a critical and commercial success in the U.K. and North America.

In 1984, he gave the lead vocals for the ‘Iron Maiden’ album, ‘Powerslave’, which was their fifth studio album. The album featured the singles, ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ and ‘Aces High’.

In 1986, he delivered the vocals for the album titled, ‘Somewhere in Time’, which was the sixth studio album of the band ‘Iron Maiden’. The singles featured in the album were, ‘Wasted Years’ and ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’.

In 1990, he came out with his first solo album titled ‘Tattooed Millionaire’, for which he composed and wrote most of the songs. The album featured the popular songs, ‘Born in '58’, the title track ‘Tattooed Millionaire’ and ‘Dive! Dive! Dive!’

In 1994, he released his second hard rock album, titled ‘Balls to Picasso’. It was released after he officially quit as a member of the band ‘Iron Maiden’.

In 1996, his alternative rock album, ‘Skunkworks’ was released. This was his third solo album which was produced by Jack Endino and was released under the Castle Communications label.

In 1997, he released his fourth heavy metal album ‘Accident of Birth’ in collaboration with guitarist and producer Roy Z. The album was well received and received critical appreciation.

In 1998, his fifth solo album, ‘The Chemical Wedding’ was released by ‘Sanctuary Records’. The album was generally well-received and earned favorable reviews.

In 2000, he delivered the lead vocal for the ‘Iron Maiden’ album, ‘Brave New World’, which was the first album he worked on since his return to the band. This was one of the band’s bestselling albums.

On September 25, 2001, his compilation album titled, ‘The Best of Bruce Dickinson’ was released. The album included the songs, ‘Broken’ and ‘Silver Wings’.

In 2005, he came out with his solo album titled, ‘Tyranny of Souls’, which featured the singles,’ Abduction’, ‘Mars Within’ and ‘Navigate the Seas of the Sun’.

In 2006, he sang the lead vocals for the ‘Iron Maiden’ album, ‘A Matter of Life and Death’. The album was released worldwide and was one of the band’s most successful albums.

In 2010, he delivered the lead vocals for the bestselling ‘Iron Maiden’ album, ‘The Final Frontier’. The album featured the tracks, ‘Satellite 15... The Final Frontier’ and ‘El Dorado’.

In 2015, he gave vocals to Iron Maiden’s sixteenth studio album ‘The Book of Souls.’ The album was lauded by critics and peaked at number 1 on several album charts including the ‘UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart,’ the ‘UK Albums Chart,’ the ‘Scottish Albums Chart,’ and the ‘Mexican Albums Chart.’

Iron Maiden’s seventeenth studio album ‘Senjutsu’ came out in September 2021. The album was a massive critical and commercial success and comprised tracks such as "The Writing on the Wall," "Death of the Celts," "Hell on Earth," and the titular song "Senjutsu."

His album ‘Accident of Birth’ was ranked 338th position on the list of ‘The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time’ by ‘Rock Hard’, a heavy metal magazine that operates in more than five countries.

His fifth solo album, ‘The Chemical Wedding’ was well-received and in 2005 it was ranked at number 388 position on ‘Rock Hard’ magazine’s list of ‘The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time’.

In 2011, he received the honorary music doctorate, conferred upon him by the Queen Mary College, London in recognition of ‘his contribution to the music industry’.

In 1983, he married his first wife, Jane. The marriage ended in a divorce in 1987.

In 1990, he married Paddy Bowden and the couple have three children together. He is a trained pilot and holds an airline transport pilot's license.