"If you were after a girlfriend, by the time you’ve got ten minutes into A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers she’s usually jumped out the window." Bruce Dickinson on his prog heroes

Bruce Dickinson
(Image credit: BMG)

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson has been discussing his love of progressive rock, in particular Van der Graaf Generator, Jethro Tull and Arthur Brown, showing it's not just Maiden founder Steve Harris who lives their prog in Iron Maiden. Although with the proliferation of lengthy epics on the band's most recent albums, that probably doesn't come as much of a surprise.

Dickinson is currently busy promoting his new solo album album, The Mandrake Project, his first since 2005's Tyranny Of Souls, which will be released on March 1 via BMG. 

Speaking to American online hard rock and heavy metal website Loudwire, Dickinson said, "The people that were influencing me; Arthur Brown, Alice Cooper - what I love about Alice, apart from being who he is is that he is absolutely open about who set him on that path: Arthur Brown.

You may like

"Artists who use lyrics and the storytelling. Ones who told big long stories. A guy called Peter Hammill from Van der Graaf Generator. Pawn Hearts -  I used to play that album to death. It’s only got three tracks on it. If you were in pursuit of a girlfriend, by the time you’ve got about ten minutes in to A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers she’s usually jumped out the window.

"Songs like that, and Ian Anderson. Aqualung was a big go-to. What a great record, great lyrics. He was a great storyteller. And he had a kind of folky tradition thing going on in the background. And folk songs tell stories. They’re the original rock’n’roll story tellers. Before there was prog rock there was folk music."

Dickinson will be signing physical copies of The Mandrake Project at five HMV stores in the UK on March 1, 2 and 3. The sessions will begin with a midnight signing at HMV Cardiff on March 1, and be followed by similar events in HMV stores in London, Birmingham Sheffield and Manchester.

Jerry Ewing

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.

Read more
Bruce Dickinson
"All had this feeling that it was something really momentous": Bruce Dickinson looks back on his solo albums and forward to Iron Maiden's big year
Biff Byford and Robert Fripp
“Our producer chopped down the songs to four minutes… the originals were much longer and stretched out”: King Crimson fan and Saxon vocalist Biff Byford narrowly missed out on being a prog musician
Iron Maiden posing for a photograph in 2023
iron maiden interview 50th anniversary
Ivar Bjørnson and King Crimson
“It’s such a good party trick – ‘So you think you’re heavy? Listen to this song from 1969!’” Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson argues King Crimson are the gateway from metal to prog
Captain Sensible
“Posh tossers singing about nothing because they had nothing to protest about… it was part of the job to destroy Genesis and Yes”: Punk pioneer Captain Sensible loved plenty of prog – but had to hide it
Iron Maiden in 2024
“We’re gonna be doing stuff we’ve never, ever done before”: Bruce Dickinson promises Iron Maiden’s 2025 tour will have a “setlist for the ages”
Latest in
Queen posing for a photograph in 1978
"Freddie’s ideas were off the wall and cheeky and different, and we tended to encourage them, but sometimes they were not brilliant.” Queen's Brian May reveals one of Freddie Mercury's grand ideas that got vetoed by the rest of the band
Mogwai
“The concept of cool and uncool is completely gone, which is good and bad… people are unashamedly listening to Rick Astley. You’ve got to draw a line somewhere!” Mogwai and the making of prog-curious album The Bad Fire
Adrian Smith performing with Iron Maiden in 2024
Adrian Smith names his favourite Iron Maiden song, even though it’s “awkward” to play
Robert Smith, Lauren Mayberry, Bono
How your purchase of albums by The Cure, U2, Chvrches and more on Record Store Day can help benefit children living in war zones worldwide
Cradle Of Filth performing in 2021 and Ed Sheeran in 2024
Cradle Of Filth’s singer claims Ed Sheeran tried to turn a Toys R Us into a live music venue
The Beatles in 1962
"The quality is unreal. How is this even possible to have?" Record shop owner finds 1962 Beatles' audition tape that a British label famously decided wasn't good enough to earn Lennon and McCartney's band a record deal
Latest in News
Queen posing for a photograph in 1978
"Freddie’s ideas were off the wall and cheeky and different, and we tended to encourage them, but sometimes they were not brilliant.” Queen's Brian May reveals one of Freddie Mercury's grand ideas that got vetoed by the rest of the band
Adrian Smith performing with Iron Maiden in 2024
Adrian Smith names his favourite Iron Maiden song, even though it’s “awkward” to play
Robert Smith, Lauren Mayberry, Bono
How your purchase of albums by The Cure, U2, Chvrches and more on Record Store Day can help benefit children living in war zones worldwide
Cradle Of Filth performing in 2021 and Ed Sheeran in 2024
Cradle Of Filth’s singer claims Ed Sheeran tried to turn a Toys R Us into a live music venue
The Beatles in 1962
"The quality is unreal. How is this even possible to have?" Record shop owner finds 1962 Beatles' audition tape that a British label famously decided wasn't good enough to earn Lennon and McCartney's band a record deal
Lizzo and Sister Rosetta Tharpe onstage
"This is my baby, my passion – because Rosetta deserves": Lizzo to play rock'n'roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in upcoming biopic