IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson was the featured guest on BBC‘s “The Rock Show With Johnnie Walker” for the “Rock God” segment.
Dickinson picked DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan and stated: “So there I was as a young spotty teenager — just a teenager, I should hasten to add — and there was this noise coming through somebody’s door. And I opened it, and I [went], ‘What on earth is that?’ And it was ‘Speed King’ by DEEP PURPLE off Deep Purple In Rock. And that was what got me started.
“Having said all that, I met Ian Gillan. Not only did I meet him, I actually went on tour with him when I was in a band called SAMSON.
He continued: “I’m in a studio. We’ve done an album in Ian Gillan‘s studio. We’ve all been at the pub and had a few pints. In walks my god Ian Gillan and goes, ‘Hey, what a great vocalist. Who’s the singer?’ At that moment, I felt the sudden urge to vomit. I ran out of the room, puked up for about 45 minutes in the toilet when in comes my idol, kicks the door and goes, ‘C’mon, mate. Out you come. Let’s get you wiped down with a towel.’ He put me in a taxi and sent me home. I’ve never forgotten that, and he’s never let me forget it either.”
During a recent appearance on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith said that fans can expect some surprises when the band finally returns to the road once the pandemic has subsided.
“I think it’ll be worth the wait, put it like that, as far as the MAIDEN thing goes,” Smith said. “There are some very, very exciting things in the pipeline. So that’s all I can say, really… But I think the fans are gonna be delighted.”
