Bruce Dickinson: "The reason I'm doing it is because I love it!"
Q: Congratulations on turning into a pop band!A: Well, I don't know about that. Hardly. When pop bands start doing nine-minute songs, then, hey. The last pop band that did that was Pink Floyd, I think.
Q: Yes, but you were sitting right up there with Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera and "Cheetah Girls 2."
A: The trouble is we need some decent competition. And, let's face it, anyone that names their new album after something that washes your bum is a bit strange.
Q: Huh?
A: Beyoncé. "B'Day." Bidet?
Q: How could I miss that? Thirty years later and you haven't matured a bit.
A: Not at all. I'm still completely juvenile.
Q: Is there a point when you're going to stop putting zombies and skeletons on your album covers?
A: I don't think so. Why?
Q: Doesn't it make you feel a bit like you're in the darkness?
A: Not in the slightest. Having grown up with it, it's actually part of me. I reject the idea that we do music, and we're not serious about it. We're actually very serious about it, but because we're British we can still manage to laugh at ourselves. It's a curious Anglo-Saxon trait. Even while bullets are whizzing over our head, people are still pretending it's funny.
Q: Where's the ironic detachment?
A: I don't see the point of ironic detachment. We don't want people that are going to some fashion store to say, "Hey, wow, look, I bought an Iron Maiden shirt that makes my tits look big." Those aren't the people we're interested in, although if they're stupid enough to buy the shirt, we'll take their money.
Q: Between the BBC radio show, fencing and flying, how did you even find the time to make another Iron Maiden album?
A: The bizarre thing is I've always found that it really helps if you only do one thing at a time. I mean, I have to plan my time a little bit, which makes it sound like there's some great person organizing it, but there isn't.
Q: There are no Bruce Dickinson interns?
A: None whatsoever! I don't have interns. I don't have a manager. I don't have assistants. I don't have a secretary. I can't figure out Outlook Express. I'm the worst person in the world answering e-mails, and my phone is probably the oldest, most battered phone you can find. So I just talk to people.
Q: How does your band put up with you?
A: It doesn't really bother them. I write the songs, rehearse with them and go out and tour with them. They're not complaining.
Q: Plus, it beats having that fake singer.
A: Well, no, the issue is for eight months of this year we were all sitting back, chilling out. When we get back on tour for three months, Iron Maiden becomes the priority. Having stepped out of Maiden and seeing what the world is like, the reality suddenly hit me that it's not such a bad thing. The reason I'm doing it is because I love it. Wow, what a revelation!