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Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson may not always be in the driver's seat with his band.
But in their new DVD, he's definitely in the captain's chair.
Flight 666: The Film chronicles the British heavy metal icons' Somewhere Back in Time World Tour of 2008, which saw them globetrotting in their own customized 757 Ed Force One -- with licenced commercial charter pilot Dickinson at the controls.
Directed by Canadian documentarians Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen (Metal: A Headbangers Journey and Global Metal), the award-winning 113-minute film is Maiden's umpteenth live video release, but the first one that spends as much time with the band offstage as onstage.
As the DVD landed in stores Tuesday, the 50-year-old Dickinson called us up from London for an exclusive Canadian print interview.
Here's some of what he had to say about piloting a jet, fronting Maiden -- and getting it from both ends.
You're raising the bar here -- plenty of musicians drive the van and a few drive the bus, but you don't see anybody else flying the plane.
(Laughs). Well, it is a bus, really. It is the world's biggest bus.
Flying every day and playing every night seems like a heck of a schedule.
Well, it would be if I did that. The documentary might give that impression, but that's just something people have read into it. If we did an aviation documentary, you'd see how it actually works. I'm not allowed to fly after doing a show -- I have to wait 12 hours. That's a regulatory issue. So when you see me flying, we've had a rest day after the show and then left the next day. And at all times on the airplane, we had three pilots as an insurance policy against one getting sick. In fact, one did get food poisoning and I had to take over. If they'd shown that, you'd have seen me flying in shorts and a T-shirt.
Speaking of clothing, I found it curious that you're always wearing a pilot's uniform when you're flying. Why? Couldn't you wear whatever you want when you're chartering the plane?
Well, we were chartering the plane, sure. But I also work for the airline.
Wait, you were chartering the flight AND working for the airline? So you were getting paid to fly yourself on tour?
I guess I probably was! Hey, that's not bad, is it? (Laughs)
You're getting it from both ends.
And if you can get it from both ends, you should! (Laughs)
Are there similarities between being a pilot and being a rock singer?
Well, the image of the pilot is somebody who is always in control. And the image of a rock star is somebody who is always out of control. The truth is, as a pilot, you're not as in control as some people think. You're constantly managing risk. Doesn't mean the airplane's not safe; but the amount of control you have over nature is not absolute. Now flip to your rock-star head and you're running around on stage salivating like a maniac, yelling, screaming, snarling. But in fact, the show is quite tightly controlled. If it weren't disciplined, the band would fall apart. So the appearances are different. But under the surface, they're not so different. A pilot has to be aware of his environment and all the things that might affect the airplane. As a singer, you're juggling the audience's emotions and you've got to be aware of all the things that might affect that evening's proceedings.
Tell me about working with Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen. How did you pick them?
They kind of picked us, really. When we met them, we were a little suspicious at first. We're always suspicious of people with cameras. We've trusted people in the past who have been rather vile. Our worry was that we were going to end up with (Metallica's) Some Kind of Monster. Which is not us, but I know how the cutting room works. But then we got to trust them. And what they came up with was great. It wasn't a live performance; it wasn't about big egos; it wasn't blowing smoke up everybody's ass; it was about the fans. The audience are the stars of this documentary. They just did a fantastic job. They got under all of our skins without getting on our nerves.
You've got so many oars in the water -- singing, flying, fencing, writing, hosting TV programs. How do you juggle all those balls?
I just do loads of interviews. It makes it so easy; I don't have to do any of that. I just talk about it.
If you had to only do one thing, which would it be?
I'd have to sing. You can train people to fly. But there must be something to what I do that's special to a lot of people. And you have to go with the thing that's the most special.
When you're flying the plane, do the other guys in the band treat you with more respect?
Well, I'm the pilot. They try not to upset me.