IRON MAIDEN Frontman Finalizes Touring Line-Up For Summer Appearances

IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson will utilize a touring band composed of former SKUNKWORKS bandmate/guitarist Al Dickson, ex-THE ALMIGHTY/ALICE COOPER guitarist Pete Friesen, SACK TRICK bassist Chris Dale, and SACK TRICK drummer Robin Guy during his upcoming European summer festival appearances, according to a recent interview with the singer posted at The Bruce Dickinson And Then Some Page.

Along came these three [festival offers from] Sweden Rock, Wacken and Bang Your Head, and I was astounded they wanted me to do headlining stuff and they were one month apart, the singer stated. I said it kind of sounds like good fun and I sat down and realize that I'd just been hanging out with this band SACK TRICK. I've seen a couple of their shows, and they got this awesome rock drummer. And I'd been hanging out with Al Dickson the week before as well, so I called them up and said, 'Look, guys I've got three festivals to do. It would not be SKUNKWORKS, as such. We'd be doing material from across the spectrum of my solo stuff. Would you be interested since you know half of it anyway?' They all came back, 'Yea'. I said, 'This is not going to be an alternative type thing', like SKUNKWORKS was. We're going to do a fairly rocky/metally type set, which Al Dickson can easily play standing on his head. In fact, he said 'Yeah'. The other guy we've been playing guitar with is a guy called Pete Friesen, who was ALICE COOPER's guitarist and was in THE ALMIGHTY. I know Pete Friesen and he's a great guitar player and a great guy, as well. So I said, 'We'd have two guitarist, bass and drums'. I said, 'OK, we can just rehearse on our spare time and well show up and the promoters are paying for the equipment. So this sounds like a great day out. And that's all it is.

On why usual collaborator Roy Z is not involved with the gigs:
It becomes a question of gathering people up from the ends of the earth and then it becomes a huge production and that's not what I want to do. Plus the fact that the gigs are actually spaced a month apart. Suddenly I'd have to fill in the dots and then all of a sudden I'd be touring all the way through the summer and that's not what I want to do.

I'm not sure how Roy feels about coming over doing one gig then going back to America, coming over doing one gig and going back to America. It's a bit pointless. And what I like about working with the SACK TRICK guys is I'm working with a band. I've always tried to have a band that is like a real band. And if you put people into a situation where they don't know the guys then stuff can get weird. So I like to keep it a nice tight little unit. SACK TRICK guys are brilliant. They've got great morale they're really fun guys to be with it's really simple and it doesn't preclude me, at some future date, putting together a complete band with Dickie and Roy and going out and touring the flesh pots of the western world.