In a candid exchange with Kerrang!, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson offered a glimpse into a moment he isn’t proud of from his performance days. Known for electrifying concerts, there’s one incident that stands out for Dickinson in a way he wishes it didn’t.
Regretful Remarks at a Greek Concert
Dickinson revealed what he now considers a misstep in his stage remarks. When confronting an unruly concert-goer he said,
“‘Who is that Greek cnt waving a flare?’ In Greece. There was a degree of sympathy from people in Greece who said, ‘He shouldn’t have said Greek cnt,’ and yeah, maybe not, but he probably was Greek. And he probably was a c*nt. But it really pissed me off.”
He explained what drove him to that point of frustration. Picture the scene: he’s set to deliver a performance, and suddenly there are bright, choking flares disturbing the space. Dickinson said,
“There I am, trying to sing, and there’s all these people waving these phosphorous naval distress flares, and nobody in the whole place can f*cking breathe. I find it really, deeply inconsiderate. But I shouldn’t have called him a Greek c**t because I wasn’t sure of his nationality. I lost my rag and I shouldn’t have done.”
So what exactly did happen at the Greece show? It unfolded in July 2022, during Iron Maiden’s set at the Olympic Stadium. As the band launched into ‘The Number of the Beast’, a flare ignited, setting off Dickinson. Worried about the smoke affecting his vocals, he lashed out,
“The cnt with the fcking flare, I’ve gotta sing up here. You fcking ccksucker. You Greek cnt. All right. I’ve gotta fcking sing. All right. F*ck you.”
This Wasn’t Just a One-time Tirade.
Earlier in February 2024, in a conversation with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, he revisited the incident. Dickinson shared his views on the selfishness of the act, saying,
“It’s about them drawing attention only to themselves and damaging the people around them who have this thing, this extremely toxic thing flying around. Of course, if you happen to be asthmatic, if you haven’t been having any lung conditions, ‘Oh, we don’t care about them. We’ll just fill the place with smoke, ’cause it makes me feel important,’ is their attitude. It just annoys the hell out of me. Anyway, yeah, I lost my temper. I shouldn’t have called him a Greek cnt; I should have just called him a cnt [Laughs].”
In the aftermath of the flare incident, Dickinson exited the stage, hoping the air would clear for him to sing unimpeded. However, upon returning, the disruption caused him to be out of sync with his bandmates. It’s a mishap that still seems fresh in his mind.
Fast forward to April 2024, and Dickinson again finds himself in a smoky situation. This time at a show in Brasília’s Opera Hall, he addressed the crowd over their smoking and suspected pepper spray use. He encouraged smokers to step outside and loudly disapproved of the alleged pepper spray incident. It later turned out that a vape pen malfunction rather than pepper spray caused the issue. Those affected were left with throat irritation, distinct from pepper spray effects. Thankfully, the episode didn’t have a direct impact on Dickinson or the band, except for causing discomfort to one member.