Bruce Dickinson explains why self-belief is crucial for musicians

The singer Bruce Dickinson first gained notoriety as the frontman of Samson in the late 70s but it was after joining Iron Maiden and recording with them “Number of The Beast” (1982) that he really achieved global fame. In the following years the band got bigger and bigger, releasing many praised albums, Dickinson left them in the 90s beginning an also praised solo career. Part of the band again for more than 20 years already, he talked in an interview with Musicians Institute about how important it is to have self-belief.

Bruce Dickinson explains why self-belief is crucial for musicians

“One of the most important things is self-belief. And you can’t teach that. That’s character. And self-belief is so important. I’ve played with people who have been astonishing musicians but were forever doomed to be playing in their bedroom because they had no self-belief, because they did not go out there and put themselves out there and perform so the people notice them.”

“I mean, it’s like if you’re the greatest guitar player in the world and you sit in the middle of a tent in the Sahara Desert, you are never gonna make it. Sorry. The universe is not fair like that, because you’ll need it, because you’ll get knocked over, knocked down, and other musicians will try and put you down as well because they’re all trying to step on top of you to do X, Y, Z. And try not to just go down the rabbit hole of a particular type of music, even if you love that particular type of music.”

He continued:

“There’s an irony. Yes, you need self-belief, but if you make the performance all about yourself, people will walk away, because nobody’s that interesting. Nobody’s that interesting. What you need to do is have the self-belief to use whatever talent it is you have to tell a story, to say something, to have some feeling inside that you can express that’s real and authentic, and then people will listen because it resonates with them.”

“So yes, you need the self-belief, but we don’t need to hear all about you. It’s like a game of tennis. I mean, when you’re performing live, it is like a game of emotional tennis, ’cause you knock it out there and they knock it back and you go, ‘Hey, let’s recirculate that’ — boom. And then you chuck it out again and you gradually warm up the pot. That’s why concerts are always better at the end than they are at the beginning. (Laughs),” he said (Transcribed by Blabbermouth).

Dickinson is currently working on his upcoming studio album, which will be the follow-up of “The Mandrake Project”, released in 2024. He will be on the road in 2025 as a solo artist and also fronting Iron Maiden, since the band will celebrate their 50th anniversary with a global tour this year.