One of the most influential Heavy Metal singers of all time, Bruce Dickinson was a crucial element for Iron Maiden to become one of the best-selling bands of all time. After joining the band in 1981, the musician fronted the band for the first time for more than a decade and they became one of the biggest bands in the world. Since his return in 1999, they have become even bigger and continue to tour around the world playing to millions of fans.
Over the decades he talked about many of his peers and praised artists that influenced him. One of them is the legendary American singer and songwriter Alice Cooper, with whom Dickinson had the chance to meet many times.
What is Bruce Dickinson’s opinion on Alice Cooper
Bruce Dickinson loves Alice Cooper and as he told Let It Rock in 2001, his first contact with Cooper’s music happened when he was only 16, in 1974. He was at a gas station when the hit “School’s Out” was played on the radio. He was instantly hooked. “I was pumping gas at a gas station, aged sixteen years old, when “School’s Out” came on the radio.”
“Alice was not so much in the singing stakes. (He was) more of just whole attitude thing at the time when you’re fifteen-sixteen years old. Alice is much a focused rebellion. He’s a fantastic cartoon character almost, if you like, and therefore he’s still successful today. My kid, eleven years old, loves Alice Cooper. (Laughs.) And Alice’s character – you see him in the Marylin Manson thing, and all the things related,” Bruce Dickinson said.
The Iron Maiden frontman even was a part of the Alice Cooper tribute album “Humanary Stew”. He covered on the album the track “Black Widow”, which also had Adrian Smith (Guitar), Bob Kulick (Guitar), Tony Franklin (Bass) and Tommy Aldridge (Drums). When asked by Let It Rock why he chose that track, Dickinson joked that it was the only one left.
“I think it was the only one left. Actually, it surprised me, because I didn’t know how it was going to sound. But I think it’s done OK in the end. And certainly people who bought the record seem to like my version. And there obviously Adrian was on the record. But everybody else, all things was put together by Bob Kulick. The backing tracks were already done,” Bruce Dickinson said.
Bruce Dickinson said that Alice Cooper was one of the storytellers who influenced him
Bruce said in an interview with Loudwire in 2024 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), while promoting his solo album “The Mandrake Project” that Alice Cooper was one of the storytellers who influenced him. He also said that one thing he loves about the American singer is that he praises Arthur Brown and recognizes he was influenced by him.
“Alice was (the full package when it comes to storytelling). What I love about Alice, obviously, apart from just being who he is, is that he is absolutely open about who set him on that path. (It is) Arthur Brown and he is like ‘Yeah, Arthur was doing this stuff before anybody was doing it. (…) Musical textures is one thing, storytelling with words is another thing. Hopefully you can get them so they all mesh together in a way that tickles your brain and your ears equally,” Bruce Dickinson said.
Alice Cooper said that Iron Maiden fans are voracious
Alice Cooper and Bruce Dickinson had the opportunity to hang out a lot with Alice Cooper when the American musician toured with Maiden in 2011 and 2012. In an interview with Fuse Festivals (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), Cooper talked about how much he loved Maiden fans. In one of those occasions he was even the one who introduced Alice Cooper on stage.
“We are all friends with those guys, of course. We did a lot of shows together last year (2011). They said we are going out on tour, do you wanna be our guest star on this? Then we said, ‘Sure, we’ll go out the first month’. It’s fun to be in front of an audience that it’s not used to us. I always like to put Alice where he hasn’t been or where he doesn’t belong.”
He continued:
“(…) The Iron Maiden fans are voracious. I mean, they are Iron Maiden all the way. We were in Europe with them and everybody who walked past had an Iron Maiden t-shirt on. Then there would be one kid with an Alice Cooper shirt on. They have the most loyal audience than anybody else. But they are a great audience, when we went out and played they recognized every song. They knew the whole Alice thing. It was very cool,” Alice Cooper said.
The band Alice Cooper was formed in 1968, seven years before Steve Harris founded Iron Maiden. By the time the British group released their self-titled debut album, Cooper already was a Rock star.
The original group had already disbanded and he continued with the name and image of Alice Cooper, becoming a solo act. In 1980, when Maiden released their debut record, Alice Cooper released “Flush The Fashion”, his ninth studio album, the fifth one as a solo artist.
