Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson sang at the event honoring Jon Lord, the late Deep Purple keyboardist. The performance took place on November 21 in Quebec City, Canada, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the album “Concerto For Group And Orchestra”.
Watch Bruce Dickinson singing in Jon Lord tribute show:
In addition to Dickinson, conductor Paul Mann, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra and Paul Deslauriers Band were invited to the event.
Bruce Dickinson talked about the invitation before the concert:
“They hired an orchestra and asked me if I wanted to sing. I said yes and they told me I would have to sing five songs. I asked if I could choose and they agreed. So these will be: ‘Hush’, ‘When a Blind Man Cries’, ‘Perfect Strangers’, obviously’ Smoke on the Water ‘and’ Pictures of Home ‘suggested to me because they have a great arrangement for the orchestra,” said the singer in an interview with the Argentinean newspaper Clarín.
In a note, Bruce Dickinson said he is honored by the invitation and that Deep Purple has always been a major influence on his music career. “Over the years, I’ve been lucky to become a good friend of the whole band, especially for my collaborations with Jon Lord. I’m still deciding what to play – so many songs to choose from!” Said the singer, who has attended events and recordings alongside Jon Lord – one of the most notable was the record of “Burn” alongside Glenn Hughes, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Rick Wakeman at an event that celebrated Lord’s memory in 2012.
In 2014 a concert held in the memory of ex-Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord, featuring performances from an assortment of Lord’s friends and bandmates was made and Bruce Dickinson already sang some Purple songs at the time.