Bruce Dickinson - What Does This Button Do?

At the conclusion of his recent autobiography What Does This Button Do? Bruce Dickinson notes that upon penning said tome, he made an executive decision of “no births, marriages or divorces, of me or anybody else” when writing it.

It's an ethos that the Iron Maiden frontman also translated to this spoken word performance. Whether it was the first section of the two-hour show - a crash course in his multi-faceted, fascinating life story relayed more or less in chronological order - or the second stanza's audience-submitted Q&A, an upbeat, energetic vibe was largely maintained. Dickinson clearly felt no need to divulge certain facets of personal subject matters. 

Instead, the initial hour-plus featured the long-locked 60-year-old discussing schoolyard indiscretions (in reference to one school report noting “his tongue is always his undoing”, Dickinson quipped that he had "made a living from it”). Also covered were his early days with the British heavy metal hopefuls Samson, his two stints with the mega-selling Iron Maiden, photographic evidence of questionable stage trousers and moustaches sported throughout the years, playing a show in the midst of the Siege of Sarajevo, becoming a qualified pilot, beating cancer and far more in his characteristically vivid manner. A natural storyteller, his style proved engaging. While certain tales were familiar to those who had already read his autobiography, other amusing stories that didn't make the cut were welcomingly included. This afforded the show a fresh feel for all concerned.

Informative in parts, the Q&A component of the evening also provided its share of comedy too; sometimes irreverent in tone, at others trivial and just slightly ridiculous. Case in point – anyone who was in attendance now knows Dickinson's favourite types of cheese. Also exhibiting a command of the crowd, derived from decades of performing in the world's 'Enormodomes' and on festival stages, he was able to effectively interact and share a laugh with some attendees, while also having the experience and capability to silence incessant hecklers.

As punters left clutching their signed copies of What Does... (included in the ticket price) and material from Dickinson's oft-overlooked solo career aired, it was apparent that the English heavy metal mainstay/pilot/champion fencer/author/filmmaker/radio presenter/ale aficionado had just succeeded in yet another field. Perhaps punters didn't walk away ready to grab their passports and take on the world as if they had just seen a Henry Rollins show, but they certainly left highly entertained.