In a recent podcast interview with Rich Roll, Bruce Dickinson opened up about his life, career, and various side ventures. During the conversation, the singer shared stories about learning to fly, piloting his band around the world, and even recounting the time he was smuggled into Sarajevo to perform during the war.
The host discussed Dickinson’s skills other than singing and the theories about whether or not the rocker uses Iron Maiden as a cover for his ‘spy’ identity.
“The idea that you would have made for this optimal fighter pilot… in an alternate reality, or a parallel universe, or in some kind of sliding doors situation, are you not like a Special Forces operator? There is a sort of James Bond-ian thing around you with all of these different interests, fencing, flying these missions and you’re on these stages and traveling the world and all of that is… the ultimate undercover,” Roll said.
Director Sacha Gervasi added, “My personal theory is that Bruce is playing the role of Iron Maiden lead singer but he works for MI5 or MI6. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Singer. Bruce is trying to distract us from the fact that he’s one of British intelligences leading assets, this whole Iron Maiden singer, he’s really studying nuclear facilities on these trips, he’s doing aerial reconnaissance.”
Dickinson neither confirmed nor denied the spy rumors. However, he played along with the joke and suggested he was working for ZOWIE, [Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage], the secretive agency from the 1960s action film ‘Our Man Flint.’
Dickinson earned his commercial pilot’s license in the 1990s after learning to fly. In 2012, he started Cardiff Aviation, an aircraft maintenance company. It was later renamed Caerdav.
Dickinson and Gervasi are co-writing a film based on Dickinson’s Sarajevo experiences, expanding on the 2016 documentary ‘Scream for Me Sarajevo.’ The project is being produced by Gervasi’s production company, Portobello Electric.