Paul Bruce Dickinson was born on August 7th, 1958, in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. He joined IRON MAIDEN in 1981 after fronting SAMSON, and his arrival on "The Number of the Beast" the following year transformed the band from NWOBHM contenders into the biggest heavy metal act in the world. His operatic, air-raid-siren delivery gave Steve Harris's galloping compositions the theatrical scale they needed, and songs like "Run to the Hills," "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "Aces High" became the genre's common language. Dickinson left in 1993 for a solo career and returned in 1999. Beyond music he is a qualified airline captain who has flown the band's own aircraft on tour, an international-level fencer, an author and a brewer. He survived tongue cancer in 2015 and returned to the stage the following year.
