“We were bringing in all kinds of influences that other people in metal were scared of”: Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson re-releases his debut solo album – and his most controversial one

Bruce Dickinson leaning against an aircraft in 1996 — (Image credit: Mick Hutson/Redferns)

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson has reissued two of his solo albums, 1990 debut Tattooed Millionaire and controversial 1996 effort Skunkworks.

The two albums have been re-released in Dolby Atmos – used for high-quality, surround-sound listening – and are available on streaming services as of today (February 19). The new mixes have been handled by Brendan Duffey, who mixed the Dolby Atmos version of Dickinson’s latest solo album, 2024’s The Mandrake Project, and is reportedly involved with the singer’s next solo effort, expected to drop in 2027.

Dickinson launched his solo career in 1989, when he recorded the song Bring Your Daughter… To The Slaughter to appear on the soundtrack for A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. The single, which was made in collaboration with future Maiden guitarist Janick Gers and was re-recorded by the band in 1990, led to him making Tattooed Millionaire during downtime after the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son tour.

Dickinson comments today: “Tattooed Millionaire was kinda the solo album that wasn’t. We had two weeks to write it so myself and Janick Gers just had fun and wrote it round his house. Chris Tsangarides did a great job on the production and now with modern technology we can beef it all up and make it BIG in Atmos world! The album sonically sounds really good.”

Dickinson left Maiden in 1993 to more fully dedicate himself to his solo career, and he released his alt-rock-inclined second effort Balls To Picasso in 1994. The singer recently reissued the record with the title More Balls To Picasso, with a new mix intended to make the songs sound heavier.

Skunkworks followed Picasso in 1996, produced by Nirvana collaborator Jack Endino. The clear grunge influence made the album a controversial entry in Dickinson’s oeuvre, and it became the lowest-charting entry of the singer’s career at that point, only making it to number 41 in the UK, where Tattooed… and Picasso charted at 14 and 21 respectively.

Despite the mixed reception, Dickinson says today that Skunkworks is “a record of which I’m immensely proud”. He also promises that Atmos remix will “blow your socks off”.

“In fact, as the years go by I grow more and more proud of everything that happened on that record,” he adds. “In many ways, it was a bit advanced for its time because we were bringing in all kinds of influences that other people in metal were scared of. It’s very emotional and quite dark in places.”

Dickinson (who rejoined Maiden in ’99) is currently in the studio recording his next solo album, his eighth overall. Last month, it was revealed that Andreas Kisser and Derrick Green, guitarist and singer in celebrated Brazilian extreme metal band Sepultura, have been involved in the process, and that the album is being tracked in Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in California. The songs are being recorded live by Dickinson’s solo band members.

In the spring, Dickinson will return to the road with Maiden. The second European leg of the band’s 50th-anniversary tour will kick off in May and wrap up with a two-day festival, Eddfest, at Knebworth House in Stevenage, UK on July 10 and 11. A North, Central and South American run is in place for the autumn.

Maiden are also working on a feature-length documentary. The film is being produced by Universal and will be released theatrically later this year.

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Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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