Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has been made an honorary RAF Group Captain.
The vocalist, pilot and keen fencer was enrolled in the Royal Air Force’s 601 Squadron earlier this week, according to Forces Network, who say the move came after the vocalist reached out to the UK military force’s fencing union last month about the possibility of representing them in the sport.
He could now take part in the RAF Championships which will take place on May 16/17.
Dickinson began fencing while he was at school and competed in tournaments until the age of 23. He reached the rank of no.7 in the UK.
In 2013, he faced off against Olympic silver medalist Bartosz Piasecki, with Dickinson telling Fencing.net: “I fence because I enjoy it, and the by-product is that I end up getting in reasonably good shape.
“Actually, fencing is very similar to the way I run around on stage. Or maybe I run around on stage like that because I fence. Either way it works for me.”
Dickinson and his Iron Maiden bandmates will return to the road in May for the next leg of The Legacy Of The Beast tour.
They'll kick off with dates in Australia and Japan and will then return to Europe in the summer – a run that includes a headline set at the UK’s Download festival.
Iron Maiden: The Legacy Of The Beast 2020 tour
May 01: Perth RAC Arena, Australia
May 03: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Australia
May 05: BrisbanecEntertainment Centre, Australia
May 07: Sydney Qudos Bank Arena, Australia
May 11: Melbourne Rod Laver Arena, Australia
May 19: Tokyo Ticket Pia Arena, Tokyo, Japan
May 20: Tokyo Ticket Pia Arena, Tokyo, Japan
May 22: Osaka Venue TBA, Japan
Jun 09: Bremen Buergerweide, Germany
Jun 10: Cologne Rehein-Energie-Stadium, Germany
Jun 13: Download Festival, UK
Jun 18: Dessel Graspop Festival, Belgium
Jun 20: Copenhagen Copenhell, Denmark
Jun 23: Berlin Waldbuehne, Germany
Jun 25: Oslo Tons of Rock Festival, Norway
Jun 27: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, Sweden
Jun 30: St Petersburg Ice Palace, Russia
Jul 02: Moscow VTB Arena, Russia
Jul 11: Paris La Defense, France
Jul 18: Stuttgart Mercedes-Benz Arena, Germany
Jul 23: Lisbon Estadio Nacional, Portugal
Jul 25: Barcelona Olympic Stadium, Spain
