It's hard to imagine a man like Bruce Dickinson getting starstruck, but that's exactly what happened when the Iron Maiden legend found himself face to face with none other than the Man In Black, Johnny Cash.
As recounted during his spoken-word show on Friday, Jan 13 in Bergen, Norway, the heavy metal icon found himself totally dumbfounded when country legend Cash actually ended up asking him for his autograph. As it happens, one of Cash's daughters was a huge Iron Maiden fan, and the singer-songwriter was seemingly earning some serious dad points.
"He's one of my heroes," Dickinson explains to a packed-out crowd, as seen in newly posted footage. "You wouldn't expect it, I suppose, [because] he's a country and western singer and everything, but he's an absolute legend. So there we are, right, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto...we're doing a soundcheck, sort of, like mid-80s. In the back of the arena are these old guys. We're like, 'Who are those old guys over there?'"
As Dickinson reveals, one of said "old guys" was none other than one of the single most famous and influential country artists of all time.
"I'm just getting ready to leave," he adds, "when this giant, wearing thigh-high leather boots, a leather coat and this stetson hat, walks up and goes, 'Hi, my name's Johnny Cash.' And I'm just like...'I know!'"
After jokingly pointing to the height difference between the two legendary singers, Dickinson reveals that Cash was, in fact, after something from him.
"I'm looking at him going, 'Hi...yeah...yeah...wow...yeah...I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die...yeah!' And he said, 'Hey, uh, listen. I'm real embarrassed about this...you couldn't sign this for my daughter? She's a big fan.'"
Dickinson feigns intense embarrassment at the memory, before adding: "Sometimes, when you meet your heroes, it's a wonderful experience."
Watch Maiden's frontman entertain the crowd with the amusing anecdote below. Bruce Dickinson's spoken word tour continues through Europe this month, while Iron Maiden bring their epic-looking The Future Past tour through Europe and the UK this summer.
