Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson to meet veterans and service personnel on Armed Forces Day
He'll take a day off from the Run For Your Lives World Tour
Last updated 18 hours ago
Bruce Dickinson will take a break from Iron Maiden’s Run for Your Lives World Tour later this month to meet service personnel, their families and veterans on Armed Forces Day.
The national celebrations for Armed Forces Day are this year held at Aldershot and Farnborough on Saturday 27th June 2026.
After Iron Maiden’s show at Oslo Ekebergsletta, retired airline pilot Bruce Dickinson will come back to the UK to show his support to the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community.
Speaking ahead of the event, Bruce said the UK’s Armed Forces community deserve “every ounce of our appreciation”.
Announcing Bruce’s appearance, the RAF association said: “Rock legend Bruce Dickinson is swapping the stage for the skies (again!) as he pauses Iron Maiden’s world tour to join Armed Forces Day on 27 June.
“An honorary RAF officer, Bruce will meet service personnel, veterans and families at a day packed with flypasts, parachute displays, parades and live military music.
“Beyond the music, his military ties run deep — from Army Cadet to Army Reservist, to RAF honorary Group Captain and even piloting a Boeing 747 bringing RAF personnel home from Afghanistan.”
Keen aviator Bruce Dickinson is also the chairman of aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul company Caerdav based in St Athan, South Wales.
Truly multi-talented, alongside being a metal legend and qualified pilot, Bruce is an entrepreneur, competitive fencer, brewmaster, author, broadcaster and award-nominated speaker.
Iron Maiden's two-day EddFest festival takes place on the hallowed grounds of Knebworth on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th July.
Iron Maiden headline the Saturday night with a blockbuster full-day bill of The Darkness, The HU, Airbourne and The Almighty.
Hosted by Planet Rock's Paul Anthony, the Maidenville Stage on the Friday features performances from former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley, Stray, Maiden United, Airforce, Tony Moore’s Awake, Hair Metal Glamageddon and Steve Harris’ first band Gypsy’s Kiss.
Tickets to EddFest are on sale from Planet Rock Tickets now.
The 20 greatest Iron Maiden songs, as voted by Planet Rock listeners:
20 – ‘Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter’ (1990)
Originally written and recorded by Bruce Dickinson for the soundtrack to A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Steve Harris was such a fan of 'Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter' that Iron Maiden re-recorded it for their eighth album 'No Prayer for the Dying'. 'Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter' is Iron Maiden's only UK Number 1 single of their glorious five-decade career, reaching the chart summit in early 1991 despite minimal airplay.
19 – ‘Revelations’ (1983)
Penned by Bruce Dickinson for Iron Maiden's seminal 'Piece of Mind' album, 'Revelations' is a killer tune coupled with highly cryptic and thought-provoking lyrics inspired by the philosophy of Aleister Crowley.
18 – ‘Wrathchild’ (1981)
Powered by Steve Harris' driving bassline and Paul Di'Anno's spitting vocals, 'Killers' classic 'Wrathchild' is about an angry young man who is seemingly out to exact revenge on his absent father.
17 – ‘Paschendale’ (2003)
The only track from the noughties to make our countdown, the Adrian Smith and Steve Harris penned 'Paschendale' recounts the horrors of the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the major battles of World War I. The shifting tempo of the song directly reflects the intense fighting and periods of anticipation during battle.
16 – ‘Flight of Icarus’ (1983)
Iron Maiden's first single to be released without any Steven Harris songwriting input, 'Flight of Icarus' was penned by Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson and it's inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Icarus. After a long 32 years, Iron Maiden revived 'Flight of Icarus' on the setlist for their Legacy of the Beast World Tour.
15 – ‘Powerslave’ (1984)
The title track of Iron Maiden's tour-de-force album 'Powerslave' is a chugging heavy metal behemoth written by Bruce Dickinson from the perspective of an arrogant Pharoah in his dying hours.
14 – ‘Can I Play with Madness’ (1988)
Written by Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith, and Steve Harris, 'Can I Play with Madness' is an instantly catchy Iron Maiden gem that charted at Number 3 in the UK. The song is about a young man who is losing his mind and seeks help the old prophet to help him cope with his visions/nightmares. When he shuns the advice, the two become infuriated with each other.
13 – ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ (1986)
Despite Iron Maiden having a rich history of book-themed songs, 'Stranger in a Strange Land' has no connection to Robert A. Heinlein's novel by the same name. The song is about the discovery of an Arctic explorer's body after a century of being entombed in ice.
12 – ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’ (1988)
The title track of Iron Maiden's seventh album 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son' is a musically ambitious progressive metal opus. Like the concept album itself, the near 10-minute song 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son' is inspired by Alvin Maker, the seventh son of a seventh son in Orson Scott Card's science fiction novels.
11 – ‘Running Free’ (1980)
Iron Maiden's debut single 'Running Free' is still a firm fan favourite some 45 years after its release. Written by Steve Harris and Paul Di'Anno, the punk metal anthem is about running wild and free and was inspired by Harris' teenage years. The single cover introduced Iron Maiden's beloved mascot Eddie to the world for the very first time.
10 – ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ (1984)
'2 Minutes to Midnight' is a lyrically potent protest song against nuclear war. It criticises how war fuels the economy, takes aim at the fat cat politicians who profit from it, and ultimately laments how the world is a poorer place in the wake of unfettered carnage.
9 - ‘Aces High’ (1984)
Steve Harris wrote the 'Aces High' lyrics from the viewpoint of a British RAF pilot fighting during the Battle of Britain in his Spitfire plane. The frenetic pace of the song mirrors the bedlam and chaos of battle.
8 – ‘Wasted Years’ (1986)
Arguably the most commercial song in Iron Maiden's distinguished back catalogue, the Adrian Smith penned anthem 'Wasted Years' is about homesickness, alienation and the fleeting nature of time.
7 – ‘Run to the Hills’ (1982)
Keen history buff Steve Harris wrote 'Run to the Hills' about the conflict between Native Americans and the invading European settlers. It begins from the perspective of the Native Americans, as typified by the opening line "White man came across the sea / He brought us pain and misery" before it shifts to the viewpoint of the Europeans.
666 – ‘The Number of the Beast’ (1982)
Partially inspired by a nightmare Steve Harris suffered after watching the movie Damien: Omen II late at night, the infamous Iron Maiden masterpiece 'The Number of the Beast' explores infernal themes. Brilliantly, the song provoked huge outrage amongst Christian groups in America, which only boosted its popularity.
5 – ‘Fear of the Dark’ (1992)
In keeping with the title, Steve Harris wrote 'Fear of the Dark' about a man who is consumed with paranoia and terror during the night. Bruce Dickinson has joked that the song is autobiographical, and Steve has nyctophobia.
4 – ‘Phantom of the Opera’ (1980)
A few years before Andrew Lloyd Webber brought his blockbuster Phantom of the Opera musical to London's West End, Iron Maiden unleashed their own interpretation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel on their self-titled debut album. Written by Steve Harris, the seven-minute epic sees Maiden traverse proggy musical realms as Paul Di'Anno spouts lyrics about the deformed conjurer Erik, aka The Phantom of the Opera.
3 – ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ (1984)
Clocking in at a whopping 13 minutes and 45 seconds, 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' is Iron Maiden's second longest song ever behind 'Empire of the Clouds.' A musical retelling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's sprawling 1798 poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the song's vast length seems particularly apt given the subject matter.
2 – ‘The Trooper’ (1983)
Widely and rightfully regarded as one of the all-time classics of the heavy metal genre, Iron Maiden's enduring anthem 'The Trooper' was inspired by Lord Alfred Tennyson's 1854 poem The Charge of the Light Brigade. The narrative poem was published just six weeks after the failed military action dubbed the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.
1 – ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ (1982)
The Greatest Iron Maiden Song of All Time as voted by Planet Rock listeners is the heavy metal opus 'Hallowed Be Thy Name'. The third most-performed song live by Iron Maiden (behind 'Iron Maiden' and 'The Number of the Beast'), 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' features some of Steve Harris' finest and most philosophical lyrics, about a prisoner about to be hung in the gallows. A worthy winner.