Iron Maiden’s lead singer has revealed he underwent hip replacement surgery last year. Dickinson explained to Download Festival host Kylie Olsson he now has ‘five and a half inches of titanium hammered into [his] leg’, describing the last Iron Maiden tour as ‘really quite painful’. The cause of the hip replacement is non-other than his long-lasting career: ‘Cause I run around onstage and jump, and [after] 40 years of fencing left-handed, it was just worn out’ he explains. You can watch the full interview below.
‘I put it down to the fact that during the last tour, just shortly before the last tour, I also broke my Achilles as well — my Achilles tendon snapped… It’s horrible. That was two years ago, basically. So I got that stitched back together and went out on tour three and a half months later. I couldn’t actually walk properly or run. So I modified what I did on stage, and nobody figured it out. I was amazed’ he stated.
Shortly after that, he was diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the hip: ‘I was getting addicted to Ibuprofen and all the rest of it, and it pissed me off so much. I was just, like, ‘Look, it’s not gonna get any better, is it?’ And he went, ‘No.’ So I said, ‘It’s October. When the safety car comes out, Hamilton goes in for fresh tires. So let’s do it now in October, because I might have a tour next year.’ Little did I know. But being an eternal optimist, it was the best thing I’ve done.’
Now, with his brand new hip, he feels rejuvenated: ‘So now, with my new hip, I’m back to fencing again. It’s absolutely incredible. I’ve been doing physio and doing weights that I haven’t done since I was 16 or 17 years old. I’m squatting a hundred kilos. It’s mental what your body can do.’ Hence, Dickinson is ready to undertake his spoken word UK tour, starting in Brighton on August 1st.
