Bruce Dickinson, singer of Iron Maiden, appeared almost incognito among the participants of a popular fencing tournament in Faches-Thumesnil, a suburb of Lille.
The Iron Maiden was invited to Faches-Thumesnil last weekend. South of the metropolis of Lille, the town organized, as every year, its veteran European fencing tournament this Sunday, January 19. Among the participants in this European circuit was a certain Bruce Dickinson, who is none other than the singer of the legendary British heavy metal group Iron Maiden.
The vocalist with multiple hats Bruce Dickinson, also being an airline pilot, has been a fencing enthusiast for around fifty years.
As Denis Cassoret, president of the Faches-Thumesnil fencing club, explained to France 3 Hauts-de-France, who has known the singer for almost 40 years.
“I’ve been wanting to bring him for years, I sent him the vintage photo, he liked it and he accepted! As he’s on tour nine months a year, it wasn’t easy to organize “, told the president of the club, to France 3 Hauts-de-France.
-50 years of existence, and more than 130 million albums sold
During the event, Bruce Dickinson crossed swords with other European fencers to ultimately rise to 13th place in the tournament. The arrival of the singer from the group with 130 million albums sold notably mobilized the local municipal police teams, to ensure that no excesses occurred in the face of a possible influx of curious people.
This year, the pioneer group of the new wave of heavy metal is celebrating its 50th anniversary during an exceptional tour including two dates at La Défense Arena, Saturday July 19 and Sunday July 20, as well as a date at the Eurockéennes from Belfort on Thursday July 3.
A tour which will take place without their iconic drummer Nicko McBrain, who recently announced that he is withdrawing from Iron Maiden concerts, but which will see fencer-singer Bruce Dickinson galloping on stage.
Alexis Lalemant Journalist
