Bruce Dickinson Had Considered A Substitute At Iron Maiden For The Future Of The Band

Iron Maiden Vocalist Bruce Dickinson (Instagram @brucedickinsohq)

JAKARTA - Iron Maiden's lead vocalist, Bruce Dickinson admitted that he had thought about looking for a replacement for the band. The thought came after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2014.

At that time, Dickinson felt that it would be time for him not to be able to sing for Iron Maiden. The reason is, there is a tumor the size of a golf ball in his tongue and another tumor in the lymph node on the right side of his neck.

"When I have cancer, the last thing on my mind is, will I sing again? The first thing on my mind is, will I get through this and stay alive? And the last thing on my mind is whether I will sing again? And I thought, 'Okay, we'll get to that stage when I'm done and we're starting to try singing.'," said Bruce Dickinson while appearing on the Rich Roll podcast recently.

"And I'm pretty ready to accept that I may not be able to sing with Iron Maiden anymore. I might be able to sing, I might be able to speak up, I might be able to sing in a different way, but if I can't sing the way I should be with Iron Maiden, I'll help them find a great replacement."

Fortunately, the thought never came true, at least until now. Dickinson was declared cured in May 2015, after undergoing 33 radiation sessions and nine weeks of chemotherapy.

The 66-year-old vocalist also spoke of Iron Maiden's passionate journey, even after five decades.

"And one of the reasons, I think, this band survives is because we have been growing together for years as humans. At the same time, music is always considered sacred," Dickinson said.

"I spoke to a fan the other day, and they said, 'Wow, great, you guys are all still together.' I said, yes, we are all still together because we are great and the music is still good.