One of the criteria for
writing a good autobiography is that it helps if you have led an
interesting life, and Paul Bruce Dickinson has certainly done that.
Another is actually being able to write the bloody thing well enough
to make it fun to read, and blow me if he hasn't gone and done that
as well.
The book landed in my
lap with the satisfying thump of 350-odd pages, satisfyingly
unintimidating yet beefy enough to get stuck into on a cold
afternoon. Dickinson's mantra of 'No births, marriages or divorces'
is interesting, and he never divulges any of that information about
himself, or indeed anybody else, concentrating on much more
interesting stuff. For 'more interesting stuff' read 'school, Iron
Maiden, solo stuff, flying and cancer' – in that order. Existing
fans will likely be well aware of these five stages in his life, but
this doesn't make it any less interesting to finally get the truth
about, for example, exactly what he did to his headmaster's beans
that got him kicked out of public school.
Dickinson has always
come across as a man happy to speak both his mind and the truth, and
this comes across throughout the book, as does his continuing
amazement at a life that has given him opportunities and obstacles
that have all been grasped and embraced or despatched as appropriate.
The early days of Maiden are given suitably in depth treatment, and
as his career goes on he wisely scales back the Maiden stuff, such as
in depth album introspection, and wanders off into other interests
and experiences, most notable fencing, his solo career and, in the
latter part of the book, flying. The last section concerns his battle
with cancer, and it's brutally frank and often laugh out loud, as
Dickinson spares no faecal detail. It's like watching highlights of a
football match, in that I was cheering him on even though I knew what
the result would be.
'What Does This Button
Do' is a quite a read, and of course the perfect Christmas present
for any Iron Maiden fan. As with Bruce himself, though, there's so
much more to it than Iron Maiden, and I can honestly say that he is a
genuine role model and inspiration for his sheer determination to
attack life with determination, honesty and a sense of humour. Short
hair, no tattoos, no drugs (well, not these days), this is what rock
and roll is all about!
