It would be a sad world if Bruce Dickinson lost his iconic voice. Luckily, the Iron Maiden vocalist was able to take care of it after battling throat cancer but the thought did cross his mind. In a recent interview with Scandinavian talk show “Skavlan”, the frontman talks about using his voice as a tool for communication and how he would find a way to tell stories even if he lost his voice:
“Your voice is a muscle, like anything else, and as long as you don’t abuse it and you use it correctly, then it will last.
“I’m not a great believer that a voice is just about singing. A voice is a tool for communication.
“And as a singer, all you are, really, is a storyteller, and it just so happens that, obviously, with my voice I tell stories a particular way, but if you’re Leonard Cohen, you have a different voice and you still tell great stories.
“When I got diagnosed with throat cancer three years ago, the thought occurred to me I might not be able to sing again.
“Thankfully, that was not the case. But I did think about it, and I thought, ‘You know what? Even if my voice changed completely, it still doesn’t mean I can’t tell stories.’
“Maybe I’d have to tell them a different way. Maybe I couldn’t do them with Iron Maiden. But it still doesn’t stop you… If what you want to do is tell stories, then you find a way to do it.
“Talking is disaster for the voice. Because when you sing, all the muscles in the voice are used in completely the opposite way to when you talk.
“So I’m talking to you now and I’m using everything from here [points to his throat] down. Well, when I’m singing, I’m using everything from here up.
“So all it is is… Think of it like an organ pipe – basically, lots of rest, sleep, plenty of water, keep it hydrated. Don’t go out yelling in pubs after the show.”
Luckily for us Bruce still has his legendary voice and is still killing it live.
Check out the full interview below:
Back in October, Bruce released an autobiography What Does This Button Do? Make sure to grab a copy for a great read.
