It was back in 1998 that Bruce Dickinson last graced a stage in Wolverhampton, with a gig at the adjacent Wulfrun Hall in support of The Chemical Wedding. But with his solo career having been reignited with the release of The Mandrake Project earlier this year, Bruce is now back on the road in-between commitments with his day job in Iron Maiden, who themselves are still on the road later this year with the continuing Future Past tour. With a show that encompassed much of the dramatic and theatrical science fiction and horror movie imagery of the lyrics, and backed by a fired up band, Bruce delivered a performance that had the audience completely on side from the moment he hit took the stage and they launched into ‘Accident of Birth’.

Promising to mix up the set list for those attending multiple shows on the tour, it was still something of a surprise when he introduced ‘Faith’ from 1996’s Skunkworks, a song that had not been played live since the corresponding tour that same year. The bulk of the set, however, was made up of songs from the aforementioned The Chemical Wedding and The Mandrake Project, from the dark and brooding ‘Afterglow of Ragnarok’ and the huge sound of ‘Resurrection Men’, to the epic pairing of ‘Book of Thel’ and ‘The Tower’ that provided a stunning finale to the show. With Bruce in fine voice throughout there was nevertheless time for him to take a breather mid-set during a fun cover of the Edgar Winter Group’s ‘Frankenstein’; not that he left the stage as many singers of his age might choose to do – instead Bruce opted to accompany the band on additional percussion and theremin. There was only to be one song included from 1994’s Balls to Picasso, the glorious ‘Tears of the Dragon’, which was arguably the nights show stopping moment with Bruce’s voice ringing out loud and clear and reaching every corner of the Civic.

Always a joy to watch on stage, this was Bruce at his most charismatic in front of a much smaller crowd than he has been playing to for the past twenty-odd years. He clearly still has the passion for his solo career, the quality of The Mandrake Project is proof enough of that, and here’s hoping he finds the time to juggle his two musical careers in the coming years and we can enjoy nights like this again in the near future.

Setlist:-

Accident of Birth
Abduction
Faith
Afterglow of Ragnarok
Chemical Wedding
Many Doors to Hell
Gates of Urizen
Resurrection Men
Rain on the Graves
Frankenstein
The Alchemist
Tears of the Dragon
Darkside of Aquarius

Navigate the Seas of the Sun
All the Young Dudes
Book of Thel
The Tower