BRUCE DICKINSON On Smartphones: “You’re Surrendering Your Senses Completely To This Little Fascist In Your Hand”

Hey, did you know that Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson really hates it when you use your phone at a show? Dude really hates it – or at least enough to call it a “little fascist in your hand.” Which isn’t really incorrect, just an odd way of phrasing it. Speaking on the Appetite for Distortion podcast, Dickinson blasted the ever-present glow of smartphone screens in the crowd, arguing that they rob fans of the very experience they paid for.

“I wish the camera on those things had never been invented,” Dickinson said. “It’s like some terrible disease that people feel the need to look at the world through this stupid little device. It’s like a failure of humanity. You’re surrendering your senses completely to this little fascist in your hand.”

For Dickinson, concerts should be about connection and immersion, not documentation. He urged fans to put their phones away and rediscover what live music is all about: “Put it down, put it in your pocket, and look around you. Look at the people, look at the joy, look at the band, feel the emotion, feel the music. What a phone does, it cuts all of that off. And so I feel sad.”

Dickinson also made it clear that phones affect performers as much as fans: “I also feel pissed off, because as a performer, I want to perform for an audience of people that have some emotional feedback, not a bunch of Android twerps,” he added.

Iron Maiden recently requested fans “severely limit” their phone usage during their shows, which went about as well as you’d assume it would. Unless people are putting their phones in pouches prior to the show, you better believe some filming and photo-taking is gonna happen.

Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood recently took to the band’s website to thank everyone for coming out to the opening night’s of Iron Maiden‘s tour, but also took a moment to chastise fans for using their phones.

“Well, what a way of starting this monumental tour with a couple of sold-out nights In Budapest,” wrote Smallwood. “It was the perfect place to open this tour — a great venue, an incredible city, in fact, one of my favourites, and you very passionate Hungarian fans. And of course, not forgetting the travelling fans that came from far and very wide to experience the excitement of the big reveal! To see hundreds of fans and FC members in the aptly-named Heroes Square the day before the first show was fantastic as always.

“We were delighted to see the reaction and appreciation for the new production that has enabled everyone to experience these iconic songs in a way we’ve never been able to before. This was quite an operation to achieve but we will let you have more insight into that very soon. We also want to acknowledge the amazing welcome you gave Simon on his first shows with us. He felt your support from the start — and asks me to thank you all.

“A huge thank you to every one of you who kept your phones down, respected the band and your fellow fans, and embraced the show the way it’s meant to be experienced — in the room with us. That was a great boost for us and the band appreciated it greatly. It is so much better when they can see you unencumbered and that drives them on without that distraction. For the selfish few that didn’t and just had to keep videoing… I wish you nothing but a very sore arm!

“But they were few, and we do hope this support from fans, especially in the floor area in front of the sound desk, continues in Prague [on Saturday] and beyond. As I said before, by all means take the odd quick pic as a memento of a great night, but otherwise please keep your phone in your pocket.

“On we go now to the first huge outdoor show and another fantastic sold out crowd waiting for us. We’re starting to hit our stride already and it’s going to be some ride for these next couple of months. See you there.”

The Iron Maiden world tour thus far is as follows. Get your tickets here and put yer dang fern away!

5/27 Budapest, HU Budapest Aréna (w/ Halestorm)
5/28 Budapest, HU Budapest Aréna (w/ Halestorm)
5/31 Prague, CZ Letňany Airport (w/ Halestorm)
6/1 Bratislava, SK TIPOS Arena (w/ Halestorm)
6/5 Trondheim, NO Trondheim Rocks (Festival)
6/7 Stavanger, NO SR-Bank Arena (w/ Halestorm)
6/9 Copenhagen, DK Royal Arena (w/ Halestorm)
6/12 Stockholm, SE 3Arena (w/ Halestorm)
6/13 Stockholm, SE 3Arena (w/ Halestorm)
6/16 Helsinki, FI Olympic Stadium (w/ Halestorm)
6/19 Dessel, BE Graspop Metal Meeting
6/21 Birmingham, UK Utilita Arena (w/ The Raven Age)
6/22 Manchester, UK Co-op Live (w/ The Raven Age)
6/25 Dublin, IE Malahide Castle (w/ Halestorm & The Raven Age)
6/28 London, UK London Stadium (w/ Halestorm & The Raven Age)
6/30 Glasgow, UK OVO Hydro (w/ The Raven Age)
7/3 Belfort, FR Eurockéennes Festival
7/5 Madrid, ES Riyadh Air Metropolitano (w/ Avatar)
7/6 Lisbon, PT MEO Arena (w/ Avatar)
7/9 Zurich, CH Hallenstadion (w/ Avatar)
7/11 Gelsenkirchen, DE Veltins-Arena (w/ Avatar)
7/13 Padova, IT Stadio Euganeo (w/ Avatar)
7/15 Bremen, DE Bürgerweide (w/ Avatar)
7/17 Vienna, AT Ernst Happel Stadium (w/ Avatar)
7/19 Paris, FR Paris La Défense Arena (w/ Avatar)
7/20 Paris, FR Paris La Défense Arena (w/ Avatar)
7/23 Arnhem, NL GelreDome (w/ Avatar)
7/25 Frankfurt, DE Deutsche Bank Park (w/ Avatar)
7/26 Stuttgart, DE Cannstatter Wasen (w/ Avatar)
7/29 Berlin, DE Waldbühne (w/ Avatar)
7/30 Berlin, DE Waldbühne (w/ Avatar)