Bruce Dickinson on BBC Radio 4 "Any Questions" (2nd November)

The only surprising thing here is how few of you realised that Bruce was right leaning --I thought this was pretty obvious & well known.

That aside, the idea that art is informed by the artist/individual (writer, painter, musician, etc) is patently obvious. If you don't know anything about said artist, fair enough. And if you like it that way, again, fair enough. It certainly doesn't stop your enjoyment of something, but it might prevent you fully understanding it. Again, this might not be that important, to some, in respect to music; because of what the medium is & your views on how it (music in this case) should be interpreted. Either way, "biography" is interesting & usually always influences previously held views, whether in a good way, or not.
 
Whilst being interviewed earlier this year by the BBC (I think it was Hard Talk) I believe Bruce described himself as a "Euro-skeptic conservative".
 
Aside from that interview: his upbringing --I just always assumed he was more conservative, than anything else. (There are some liberal views in there too.) Although, in saying that, it is easy to conflate Bruce's political views & other Maiden members (views), as he is (literally) the mouthpiece of the band.
 
Incidentally, I'm not saying Bruce specifically associates himself with today's (UK) Conservative Party --I'm not sure if the recent radio appearance or the Hard Talk interview really tells us this. (Bruce is possibly being quite literal with his use of "conservative".) I'm just saying he strikes me as a guy who holds conservative views.

Maiden's whole oeuvre, to me, is filled with ambivalent political, moral, & religious viewpoints --perhaps reflecting differences of opinion within the band itself. For example, Maiden have written plenty of songs about war. Some are quite historical & present a morally simplistic view of war. Some, like Afraid To Shoot Strangers, condemn war itself (blaming politicians), but still take a pro-soldier stance i.e. uphold & praise the honour of the common foot soldier. Many songs touch upon religion, but it's unclear (if we take Iron Maiden, the band, as holding some sort of unified, collective opinion) whether Maiden are pro-religion, or not. Anyway, I blab...
 
Mosh said:
Yes, because 30 years of great music means nothing when you have a controversial political opinion.

I can't stand when people base their respect of a musician on a political stance, especially when it isn't something the musician makes a huge deal about.
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Did you even read my comment ? I praised him for the musical sense. I only talked about my respect in his personality, which has nothing to do with being a musician.

For example I love Dave Mustaine as a musician. But I absolutely hate him for his personality, because well, he's a bigoted, stupid man with a huge ego. What he did with his music career doesn't interest me one bit if I'm judging his personality and views.

And also, I'm not the guy that "mixes politics with everything". I think politics IS everything. Politics is life, not just some middle aged dudes screaming at each other or some organization.
 
I always saw Bruce as moderate conservative (even before seeing the previously linked interview). Of course, as an American, I'm not totally certain on what the British definition of conservative is, but from my limited knowledge I can guess that it is a less right-leaning form of American conservatism. The reason why I imagined him to be moderate conservative is that generally left-leaning famous people tend to be more activist than moderately right leaning ones (naturally, the more radical right-wingers like Mustaine ARE quite activist). Of course, this could have just been Maiden trying to keep their political views out of it because they generally felt it would be a distraction, but I had always sort of assumed. Don't forget, though, Bruce has written somewhat political songs in the past (2 Minutes to Midnight, though that one is just a general anti-MAD song).

Forostar said:
He still has become a bit less believable to me when I think back of the past. E.g. if he's so anti-Europe then I'll take his Blood Brothers speech -talking about all these different nationalities and flags- with a grain of salt. Certainly, a concert hall where many people of different nationalities and religions are gathering, this would all be less easy if there was no European Union wouldn't it? "You are all welcome at our concerts, but for the rest ....".
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I assume anti-Europe means he opposes the European Union. This really does not mean that he does not, you know, believe in acceptance and interaction of different nationalities and religions. I, personally (remember that I'm an American, so I won't speak to the EU) oppose the UN, at least the way it currently is. I won't go into all my political views because they're far too controversial, but in foreign policy, I basically agree with this statement by one of the American founding fathers:

"...peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none..."
-Thomas Jefferson

This statement would imply an opposition to NGOs such as the EU or UN, but still a belief in friendship with other nations. We can basically see from this quote that Bruce's opposition to the EU should not be construed as dislike of friendly interaction with people of other nations, which is essentially what he references in his Blood Brothers speech.
 
As an American, I, too, am uncertain of what the difference is between American conservatism and British conservatism. I'd imagine ours is a lot more radical. I won't lose respect for Bruce as a person, though, because I believe that some conservative views are right (as well as some liberal views are right -- though I do lean more toward the left).

I'm also of the opinion that you can dislike someone as a person, but still love their music just the same. And I think that separation effort should be made if you are truly a fan of their music.

My favorite book was written by a member of the board of directors of the National Organization for Marriage, a group that seeks to prevent the legalization of same-sex marriage (fun fact: he also wrote the book SSOASS is based off of). It would be silly to enjoy the book less just because I massively disagree with him and hate how instrumental he is to strip away someone else's rights. However, when he wrote a secret service book that was completely and utterly slanted toward the right, it was near unreadable for me. When politics trickle into art, I think there's a fair argument to be made, but if the artist keeps art and politics separate, so should the fan, imo.
 
It depends how tolerant you are of other people's views, when they choose to express them. Personally, I just want to know those views are well informed; it doesn't really matter if I don't agree with them. Getting back to music, my own focus is very much music and not lyrics --therefore political views expressed in lyrics tend to wash over me. Still, it could be off putting if you strongly disagreed with the sentiments being expressed; so much so, that you might stop listening to that particular band/artist.
 
Like I said, it's different when the politics start seeping into the art, but otherwise, if you're truly a fan of the music, I don't get why you wouldn't make the effort to put aside personal differences.

Just my perspective, of course. I used to be one of those, y'know, "I can't like your music if I don't like you," people, but after awhile, you start to realize you'll never agree with everybody, and everyone's brain is wired differently. I'm more surprised when someone I'm a fan of shares my political ideologies than when (s)he doesn't. :p
 
425 said:
I assume anti-Europe means he opposes the European Union. This really does not mean that he does not, you know, believe in acceptance and interaction of different nationalities and religions. I, personally (remember that I'm an American, so I won't speak to the EU) oppose the UN, at least the way it currently is. I won't go into all my political views because they're far too controversial, but in foreign policy, I basically agree with this statement by one of the American founding fathers:

"...peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none..."
-Thomas Jefferson

This statement would imply an opposition to NGOs such as the EU or UN, but still a belief in friendship with other nations. We can basically see from this quote that Bruce's opposition to the EU should not be construed as dislike of friendly interaction with people of other nations, which is essentially what he references in his Blood Brothers speech.
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I get that but what is international friendship worth if laws are not very helpful and if political relations are not that excellent?

The EU is also about rules. Laws and rights. There's probably lots of rules he doesn't like but there are also lots of them that are very helpful to people. E.g., of all people, international artists and people in the air flight business can realize that the EU makes it easier for people of different nationalities to travel and stay in other countries.
 
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