Bruce Dickinson is the instantly-recognisable frontman of heavy metal behemoths Iron Maiden. But there is so much more than a set of fine lungs to this hyperactive life-grabber, for whom it seems standing still is going backwards.

The man once dubbed 'The Air Raid Siren' has also enjoyed hugely successful parallel careers as a fiction author, world-class fencing competitor, history expert, radio and TV presenter, movie maker, commercial pilot, inspirational speaker and entrepreneur.

Since he re-joined Iron Maiden in 1999 they have continued to explore and develop, taking metal into ever more unchartered territories, as they blend a progressive outlook with a fearless approach that pushes at the very boundaries of the genre.

In 2015, the voice, and the life, of Iron Maiden's singer were placed in the cruellest jeopardy as he was diagnosed with a golf-ball sized cancerous tumour on his tongue. Undaunted, Dickinson set to his recovery with the energy of one for whom a night's sleep is an irritant amidst the serious – and sometimes silly – matter of wringing every last drop out of life. There could only ever be one winner.

Since his return to fitness, Iron Maiden have released an acclaimed sixteenth album, The Book of Souls, for which the singer changed hats between gigs, flying the band around the world as captain of Maiden's special airliner, Ed Force One.

This first biography of Bruce Dickinson tells his story through exclusive interviews with those who know him best, including first accounts by ex-members of Iron Maiden including fellow one-time vocalists Paul Di'Anno and Blaze Bayley. From his formative days straddling the upsurge of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, through his solo years and up to his present day legendary status, this is the ultimate rock 'n' roll story.

Joe Shooman