In 1994, having left Iron Maiden for a time (he rejoined in 1999), Bruce Dickinson released his second solo album, entitled Balls To Picasso. Named in honour of the cubist pioneer whose representations of spherical objects were as squares, and reflected on the cover in graffiti style on a tiled bathroom wall, the album belied its irreverent title by solidifying Dickinson’s reputation as a serious solo artist.
His first record with collaborator Roy Z, and recorded with Z’s band Tribe Of Gypsies, it went through various iterations before its release, produced by Shay Baby. The original album included a number of classic tracks and live favourites from Dickinson including the singles ‘Tears Of The Dragon’ and ‘Shoot All The Clowns’, alongside the much-loved epic ‘Laughing In The Hiding Bush’, which was the original title for the album.
Dickinson says of it, “While mixing all my catalogue into Dolby Atmos I had a nagging desire to revisit and reinvent the record. So putting more balls into ‘Balls…’ was a labour of love. Of course, we beefed up the guitars – courtesy of our ‘Swedish shredder’ Philip Naslund and we added some really beautiful work by Adassi Addasi on ‘Tears…’ as well. Fellow Brazilian composer Antonio Teoli added some stunning orchestral arrangements, and in a unique contribution, added indigenous instruments from the Amazon (recorded by himself when he lived there!) at the beginning of ‘Gods Of War’.
“‘Shoot All The Clowns’ gets the benefit of a horn section fronted by the Berklee College of Music, and all of the record gets the benefit of the mix by Brendan Duffey, (who worked on The Mandrake Project), with notes along the way from Shay Baby, the original father of the album”.
Additionally, More Balls To Picasso includes two previously unreleased live in-the-studio tracks, ‘Gods of War’ and ‘Shoot All the Clowns’. It will be available as a splatter vinyl double album and tri-panel digisleeve CD album.
Tracklisting
1. Cyclops
2. Hell No
3. Gods of War
4. 1000 Points of Light
5. Laughing in the Hiding Bush
6. Change of Heart
7. Shoot All the Clowns
8. Fire
9. Sacred Cowboys
10. Tears of the Dragon
11. Gods of War (Live in the Studio)*
12. Shoot All the Clowns (Live in the Studio)*
* Previously unreleased
This Summer, Bruce Dickinson will embark on his first extensive North American solo tour in almost 30 years in support of his current studio album The Mandrake Project, with a setlist encompassing his entire solo career. “The Mandrake Project Live 2025” North American Tour kicks off in Anaheim, CA. at The House of Blues on August 22nd and takes the band across North America including shows in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada, with festival appearances at “Rocklahoma” (OK) and “Louder Than Life” (KY) with more to be announced. The tour also includes a quick return to Brazil for the prestigious “The Town” Festival at the City of Light in Sao Paulo.
AUGUST
Fri 22nd – House of Blues, Anaheim, CA, USA
Sat 23rd – House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Mon 25th – Marquee Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Tue 26th – Revel, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Thu 28th – House of Blues, Houston, TX, USA
Fri 29th – House of Blues, Dallas, TX, USA
Sun 31st – Rocklahoma, Pryor, OK, USA *
SEPTEMBER
Tue 2nd – House of Blues, New Orleans, LA, USA
Thu 4th – Revolution, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
Sun 7th – The Town, Sao Paulo, Brazil *
Wed 10th – Brooklyn Paramount, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Thu 11th – House of Blues, Boston, MA, USA
Sat 13th – Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Sun 14th – The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Tue 16th – HISTORY, Toronto, ON, Canada
Thu 18th – MTELUS, Montreal, QC, Canada
Sun 21st – Louder Than Life, Louisville, KY, USA *
Tue 23rd – The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Thu 25th – The Fillmore, Detroit, MI, USA
Sat 27th – Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA
Sun 28th – Uptown, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Tue 30th – Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO, USA
OCTOBER
Fri 3rd – Aftershock, Sacramento, CA, USA*
Sun 5th – The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA, USA
*Festival
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