Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson Reveals His Favorite Live Album

Iron Maiden‘s Bruce Dickinson recently waxed poetic about his favorite live album: Deep Purple‘s Made in Japan.

The powerhouse frontman shared his thoughts on the 1972 double live LP with the U.K.-based National Album Day. This year’s National Album Day takes place on Saturday (Oct. 18), and Iron Maiden will be honored as “Album Champions” alongside fellow British rock acts Wolf Alice, Architects and Nova Twins.

What Did Bruce Dickinson Say About Deep Purple’s Made in Japan?

“Made in Japan was probably the second Deep Purple record that I listened to after [Deep Purple in Rock] and it changed my life … it blew me away!” Dickinson said.

“I wanted to be everybody in that band … everybody. I blew up the speakers on my parents’ stereogram playing that record. I knew every note on it. I actually used to jump around on sofas with a shitty guitar trying to be Ritchie Blackmore and doing what I imagined he did onstage.”

He concluded: “What a revelation. I think it is the greatest live album — the greatest rock live album ever made and still is! I also had the privilege to work with Martin Birch, who told me all the stories about how it got made … but that’s another story!”

The Connections Between Deep Purple’s Made in Japan and Iron Maiden

There are several connections between Deep Purple’s Made in Japan and Iron Maiden’s career.

Deep Purple enlisted producer Martin Birch — who’d previously worked as an engineer on 1970’s Deep Purple in Rock, 1971’s Fireball and 1972’s Machine Head — to engineer the live set. Birch would go on to produce a decade’s worth of Iron Maiden albums, from 1981’s Killers through 1992’s Fear of the Dark.

READ MORE: The 8 Best Iron Maiden Songs Over 8 Minutes (Ranked)

Iron Maiden also played off the title of Made in Japan for their own 1981 live EP, Maiden Japan.

Dickinson is not alone in his love of Made in Japan. Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich also singled it out as his favorite live album earlier this year. “Just check it the fuck out,” the drummer implored, “’cause in terms of live hard rock and roll, this is as good as it gets.”