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 honor 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 favorites 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.
Yet despite its positive reception at the time, it never quite captured Dickinson’s original vision which was even more expansive in scope and ambition. However, with the ability to revisit his solo catalog – and following on from Dickinson’s hugely acclaimed album The Mandrake Project in 2024 – the brand-new part re-recorded, remixed and newly mastered version of the album, now entitled More Balls To Picasso, reimagines it as a fresh and contemporary release; a roaringly full-throttle and ambitious collection of supremely crafted and realised songs.
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.
More Balls To Picasso 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.
Aug 22 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
Aug 23 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
Aug 25 Phoenix, AZ Marquee Theatre
Aug 26 Albuquerque, NM Revel
Aug 28 Houston, TX House of Blues
Aug 29 Dallas, TX House of Blues
Aug 31 Pryor, OK Rocklahoma*
Sept 2 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Sept 4 Fort Lauderdale, FL Revolution
Sept 7 Sao Paulo, Brazil The Town*
Sept 10 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Paramount
Sept 11 Boston, MA House of Blues
Sept 13 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
Sept. 14 Silver Spring, MD Fillmore Silver Spring
Sept 16 Toronto, ON HISTORY
Sept 18 Montreal, QC MTELUS
Sept 21 Louisville, KY Louder Than Life*
Sept 23 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore
Sept 25 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
Sept 27 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
Sept 28 Minneapolis, MN Uptown
Sept 30 Denver, CO Summit Music Hall
Oct 3 Sacramento, CA Aftershock*
Oct 5 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
*Festival date
For ticket information go here.