Bruce Dickinson: How close have you come to death?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Bruce Dickinson said elsewhere, not written here

I’ve been asleep at the wheel on the M11, had an engine fire over the Atlantic in a light aircraft, driven unprotected through an enemy firing zone to do a gig in wartime Sarajevo – the list goes on and on. But I did have stage 3 throat cancer and was cured by some fantastic UK medics.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2024 source ↗

Others on this question

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Madhur Jaffrey Actress, cook, and TV host

It’s nearly happened twice, each time after an operation.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 February 2021 source ↗

Desmond Tutu Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town; chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission; Nobel Peace Prize, 1984

And actually now having had the advantage of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and being able to look at some of the records of what the apartheid government was doing, the thing that is surprising to me is why so many of us survived. I mean, how is it that they did not assassinate more of us?

Recorded Academy of Achievement interview source ↗

Andy Serkis English actor

I made a solo attempt at the Matterhorn in 1996 and came very close to falling. I waited until the dawn light came, so I could retrace my route, but I was hanging off my ice axes for 45 minutes.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 July 2017 source ↗

Juliet Stevenson

Many times on British roads, because I drive very fast. In another life, I would have liked doing Formula One.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 May 2026 source ↗

More from Bruce Dickinson

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Question Which trait do you most dislike in yourself? Identity & self

Procrastination.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2024 source ↗

Question Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought? Money & investment

A Cessna Golden Eagle eight-seater aircraft. I flew it across the Atlantic both ways and did two US tours and two European tours in it. I finally sold it and got a job as an airline pilot in which I was paid to fly, rather than the other way round.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 July 2024 source ↗