Iron Maiden frontman: “Zagreb is one of my favourite places” 

Paul Mann and Bruce Dickinson (Photo: Press)

Singer and frontman of the iconic British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson, with the all-star band and the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform a musical masterpiece by one of the most influential keyboardists of all time, Jon Lord , “Concerto for Group and Orchestra” and the greatest hits of Deep Purple in Zagreb at KC Dražen Petrović, on March 24, 2023. 

“Zagreb is one of my favourite places that I have been to many times and I am looking forward to getting together again because we are performing the wonderful piece of music Concerto for Group and Orchestra with band and orchestra. What exactly is this about? It is a 45-minute piece of classical music written by Jon Lord from Deep Purple, in which a rock ‘n’ roll band and an orchestra meet on the same wavelength.

I am a singer in the vocal part of the Concerto, which is actually the first part of the play. In the second part of the show, we start with a slightly more active instrumental interaction of the band, and then we perform five Deep Purple songs with the orchestra and the band: Perfect Strangers, When A Blind Man Cries, of course Smoke on The Water, Hush and Pictures of Home, which is a rarity and incredibly good it sounds with an orchestra.

In addition, we will perform something a bit special. We did an orchestral arrangement for Jerusalem and Terars Of The Dragon with orchestra and band. So, it is a phenomenal evening filled with a fantastic performance by incredible musicians. And that’s it. It’s music!” said Bruce Dickinson before this unique concert spectacle in Zagreb. 

Bruce Dickinson and the conductor of the Concert, Paul Mann (Deep Purple, London Symphony Orchestra) were close friends and collaborators of the late composer and keyboard player of Deep Purple. It was they who came up with the idea to pay tribute to one of the greatest musical innovators of the last century, seven years after his death, on the 50th anniversary of the premiere London performances.

After two sensational concerts in 2019 in Quebec and 2021 in Györ, on March 15 from Bucharest they will embark on a European and South American tour accompanied by respected philharmonic orchestras and an all stars band made up of members of Jon Lord’s band and members of the famous rock band Jethro Tull and Whitesnake.

Zagreb fans will thus see and hear Bruce Dickinson, singer of Iron Maiden, with whom he sold more than 100 million album copies, and Paul Mann, one of the most respected conductors of his generation, who, together with Deep Purple and the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted philharmonics around the world. 74 members of the respected Zagreb Philharmonic with four other great musicians of world caliber: John O’Hara on keyboards (Jethro Tull), Tanya O’Callaghan on bass (Whitesnake), Kaitner Z Doka on guitar (Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Don Airey), Bernhard Welz on drums (Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Don Airey).

The concert is organised by Music Time and tickets are available via the Eventim system. The official partner of the Zagreb concert is the oldest Croatian craft brewery, Pivovara Medvedgrad.

Apart from Zagreb, as part of the European tour and also organised by Music Time, the concert will also be held on March 22 in Sarajevo at Mirza Delibašić Hall and on March 25 at Cankarjevo dom in Ljubljana.