In a new interview with Full Metal Jackie‘s nationally syndicated radio show, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson spoke about the reworked version of his classic 1994 solo album “Balls To Picasso”, now titled “More Balls To Picasso”, which arrived on July 25. Newly enhanced and expanded, it was described by Dickinson as a “reimagined” version of the original LP, which charted at number 21 in the U.K. The collection includes a pair of previously unreleased live-in-the-studio bonus tracks, as well as the original album track listing — albeit with updated performances, production treatments, and mixing. Bruce told Full Metal Jackie about the decision to revisit “Balls To Picasso” more than three decades later (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, we always felt that the album was never as heavy as it should have been, as it was intended to be. And that was ’cause we had so many different producers have their hands on it and everybody had different opinions and things like that. And I think it just kind of got lost in the mix, really, quite literally. But when the [record] label now, the one that [released my latest solo album] ‘The Mandrake Project’ and everything, when they said, ‘Look, we wanna basically do the catalog and do it in Dolby Atmos and everything,’ I said, ‘Well, maybe we could take the opportunity of doing a bit of an upgrade on ‘Balls To Picasso’ and make it sound like the record it should have sounded like when we first put it out.’ And so Brendan Duffey, who’s done all the Atmos mixes and has been doing that for all of my solo catalog, Brendan, who mixed ‘The Mandrake Project’, said, ‘Well, what do you wanna do?’ And I said, ‘Well, we wanna put some more guitars on it to beef it up.’ ‘Hey, let’s see what else we can do with various percussion bits.’ And then we looked at the orchestra for [the song] ‘Tears Of The Dragon’ and also for ‘Change Of Heart’. And then we just went, ‘Well, let’s just go for broke. Let’s put a horn section on ‘Shoot All The Clowns’.’ So he called his buddies at Berklee College Of Music, his two professors, ’cause he was doing a PhD in music by correspondence whilst he was getting his five Grammys for doing something else. So, he said, ‘Oh, they’re really, really big fans, man. They really wanna do it.’ One’s a trombone guy, one’s a trumpet guy, and they put this horn section together for ‘Shoot All The Clowns’, which, it’s just devastating; it’s fantastic. So it is really a — it’s an eclectic record to begin with, but it’s now a much deeper, darker and heavier eclectic record.”
In 1994, having left IRON MAIDEN for a time (he rejoined in 1999),Bruce released his second solo album, “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” Ramirez, and recorded with Z‘s band TRIBE OF GYPSIES, it went through various iterations before its release, produced by Shay Baby. The original album contained 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 titled “More Balls To Picasso”, reimagines it as a fresh and contemporary release; a roaringly full-throttle and ambitious collection of supremely crafted and realized songs.
Additionally, “More Balls To Picasso” includes two previously unreleased live-in-the-studio tracks, “Gods Of War” and “Shoot All The Clowns”. It is available as a splatter vinyl double album and tri-panel digisleeve CD album.
“More Balls To Picasso” track listing:
01. Cyclops
02. Hell No
03. Gods Of War
04. 1000 Points Of Light
05. Laughing In The Hiding Bush
06. Change Of Heart
07. Shoot All The Clowns
08. Fire
09. 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
Earlier this month, Dickinson embarked 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 kicked off in Anaheim, California at the House of Blues on August 22 and takes the band across North America, including shows in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada, with festival appearances at Rocklahoma (Oklahoma) and Louder Than Life (Kentucky). The tour also includes a quick return to Brazil for the prestigious The Town festival at the City of Light in São Paulo.
Joining the IRON MAIDEN singer on the “The Mandrake Project Live 2025” North American tour will once again be his 2024 backing band, featuring Dave Moreno (drums),Mistheria (keyboards) and Tanya O’Callaghan (bass),alongside the group’s latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson‘s “Rain On The Graves” single). Roy Z is not part of the touring lineup.
Roy played guitar on “Balls To Picasso” and went on to produce, co-write and perform multiple instruments on Bruce‘s subsequent four solo albums, “Accident At Birth” (1997),“The Chemical Wedding” (1998),“Tyranny Of Souls” (2005) and “The Mandrake Project” (2024).
“The Mandrake Project” arrived on March 1, 2024 via BMG.
Bruce and Roy recorded “The Mandrake Project” largely at Los Angeles’s Doom Room, with Roy doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for “The Mandrake Project” was rounded out by Mistheria and Moreno, both of whom also featured on “Tyranny Of Souls” in 2005.
Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on “The Number Of The Beast” album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.
Photo credit: John McMurtrie
