During his April 27 show in Brasília, Brazil, Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) scolded some fans in the audience for smoking and “using pepper spray.” The frontman says the fumes were making it difficult to breathe.
Dickinson told the crowd the following:
“I can’t fucking breathe. [bassist] Tanya [O’Callaghan] can’t breathe. You with the fucking vape over there, yeah, it’s not you, but, you know, please, fucking do that outside, all right? You know, if you can’t stay for five minutes without having a fucking addiction, but… Somebody down here has been using pepper spray. Some fucker has been using pepper spray, which is why people can’t fucking breathe down there, right? So, you know, if you figure out who the fuck it is, I just don’t care what happens to them after the show, all right? In the meantime, we will try and do the best we can.”
He also added:
“I do apologize for coughing. Some of you fuckers are smoking, all right? I can’t sing if you’re gonna smoke, all right? [Tanya’s] coughing her guts out, I’m coughing, my fucking wife is going, ‘Blargh,’ in the back there, all right? It’s kind of disgusting, all right? But if you wanna be disgusting, do it outside, all right? Not in here. My throat’s got work to do. You pay good money to hear me fucking sing, not go, ‘Blargh, blargh,’ all right?”
The tour’s promotors, MCA Concerts, have since issued a statement to Blabbermouth as well:
“[Saturday] night over 2000 fans filled the Opera Hall in Brasília to see Bruce Dickinson on the third show of his, critically acclaimed, first Brazilian solo tour for over 20 years. An incident occurred towards the end of the show where noxious fumes were released, causing severe issues for the band members on stage and the crew and audience in the auditorium. Subsequently many members of the crowd have taken to social media to corroborate the incident that caused them breathing difficulties.
As video footage shows, Bruce did his best, with limited knowledge of the situation, to explain the effects to the crowd but subsequently found out that several band members, including himself, were affected by the fall out and a member of the crew had to be treated with oxygen by a doctor. The footage also shows Bruce departing the stage to perform part of the encore after being seen visibly struggling to breathe and pitch his vocal.
Tour promoters MCA are still working with authorities to understand the full impact of the incident and understand how the noxious fumes affected not just the audience and crew but also the band onstage.
Fortunately, everyone has been checked out by medical staff and given the all clear. The show in Belo Horizonte at the Arena Hall tonight (April 28th) will be unaffected.”
Metal Anarchy 
You must be logged in to post a comment.