Bruce Dickinson becomes patron of campaign to restore William Blake's cottage
He's planning a fund-raising concert
Last updated 14th May 2024
Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has become the patron of a charity called The Blake Cottage Trust.
Bruce Dickinson is an outspoken fan of William Blake, and he’s made numerous references to the English poet and artist in his music over the years, including 1998's 'Chemical Wedding' and his latest solo effort ‘The Mandrake Project.’
Bruce’s cinematic ‘Rain on the Graves’ video has numerous overt and subtle nods to William Blake, and it ends with the rock icon unveiling a replica of Blake’s grave.
The Blake Cottage Trust owns William Blake’s only surviving house, in Felpham on the Sussex Coast, where Blake and his wife Catherine lived between 1800 and 1803. It was in the Cottage that he wrote the words to what we now know as the hymn Jerusalem.
Despite being recognised as one of the most important places in English literary history, when the Trust purchased the Cottage it was found to have structural issues and the thatched roof is now in urgent need of repair, meaning it is unsafe to allow access.
Commenting on becoming the patron of The Blake Cottage Trust, Bruce Dickinson says: “William Blake has given me so much over the years and I want to repay the debt by helping to restore the Cottage.
“Despite his impact on the world, there is no centre for Blake, nowhere people can visit to see the place where he actually lived and worked during a key part of his life. I want to change this.”
To mark the 200th anniversary of Blake’s death in 2027, it’s hoped that the cottage will open to the public and become a centre for artists, writers and visionaries who wish to follow in Blake’s footsteps.
The first step is to repair the roof at a cost of £80,000, with the cost of restoring the whole cottage estimated at £1.5 million.
To help raise the money, Bruce is planning a fund-raising concert and he’ll launch an auction of memorabilia from both Iron Maiden and his solo career, through the Iron Maiden Fanclub, including the William Blake gravestone as seen in the ‘Rain On The Graves’ video.
Doug Nicholls, Chair of The Blake Cottage Trust, says, “We are delighted to welcome Bruce as our Patron. Blake's Cottage provides an important physical link to an artist and poet whose work helped shape Britain. With Bruce’s active support I am sure that we will be able to achieve our aim of restoring it for future generations.”
Expressing his love of William Blake, Bruce Dickinson told The Quietus: “He’s an artist to whom you should aspire. There’s a purity to what he does that is untrammelled by commerciality or anything like that. He was unpredictable, he was cranky, he was difficult to deal with. He’s uncompromising, he's rude, he's bellicose. But he's incredibly powerful. He matters.”
Bruce Dickinson kicks off his UK tour at Wolverhampton The Halls this Thursday (16th May) before playing shows in Glasgow, Manchester, Swansea, Nottingham and London.
Head to Planet Rock Tickets to check ticket availability.
The childhood homes of famous rock stars:
Joe Elliott’s childhood home
Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott was born and raised at 61 Crookes Road in Sheffield. Ahead of Def Leppard's homecoming gigs at The Leadmill and Bramall Lane in May 2023, Joe visited the property. He wrote: "The house I was born in, grew up in, met Sav & Tony Kenning for the very time in that upstairs room you can see above me …. Sigh …. Memories!!"
Ozzy Osbourne’s childhood home
One of six children, Ozzy Osbourne spent his formative years in this small two-bedroom terraced house on Lodge Road in Aston. Ozzy told Huffington Post in 2014: "I've been back to that house a few times over the years and I can't believe there were eight of us living in a two-and-a-half-bedroom house. It is tiny! I have wardrobes bigger in my house."
John Lennon’s childhood home
Now a lovingly restored Grade II listed building preserved by the National Trust, John Lennon lived at 251 Menlove Avenue in Liverpool with his Aunt Mimi from 1945 to 1963. It featured on the cover to Oasis single 'Live Forever' in 1994 and in 2000 it was adorned with an English Heritage blue plaque.
Paul McCartney’s childhood home
Sir Paul McCartney's childhood home at 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, south Liverpool. It became a listed building in 2012 and is owned by the National Trust. The Trust markets the house as "the birthplace of the Beatles" as it was where McCartney and Lennon penned the earliest Beatles songs.
Ringo Starr’s childhood home
Ringo Starr (aka Richard Starkey) spent his very early childhood years at a terraced house on Madryn Street in Liverpool but moved to at two-up, two-down house 10 Admiral Grove in Dingle when he was 3 with mum Elsie when his parents separated. He lived there for the next 20 years. Pictured is 10 Admiral Grove in 1964.
David Bowie’s childhood home
40 Stansfield Road in Brixton where a young David Jones - aka David Bowie – lived until he was six years old. The house became a shrine for Bowie when the music legend died in January 2016.
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
Kurt Cobain's childhood home in Aberdeen, Washington. Nirvana fan Lee Bacon bought the house in 2018 for $225,000 (around £170,000) and told Rolling Stone: "My goal is to preserve and restore it for my generation and for my kids."
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
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Little Richard’s childhood home
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Bruce Springsteen’s childhood home
Bruce Springsteen grew up in this home at 39 1/2 Institute Street in Freehold, New Jersey from the years 1955 to 1962. It was while living at this house aged 7 in 1956 that Springsteen witnessed Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show and decided he wanted to be a musician himself.
Johnny Cash’s childhood home
Meticulously restored in 2014 thanks to funds from Arkansas State University, Johnny Cash's boyhood home is in the tiny town of Dyess, Arkansas.
Jim Morrison’s childhood home
Jim Morrison's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he lived in his teens while his dad worked at the nearby Kirtland Air Force Base.
Bono’s childhood home
Paul 'Bono' Hewson's parents bought this house on Cedarwood Road, Dublin seven weeks after his birth in 1960 and he spent his entire childhood here. The U2 song 'Cedarwood Road' on their 2014 album 'Songs of Innocence' is a nostalgic musical celebration of Bono's boyhood abode.
Freddie Mercury’s childhood home
Aged 17, Freddie Mercury and his family fled the Zanzibar revolution to live at 22 Gladstone Avenue in Feltham, West London. Pictured is Queen's Brian May and Freddie's younger sister Kashmira Cooke at the unveiling of a Blue Plaque at the house in September 2016.
Lars Ulrich’s childhood home
Lars Ulrich lived in this uniquely designed property in Hellerup, Denmark with his family until he moved to America aged 17.
Mick Jagger’s childhood home
Sir Mick Jagger was brought up in this semi-detached house in Dartford, Kent. His future bandmate Keith Richards lived just around the corner.
Keith Richards’ childhood home
Keith Richards spent the first six years of his life living in this two-bedroom flat above a florists in Dartford, Kent.
Axl Rose’s childhood home
Axl Rose lived at this humble Lafayette, Indiana house from 1962 to 1982 before moving to Los Angeles in his early twenties.
Marc Bolan’s childhood home
The young Mark Field (Marc Bolan) lived at this terraced property on Stoke Newington Common, London from his birth in 1947 to aged 15 in 1962. In 2005, the London Borough of Hackney honoured Bolan with a plaque outside the property.
Elvis Presley’s childhood home
The humble two-bedroom house in Tupelo, Mississippi where The King himself Elvis Presley was born on 8th January 1935. It was built by his father Vernon after he successfully secured a $180 loan.
Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home
John Francis Bongiovi Jr.'s childhood home in Sayreville, New Jersey. Astonishingly, MTV bought the home in 1989 and gave it away in a competition. Jon Bon Jovi was reported to be "angry" at the publicity stunt and the competition winner soon sold the property.
Noel and Liam Gallagher's childhood home
Soon after Liam's birth, the Gallaghers moved to Ashby Avenue and then to Cranwell Drive in Burnage (pictured). With a violent and alcoholic father, Noel and his brothers had an unhappy childhood before mum Peggy left Thomas in 1982 with her three children.