The singer on surviving a plane engine fire over the Atlantic, doing a gig in wartime Sarajevo, and a scary pair of lips

Born in Nottinghamshire, Dickinson, 65, became lead singer of the band Iron Maiden in 1981. In 1982, The Number of the Beast became the first of their five albums to top the UK charts. In 2009, they won the best British live act Brit award and in 2011 they took the Grammy for best metal performance with their song El Dorado. This autumn Iron Maiden continue their 23rd world tour. Dickinson has released his seventh solo album, The Mandrake Project, and is currently touring Europe. He has three children and lives in London and Paris with his third wife.

What is your greatest fear?

Well, I’m not too happy about snakes. I also hate sand. It’s very inconvenient.

What is your earliest memory?
A pair of giant gelatinous red lips glistening with lipstick and smelling faintly of gin leaning over my pram. I’ve been told I was so scared by the sight that I peed straight into my auntie’s mouth in sheer terror.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Procrastination.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
I once threw up on the shoes of one of my vocal heroes, the Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan. He sent me home in a taxi with a towel.

Aside from a property, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought?
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.