Photo by Delores Thunder

My name's Chris Dale and I'm a heavy metal bassist, backline technician and writer. As a bassist, I've played for solo artists such as Bruce Dickinson, Eric Martin, Paul Di'Anno and Ricky Gervais as well as bands including Atom Seed, Tank, Sack Trick, Mr Big, Tribuzy, Monument, Balance of Power, Anti-Product and many more. As a backline tech, I have worked for Mr Big, Kim Wilde, Glenn Hughes, Tony MacAlpine, Therapy?, Midge Ure, Nik Kershaw, Tony Hadley, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Go West, Armored Saint and many more.

In my writing, I have edited several books by other authors and have written a few books on the military history of Imperial Germany before the First World War, but also a couple on my experiences on tour in the music industry. I have also written a number of articles on MetalTalk

This is the story of the absolutely crazy chaos of former Iron Maiden singer, Paul Di’Anno’s last Australian tour. I had known Paul for many years as an occasional drinking buddy but in his last couple of years, we grew closer as I was variously his carer on tour, part-time bass player and always his friend. Paul was a man of mystery, a real master of mayhem but also a very troubled soul. In this tale of that final tour down under, you'll get to see all the sides of the very complex character that the legendary Paul Di'Anno was. In this case, the raw truth is stranger than fiction could ever be.

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lots more. In my many years of playing, I've been fortunate enough to jam onstage in shows or sound-checks with guitarists such as Paul Gilbert, Andreas Kisser, Roy Z, Dennis Stratton, Roland Grapow and Kiko Loureiro; drummers such as Chad Smith, Marky Ramone, Robin Guy, Pat Torpey and Virgil Donati; and singers such as Doogie White, Tony Hadley, Jeff Scott Soto, Blaze Bayley and Pete Cox. There's a YouTube channel with a lot of my bass playing on it at ChrisDale77.

HEAVY METAL WRITER
As a writer on the subject of my experience in the music industry and related topics, I've written for MetalTalk, For Bass Players Only and the award winning documentary film Scream For Me Sarajevo. More recently, I published 'Inside the Skunkworks Machine', the full story of Bruce Dickinson's most mysterious musical project, which has had some great reviews and was a true labour of love to work on.

SCREAM FOR ME SARAJEVO
I played a concert with Bruce Dickinson in war-torn Sarajevo in 1994. In 2016, we released a highly recommended documentary film of the events as they occurred.

MILITARY HISTORIAN
As a military historian, I specialise in  the study of the armed forces of Germany and her colonies in Africa and Asia prior to the First World War. I have been published in English and German on the topic online and in print for Osprey Men at Arms and Zeitschrift für Heereskunde. More recently, I have published on Amazon two books on the Traditions of the Imperial German Infantry and Cavalry Regiments and presented a YouTube Channel visiting military museums and sights of interest around the world. It's called 'Chris Dale's Military Museums' please subscribe if you're interested.

BACKLINE TECHNICIAN
I also work as a guitar and bass technician on tour around the world. As such, I've worked for Mr Big, Kim Wilde, Glenn Hughes, Tony MacAlpine, Therapy?, Midge Ure, Nik Kershaw, Tony Hadley, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Go West, Armored Saint and many more.

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