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Leader singer of one of world's biggest rock bands Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson, said he would love to play at the iconic Principality Stadium in the centre of Cardiff.

And the singer and aviation entrepreneur said that small music venues in the centre of the capital needed protecting and be recognised as key parts of the city's social infrastructure - which cannot just be about serving 'posh lattes."

Iron Maiden is renewing its Book of Souls world tour with two months of arena concerts around Europe, including a night at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena in May, followed by two months in the US.

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And in wide ranging interview with WalesOnline on the growth prospects for his South Wales aviation business, Cardiff Aviation, Mr Dickinson said that he didn't enjoy playing at the home of England rugby, Twickenham, while saying the Principality Stadium would be a fantastic venue for Iron Maiden.

He said: “I would love to play Principality Stadium, it’s the best stadium in the world for any purpose, the atmosphere in there is superb, the sightlines, the dimensions, it’s about as perfect as you could wish for.

(Image: Western Mail)

“I should say Twickenham is brilliant, but I don’t like it. I don’t like watching rugby there, I don’t like watching music there. I played there and I was like, I don’t really like playing here.”

Cardiff's music scene

He thinks it’s a pity that small music venues such as Dempseys in Cardiff city centre, face losing their identity. It is being turned into a Gareth Bale themed pub sports bar and restaurant.

The famous pub is also a regular with music goers before watching live acts at other vibrant small music venues on Womanby Street.

Mr Dickinson said: "Sadly that seems to be happening in a lot of places.

"It’s the gentrification of the city centre, the dodgy hangouts which are really cool which kids like. We [Iron Maiden] wouldn’t have been able to start out if there hadn’t been venues like that.

"The good thing is you don’t need a lot to have a place where you can have a racket and have people turn up.”

He added: "Small venues are indispensable to bands... always have been and always will be. I think we miss a trick in this country and some countries in Europe do it better in that they protect their social infrastructure. And pubs and small venues are part of that social infrastructure.

"Just because something would be worth X a square foot, that is a case of people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

"These are vital things [small music venues] and the reason why people come to a city centre is to keep it alive. And it not just people who want to drink posh lattes, there are other people in the world who have cultural needs and rock and roll is pretty fundamental to people's lives these days."