Graham Bonnet has teamed up with Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson for a new duet recorded for the upcoming Graham Bonnet Band studio album, marking a rare collaboration between two of British hard rock’s most distinctive voices.
by Paul Cashmere
Graham Bonnet has confirmed that his next studio album with The Graham Bonnet Band will feature a high-profile duet with Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, a meeting of two vocalists whose careers have shaped multiple eras of hard rock and heavy metal. The song, titled The Fifth Force of Nature, has already been filmed as a video, signalling its importance to the forthcoming release.
Bonnet revealed the collaboration through his own social media channels, describing the experience of working with Dickinson as both energising and memorable. According to Bonnet, the video shoot brought together the full Graham Bonnet Band line-up alongside Dickinson, under the direction of Leo Liberti. Bonnet praised Dickinson not only for his vocal contribution but also for his instincts in front of the camera, highlighting the professionalism and commitment he brought to the project.
The recording features the current Graham Bonnet Band configuration, with Bonnet on vocals alongside bassist Beth-Ami Heavenstone, who also serves as executive producer and band manager. Guitarist Conrado Pesinato co-wrote The Fifth Force of Nature and handled musical production duties, with Alessandro Bertoni on keyboards and Shane Gaalaas on drums completing the line-up. Bonnet also acknowledged the contribution of the wider production crew and Frontier’s Music Srl, the label that has supported his recent work.
The pairing of Bonnet and Dickinson is significant given their respective legacies. Both emerged from the fertile British rock scene of the 1970s and 1980s, carving distinct paths that nonetheless intersect in their influence on the genre. Dickinson became synonymous with Iron Maiden’s global rise, while Bonnet’s career has spanned hit singles, chart success in Australia, and pivotal roles in bands that helped define hard rock’s evolution.
Born in Skegness, Lincolnshire in December 1947, Graham Bonnet first tasted mainstream success in 1968 with The Marbles and the Bee Gees-penned hit Only One Woman. His early career saw him move between pop success, studio work and soundtrack appearances before Australia embraced him in the late 1970s. His self-titled 1977 album went gold locally, driven by It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue and Warm Ride, cementing his popularity with Australian audiences.
Bonnet’s transition into harder-edged music came with his recruitment into Rainbow in 1979, replacing Ronnie James Dio at the invitation of Ritchie Blackmore. The resulting album Down To Earth delivered enduring singles Since You Been Gone and All Night Long and placed Bonnet at the centre of one of hard rock’s most commercially successful line-ups. Although his tenure with Rainbow was brief, it reshaped his musical direction and set the tone for the decades that followed.
From there, Bonnet’s path took in stints with Michael Schenker Group, the formation of Alcatrazz with guitarists Yngwie Malmsteen and later Steve Vai, and a long series of collaborations that underlined his adaptability. Alcatrazz achieved particular success in Japan and left a catalogue that continues to be reassessed by fans of classic metal.
In more recent years, The Graham Bonnet Band has provided a stable platform for new material. Albums such as The Book, Meanwhile, Back In The Garage and Day Out In Nowhere demonstrated that Bonnet remained creatively engaged well into his seventies, balancing nods to his past with contemporary production and songwriting.
Bruce Dickinson’s appearance on the upcoming album places the project firmly in the lineage of classic British metal collaborations. Dickinson himself has a history of working beyond Iron Maiden, from solo albums to literary and aviation pursuits, making his decision to join Bonnet on record particularly notable. While details of the album’s release schedule are yet to be announced, the completion of the video suggests plans are already well advanced.
For Bonnet, the duet represents another chapter in a career defined by reinvention and longevity. With The Fifth Force of Nature bringing together two voices that helped define heavy music across generations, the forthcoming Graham Bonnet Band album is shaping as one of his most talked-about releases in years.
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