Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has picked up an honorary doctorate of music from his alma mater 30 years after he dropped out of college.
The singer studied history at London's Queen Mary University in 1979 but admits his decision to pursue a higher education was simply a way to placate his parents while he secretly followed his passion to become a rock star.
He says, "That was what they (my parents) wanted to hear so that (studies) was my cover story. When I got down there, I started immediately finding and playing in bands."
Although he didn't complete his schooling, he was gifted a degree for his contributions to the music industry on Tuesday (19Jul11).