When Nicko McBrain was invited to join Iron Maiden, the shoes he had to fill weren’t just big – they were enormous. With the incredibly talented Clive Burr exiting the band in 1982, Maiden needed somebody who would be able to seamlessly slot straight into the vacated drum stool. Not only did McBrain make that drum stool his own, but he occupied it for 42 years, making him Iron Maiden’s third longest-serving band member behind Dave Murray and ‘the boss’ himself, Steve Harris.
Iron Maiden Promo Photo
Hackney-born Michael Henry McBrain is as ‘east end’ as pie and mash or jellied eels. In fact one of his early bands was called The Wells Street Blues Band, latterly renaming themselves The Axe. Anybody who knows Hackney will know that Wells Street comes just off of Mare Street in Hackney, and The Axe was a rather insalubrious boozer and strip club in Hackney Road.
McBrain, whose parents nicknamed him Nicky, after his teddy bear, Nicholas, actually called himself Nicko when a band member from one of his early groups introduced him to Dick Asher, head of CBS Records, as ‘Neeko’, while they were recording at CBS Studios, Whitfield Street. He liked it, the name stuck – the rest is history.
Nicko’s first taste of recording came in 1973 when he played drums on the song Nice One Cyril by the Cockerel Chorus. The song was actually a nod toward Tottenham full-back Cyril Knowles. Reaching number 14 in the charts its writers Spiro and Clarke received an Ivor Novello Award for Best Novel or Unusual Song in 1974.
The drummer’s next foray into the recording studio came via one of the UK’s most revered guitarists, Gordon Giltrap and his self-titled album, Giltrap. Coincidentally, in 1978 the guitarist released an album called Fear Of The Dark. After stints with Streetwalkers, the Pat Travers band, singer Jenny Darren, McKitty and Trust, McBrain joined Iron Maiden. Interestingly it was Maiden’s outgoing drummer, Clive Burr, who replaced him in Trust.
Nicko McBrain went on to play on 14 of Iron Maiden’s 17 studio albums as well as numerous live albums and performed in over 1,900 shows. Although he only has a single song credit on one album [New Frontier on the Dance Of Death Album], McBrain writes all of Maiden’s drum patterns. He does, however, have two other writing credits, on Nodding Donkey Blues and Mission From ‘Arry, both of which were used as B sides on a couple of singles.
McBrain quit alcohol in 2015 and has spoken openly on some of his health issues, which have included laryngeal Cancer in 2020 and, more recently, a TIA (transient ischemic attack) in January 2023, which left him paralysed down the right-hand side of his body.
Incredibly, McBrain was back drumming again just a few months later after undergoing 10 weeks of intensive physiotherapy. Nicko admitted during an interview in July 2024 that he was struggling with some of Maiden’s setlist on the Future Past tour and explained how bassist Steve Harris and the rest of the band said: “If you can’t do something in a song, we just won’t do that song.”
With Nicko announcing his retirement from touring, there was much speculation across social media as to who would replace him. In a statement, Maiden’s manager, Rod Smallwood, expressed his gratitude to the drummer and went on to say that the band has “already chosen” its drummer, indicating that his identity would be revealed “very shortly.”
Following that statement, it was announced on Iron Maiden’s website that British Lion drummer Simon Dawson would take over the mantle from Nicko. Suffolk-born Dawson has been involved with British Lion since 2012. The former session drummer played on the first three tracks of their first album and the entirety of the British Lion’s critically acclaimed second album, The Burning.
McBrain, whose final show was 7 December 2024 in Sao Paulo, has indicated that this is not the end of his Maiden journey and has stated that he will still be involved with the band as well as his many side projects.
If you or somebody you know has been affected by a TIA or a Stroke, help and advice can be found at https://www.stroke.org.uk/.
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Nicko McBrain / From Hackney Roots To Iron Maiden Icon first appeared on
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