Drummer Nicko McBrain says he would relish the chance to work with Iron Maiden in the studio again, but following a recent minor stroke, he concedes that any parts he contributes would have to be delivered in a simpler fashion.
The 74-year-old sticksman withdrew from touring with the Run to the Hills veterans in 2024, closing more than four decades on the road.
He was hospitalised in 2023 after the stroke and feared he might never play the drums again.
Even though he’s not actively behind the kit for the heavy metal icons these days, Nicko hasn’t closed the door on laying down some drum tracks for Bruce Dickinson and the others, though he acknowledges that changes would be required for him to manage it.
In an interview with Metal Hammer magazine, he said: “If Iron Maiden went into the studio, I’d be thrilled to rejoin them.”
“But it would have to be something a lot simpler, really.”
He suggested tunes like Stranger In a Strange Land or Wasted Years would be within easy reach for him to contribute.
Nicko had previously discussed his decision to retire from touring with Iron Maiden after 42 years during a chat with Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen and Shane McEachern, admitting he’d thought retirement would come much sooner.
“To be very, very honest with you, when we cut the Senjutsu record back in 2018, 2019, I figured I would do the tour for that album and then probably hang it up. And then realising the Run For Your [Lives] tour was approaching — at the time we didn’t know that was the tour’s name, but I knew 2025 marked the band’s 50th anniversary, and I thought, ‘Well, I’ll come out of retirement for that, if they want me.’ Because at that point we hadn’t planned on Legacy Of The Beast or The Future Past tours. It was all Senjutsu, and that was set to span a two-year world tour, which I figured would be enough for me. So I prepared myself to retire after that tour.”
“But then, of course, the pandemic happened — the wonderful, great pandemic — and it wrecked many well-laid plans for businesses and people, both personally and for bands on tour. So that threw a wrench into the works. It was decided we would do the Legacy tour rather than a Senjutsu album tour. It would be a melting pot of various material. Anyway, we did that, and then I had my stroke in 2023. After the Legacy show closed, The Future Past tour came along. The guys let me go along with it, and they carried me on their shoulders, which is phenomenal. I am eternally grateful to each one of them and to our management team.”
Nicko said he never wrestled with the decision, explaining that it wasn’t a question of whether he had made the right call because he’d been contemplating stepping back as early as 2019. He merely “brushed upon it” with founding member Steve Harris, noting that the two never delved into it in depth.
He conceded that stepping away after such a long spell in the band was a heavy move, calling it “a difficult decision,” though one he’d quietly prepared for long before it became public. His stroke, he said, effectively “put the cherry on it,” convincing him that continuing would be unfair and helping him accept that the moment had arrived.
