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Former touring drummer Nicko McBrain says he would welcome the opportunity to play on a few tracks if Iron Maiden make another studio album. In an interview with Germany’s Star FM, he stressed that no new record is currently planned. McBrain retired from touring in 2024 following health difficulties and has been succeeded on the road by Simon Dawson. He said he remains interested in a limited studio contribution rather than performing an entire album.
In an inquiry by Star FM regarding potential discussions with Harris about composing new Maiden songs suitable for studio performance by Nicko, McBrain provided a response.
No. It’s a moot point right now. I spoke to Steve last week. I didn’t broach the fact of doing an album. He came to my restaurant [in Florida] in February or March earlier this year, and we sat and had a good chat. And I said to him, ‘You [will take] some time off [from touring] next year. Are you going to think about doing a new record?’ And he went, ‘No, I haven’t thought about it, Nick.’ So having said that, that doesn’t mean to say that there may not be an album. It’s just that he’s not prepared yet, as then, to think about doing a record. I know Bruce would like to do one.
But you gotta bear in mind, if they make an album, you gotta go out and tour it. So there’s another couple of years down the line to, first of all, you’ve gotta get the album made, get it made and distribute it and all that. And then that’s more time, more time. Then you’ve gotta go tour it. Not to say the fact that they don’t wanna go out and tour, but we’re all getting long in the tooth now. And these are high-energy shows. I’m not saying that they’re gonna retire, but here’s the thing: if you do another record, you’re gonna have to go out and tour it. And that’s a world tour, over two years. That’s in my head. I’m thinking, well, is that what’s keeping them from doing an album? I don’t know. But at the minute, there’s no plan on doing a record. But if they do, I would love to do a couple of songs on it. Why not?
When questioned whether adopting an alternative approach to his drumming with Maiden would present an intriguing creative challenge or be perceived as a limitation, Nicko articulated his perspective.
It’s a challenge because I had to do that for two years. From when I had the stroke in ’23, I went off and did two tours with the band. And I had to compromise some of the songs, like the intro to ‘The Trooper’. I couldn’t play that fill. My hand just wouldn’t allow me to do the speed of that drum fill. So I had to compromise. I did more triplets, just taking a fill from in the song, in the verse song, I actually put that fill at the intro. But it wasn’t the big iconic, it wasn’t the classic Nicko drum fill for that particular song, and various other ones. So I had to compromise it, and I had to come up with a different part. And the band were okay. They were very supportive of me, and they were, like, ‘No, we don’t really notice much difference, but you still sound good, Nick. You’re still rocking us.’ But this new tour [‘Run For Your Lives’ 2025 and 2026 world tour], I just wouldn’t have been able to play a lot of those songs. And that helped in my decision to actually take the retirement. ‘Cause I just couldn’t play those [songs]. I couldn’t do ‘Murders In The Rue Morgue’. And that was the opening song. [Laughs]
