BRUCE DICKINSON Says Everybody In IRON MAIDEN Is 'Perfectly Happy' With SIMON DAWSON: 'You Can't Replace NICKO MCBRAIN With A Clone'

In a new interview with the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, hosted by FOZZY frontman and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson spoke about the spring/summer 2025 European leg of the band's "Run For Your Lives" world tour. The trek, which launched on May 27 in Budapest, Hungary and concluded on August 2 in Warsaw, Poland, marked MAIDEN's first run of shows with new drummer Simon Dawson, who replaced the group's longtime drummer Nicko McBrain last December. Asked what it was like playing without McBrain during the tour, Dickinson replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Obviously, it was different, because Simon is not Nick. He's not a copy of Nick. His emphasis in terms of the way he drums, the sound of his drums is different. He's a different type of drummer. But he does everything that a drummer should do, which is he keeps the time. And that's it.

"Nick was like a human fireworks display every night in terms of his drumming, personality and everything else," Dickinson explained. "And Simon's not; he's low key. He is not exactly the polar opposite to Nick, but he's different. He's more thoughtful. He's very analytical. He warms up for, like, two hours, and he's just putting things together and refining and tweaking things and stuff like that. So he's a different drummer, but the songs are the same. And he's happy. Everybody in the band is perfectly happy. But they're not the same. You can't replace Nick with a clone."

After Jericho noted that "Simon's got a little bit of a Clive Burr-type vibe" to his playing, a reference to the late MAIDEN drummer who preceded Nicko, Bruce concurred. "His natural feel is that, that inclination," Dickinson said. "And I was shocked at how I was, like. 'Oh my God. I'm having a flashback here,' looking over my shoulder, going, 'Wow.' 'Cause his natural feel is to be kind of like around the beat, almost like a swingtime thing, like an Ian Paice-type feel. And it's just nuance. But Clive was great. I loved playing with Clive."

Bruce previously spoke about Simon's addition to MAIDEN this past August in an interview with "Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen And Shane McEachern". Asked if it was "weird" and "surreal" not seeing McBrain sitting behind the kit during the tour, Dickinson replied: "It's not weird from the perspective that what I'm hearing behind me is not Nicko. So I don't expect to see Nicko because everything about Simon is different. His drums are tuned differently, he plays the songs with a different feel to Nick. So because of that, I don't turn around and go, 'Oh, shock. Nicko should be there,' because it's obvious he's not there from the sound. The drums are tuned a lot lower, they're much fatter. And Simon kind of sticks with the program in terms of the tempo of the song and everything. He's absolutely scrupulous about cutting the right tempo every time. So we actually, as a band, really kind of appreciate that. 'Cause all the guitarists have big smiles, like Cheshire cats, [and MAIDEN bassist] Steve [Harris is] the same. 'Cause everybody's not feeling, like, 'Whoa, hey, steady on there, trigger. Whoa, slow down there.' So that's what Simon brings to it — there's stability. And he's doesn't try to be Nicko. You can't be Nicko. I mean, there's only one Nicko; he is unique. That's why we didn't pick a clone. And there were plenty of drummers who could copy what Nicko did, but we don't want one of those. We wanted somebody that had a different feel."

The now-73-year-old McBrain, whose real name is Michael Henry McBrain, announced his retirement on December 7, 2024 in a statement on MAIDEN's web site and social media. He also said that night's concert at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil would mark his final show with the legendary rock band.

The band's manager, Rod Smallwood, said at the time: "Thank you for being an irrepressible force behind the drum kit for MAIDEN for 42 years and my friend for even longer. I speak on behalf of all the band when I say we will miss you immensely!"

On December 8, 2024, IRON MAIDEN announced Dawson as its new touring drummer.

A native of Suffolk, England, Simon first teamed up with Harris back in 2012. He debuted on three tracks on the first album from Steve's BRITISH LION project and all of BRITISH LION's second LP, the critically acclaimed "The Burning", plus the many subsequent tours in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and South America.

In January 2023, Nicko was at his home in Boca Raton when he suffered a stroke with partial paralysis.

When Nicko first went public with his stroke in August 2023, the drummer said in a statement that the episode left him "paralyzed" down one side of his body and "worried" that his career with the band was over.

Five years ago, McBrain was diagnosed with stage 1 laryngeal cancer and opened up about it in a single interview in 2021 but otherwise kept it mostly under wraps. The musician received his cancer diagnosis after undergoing an endoscopy at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University Of Miami Health System and the Miller School of Medicine. Within a week, McBrain's cancer was surgically removed and he now gets check-ups every few months to make sure the cancer hasn't returned.

Despite the fact that he was stepping away from touring, McBrain said that he would remain closely connected to IRON MAIDEN and continue to be involved in "a variety of projects" with the band, while also focusing on personal ventures and his existing businesses.

McBrain joined IRON MAIDEN in 1982, replacing Burr, who had performed on the group's first three albums.

Photo credit: John McMurtrie