IRON MAIDEN's Longtime Drummer NICKO MCBRAIN Announces 'Hello Boys And Girls!' 2026 European Spoken-Word Tour

Following the recent announcement of "Hello Boys And Girls!", Nicko McBrain's thrilling, hilarious and deeply personal autobiography which will be published on October 22, 2026 via Harper Nonfiction, the much-loved IRON MAIDEN drummer will take to the road on a spoken-word tour.

Starting in Frankfurt on October 26, McBrain will visit theaters across Germany, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Ireland and the U.K., regaling audiences with colorful stories of a life well-lived. Featuring tales from behind the drum-stool of one of Britain's biggest ever bands, alongside lessons learned from his eventful youth, his triumphant highs and deepest lows, this is a chance for fans to get up-close-and-personal with one of the most famous and admired men in rock history.

"An Evening With Nicko McBrain" 2026 tour dates:

Oct. 26 - Alte Oper, Frankfurt, Germany
Oct. 27 - Tanzbrunnen, Cologne, Germany
Oct. 29 - Passionskirche, Berlin, Germany
Oct. 30 - Backstage, Munich, Germany
Nov. 3 - 013, Tilburg, Netherlands
Nov. 8 - Savoy Theatre, Helsinki, Finland
Nov. 9 - Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway
Nov. 11 - Gota Lejon, Stockholm, Sweden
Nov. 13 - DR Studio 2, Copenhagen, Denmark
Nov. 15 - Malta Metal Festival, St Julian's, Malta
Nov. 18 - Ambassador, Dublin, Ireland
Nov. 23 - Glee Club, Birmingham, UK
Nov. 26 - Bush Hall, London, UK
Nov. 28 - The Gate, Cardiff, UK
Nov. 30 - Komedia, Bath, UK
Dec. 1 - Academy 2, Manchester, UK
Dec. 3 - Oran Mor, Glasgow, UK

For further information and tickets visit nickomcbrain.co.uk.

Born in Hackney, East London in 1952, Michael "Nicko" McBrain always wanted to be a drummer, practicing on his mother's pots and pans until his father bought him his first drumkit when he was 11 years old. Playing initially in school bands, covering THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES, by 14 he had become semi-professional, performing in wedding bands around London.

Inspired by jazz as much as rock music, Nicko played with the likes of STREETWALKERS, PAT TRAVERS BAND and TRUST while honing his craft doing session work amongst the highly competitive mean streets and studios of London's Soho. However, when he joined IRON MAIDEN in 1982, he quickly became one of the most recognizable and influential drummers in the world.

Through his powerful and brilliant drumming style — full of flair and technique — and his equally charismatic stage presence, Nicko became a metal icon, pivotal in shaping IRON MAIDEN's dynamic sound across his 42-year tenure with the band. Playing on 14 studio albums, multiple live albums and dozens of world tours, as part of IRON MAIDEN Nicko has sold over 100 million records around the world and entered the annals of rock history.

With a famous appearance on long-running U.K. children's program "The Sooty Show" in the 1980s, and years of youthful excess and humorous escapades, alongside his love for classic cars and his side career as a successful restauranteur in Florida, Nicko's star has shone brightly, with his larger-than-life persona making him universally beloved amongst metal fans. Yet his sensitive nature, battle with cancer, recovery from a near career-ending stroke and his born-again religious faith, have been largely lived out of the public eye.

Now with trademark humor and heart Nicko invites us into his world, sharing unforgettable moments, backstage stories, laugh-out-loud anecdotes, and raw honesty, revealing what it feels like to remain not just relevant but more loved than ever after decades at the top, and to live a life transformed by music, brotherhood, and belief.

Part stand-up show and part audience interaction, and with a whole lot of Nicko's inimitable candor and gregarious storytelling, this is the ideal chance to enjoy one of rock 'n' roll's greatest raconteurs live and in person, as he relives moments he's shared in the forthcoming "Hello Boys And Girls!" memoir, providing a front-row seat to one of heavy metal's greatest lives.

McBrain says: "It's been a real honor to write my very own autobiography and have the chance to walk down memory lane, revisiting all the experiences that have made me who I am and brought me to where I am today. And I'm thrilled and delighted to be taking those stories on the road and share them all with you. I feel truly blessed to be able to say 'Hello Boys And Girls!' to you all in person later this year. We're going to have a lot of fun together, so come and join me for a great night out. I've got a LOT of stories I want to tell you all!"

"Hello Boys And Girls!" will be published into hardback, ebook and audio on October 22, 2026.

The now-74-year-old 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. McBrain has since been replaced by Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and MAIDEN founding bassist Steve Harris's longtime bandmate in BRITISH LION.

In July 2025, Nicko told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about his exit from MAIDEN: "I had my health issues, which was one of the primary reasons that I decided to hang it up with the guys. And I wasn't doing the songs justice because of the handicap that I had. And it wasn't fair on everybody else either in the band. They supported me 100 percent through the 'The Future Past Tour', and that was fantastic. I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of brothers to support me through my darkest hour."

Elaborating on the physical ailments which contributed to his decision to retire from touring with IRON MAIDEN, Nicko said: "Primarily, I was fed up with touring in terms of the travel and not having days to recoup my body… I wasn't so much slowing down, although we did play the songs that… I got told off at rehearsals [in 2024] because I was playing the songs too fast, 'cause I'd been playing with [my Florida-based side project] TITANIUM TART [which plays MAIDEN songs] before I went off and did the rehearsals in Australia with MAIDEN. And I actually got told off for playing too quick. So it wasn't a question of not being able to drive the band. It was just not being able to drive the band with the drum fills that I'd been used to playing for 42 years. So the question mark was raised about the performance side. And that's quite right…So that was part of the decision that I made."

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.

Six 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.

McBrain lives at home in Florida with his wife Rebecca, their cat Lola, and two Yorkshire Terriers, Tigerlily and Tinkerbell.

McBrain officially joined IRON MAIDEN in December 1982 for the 1983 "Piece Of Mind" album and tour, replacing Clive Burr, after McBrain's previous band TRUST had supported IRON MAIDEN during the U.K. leg of the "Killers" tour in 1981. McBrain brought a degree of finesse and technicality that was largely missing from IRON MAIDEN's early output. Whereas Burr was often lauded for his heavy-handed, punk-oriented style, McBrain was largely the opposite, playing with a degree of dexterity and flair that helped primary songwriter Harris take MAIDEN down more adventurous paths. He eventually became the third longest-tenured member of MAIDEN, behind Harris and guitarist Dave Murray.

Photo credit: John McMurtrie