NICKO MCBRAIN: IRON MAIDEN Will Continue 'Until Somebody Else In The Band Says, 'I Can't Do It Anymore''

In a new interview with the Rockonteurs podcast with Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt, longtime IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain once again opened up about his decision to retire from touring with the band. The now-74-year-old British musician, 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. McBrain has since been replaced by Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and MAIDEN founding bassist Steve Harris's longtime bandmate in BRITISH LION.

After one of the interviewers noted that Nicko's MAIDEN bandmates were very supportive of his decision to stop touring with the group, Nicko concurred. "Yeah, absolutely," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "This just, I think, sums up the camaraderie in [MAIDEN]… But to have all my brothers support me and [give] me two tours — it was 'The Future Past' tour part one and two, [in] 2023 and 2024 — to stick behind me and to be, 'Yeah, okay, let's just go ahead and do it.' But I wasn't performing as well as I could have done or should have done, 'cause I couldn't play these parts, like 'The Trooper' intro and the middle of 'Somewhere In Time' and things like that, these wonderful drum fills that I've been playing for 42 years. I'm not playing these wonderful tom fills and stuff. But the guys just completely stood behind me, and [MAIDEN's managers] Rod [Smallwood] and Andy [Taylor] and Shacky [Dave Shack] and all the guys at the office, they were 100% behind me. And to have that relationship with the band and your comrades for that long, it speaks miles about the energy and the love that they had for me."

Nicko continued: "It was a tough decision. It wasn't really tough… Personally, it was a tough decision to say, 'I'm gonna step down,' and the next year we're gonna be celebrating 50 years. That was tough to walk from."

Asked if he will still record with IRON MAIDEN in the future, Nicko said: "Well, I, I'd like to do a couple of songs, yeah. I mean, I wouldn't be doing the whole album. I don't think I would be able to [play the songs as they would require to be played]. 'Cause look at the songs that Steve writes and Bruce [Dickinson, MAIDEN singer] and Adrian [Smith, MAIDEN guitarist], and Janick [Gers, MAIDEN guitarist]. I mean, 'Dance Of Death' [has] all those wonderful jiggy sort of things. And I would like to do two or three songs. Plus the fact [is] Simon's drumming now. And he's taken over my drum throne. So, I would expect him to do the album, and I'd like to guest on two or three songs. It'd be lovely."

Regarding how long he thinks MAIDEN can keep going, Nicko said: "Well, the thing is all the boys are past the halfway mark of 65 years old. I mean, even the baby of the band's now 67 this year, I think. 'Arry's [Steve Harris] next down from me. I think that they just announced a North American tour next year, a couple of months in the U.S., and I think that having seen them do that, there might be time to do a new record later after that, if they do decide to do one. I personally think that they'll go until somebody else in the band says, 'I can't do it anymore.' And I can't see that really happening at the minute because they're still…

"I've gotta admit some of the tempos of the songs [during MAIDEN's recent concerts] are more where they were when they were recorded all those years ago," Nicko added. "But I'm not saying they're slowing down, but they're trying to make it so they can [have] longevity. I mean, they're all getting on now."

Nicko's autobiography, "Hello Boys And Girls!", was published on October 22, 2026 via Harper Nonfiction

Nicko has just taken to the road on a spoken-word tour to promote "Hello Boys And Girls!". 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.

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

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.