NICKO MCBRAIN On Next IRON MAIDEN Album: 'I Would Love To' Play 'A Couple Of Songs On It. Why Not?'

In a new interview with Berlin, Germany's Star FM, longtime IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain once again expressed hopes to be involved with his former bandmates in a studio capacity even if he can't play drums on a full album.

McBrain announced his retirement on December 7, 2024 in a statement on MAIDEN's web site and social media. After spending 42 years touring and recording with MAIDEN, he exited the group following a minor stroke the year prior that left him partially paralyzed on his right hand side from his shoulder down. He has since been replaced by Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris's longtime bandmate in BRITISH LION.

Asked by Star FM if he has spoken to Harris about possibly writing some new MAIDEN songs that Nicko can play in the studio, McBrain said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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 [Dickinson, MAIDEN singer] would like to do one."

Nicko continued: "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?"

Asked if finding a "different way" to approach his drumming with MAIDEN would be "an interesting creative challenge" for him or "more like a limitation", Nicko said: "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]"

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

Last month, Nicko took to the road on a spoken-word tour to promote "Hello Boys And Girls!". Starting in Frankfurt on October 26, McBrain is visiting theaters across Germany, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Ireland and the U.K., regaling audiences with colorful stories of a life well-lived.

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.

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