Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain at “85 to 90 Percent” Since Stroke
Back in August, we all got a bit of a shock when news hit that Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain had suffered a stroke back in January. That kind of health scare is no fucking joke, so we were shocked to learn that even though the 71-year-old was recovering from a transient ischaemic attack — or a “mini-stroke” — he was still able to tour with the band on their Future Past tour. Talk about resilience.
While chatting on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation Power Trip Special” (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), McBrain described what it was like getting back behind the kit after the health scare, saying it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world but he got on with things.
“It’s going great. It started off a little shaky for me, but as the time [went on] and the more shows we performed, I started to get a little bit more strength and they’d been really rocking out well. And the last couple of months have been fantastic.”
At the time that he made his statement about having suffered a stroke just months prior, McBrain said his body was paralyzed on one side and that he was scared that his musical career was over. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, as he was able to recover over time.
“[I’m] doing good [right now]. I’m still probably — I’d say I’m 85 to 90 percent back to strength, but I still have a little less dexterity with speed in my fingers. My fingers are the ones that — this is the last thing to strengthen up. But I had to change certain drum fills. Some fills that everybody knows me for on certain songs, I’ve had to improvise those at rehearsals to be able to actually play the songs.
“So now I’m starting to actually be able to kind of embrace it a bit more. And I can’t do that live. I have to wait until we start doing some rehearsals again or whatever it is. But I’m definitely getting stronger. And I’ve had great support from [Maiden manager] Rod [Smallwood], the band, and all of the fans out there. They’ve been absolutely — they’ve shown me so much love, it’s amazing.”
It’s hard to imagine a world where McBrain would have had to step down from Iron Maiden. Still, we’re glad he’s out there killing it on the drums.
Next September, Iron Maiden will be joined by Killswitch Engage for an Australian tour. You can find the dates below.
9/1 – RAC Arena, Perth – Aus
9/4 – Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide – Aus
9/6 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne – Aus
9/10 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane – Aus
9/12 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney – Aus
9/16 – Spark Arena, Auckland – NZ
