Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain will retire from touring with the band after a final show with the British metal legends tonight (Dec. 7) in Sao Paulo. The 72-year-old musician, who joined Maiden in 1982, suffered a stroke in early 2023 and was able to work his way back onto the stage after extensive rehabilitation.
“After much consideration, it is with both sorrow and joy, I announce my decision to take a step back from the grind of the extensive touring lifestyle,” he says in a statement. “I will, however, remain firmly part of the Iron Maiden family working on a variety of projects, my long time managers, Rod Smallwood and Andy Taylor, have in mind for me. I’ll also be working on a variety of different personal projects and focusing on my existing businesses and ventures, including The British Drum Company, Nicko McBrain’s Drum One, Titanium Tart and of course, Rock-N-Roll Ribs!”
“What can I say? Touring with Maiden the last 42 years has been an incredible journey!,” added the drummer, who has played on every Maiden release since 1983’s Piece of Mind and also beat laryngeal cancer in recent years. “To my devoted fan base, you made it all worthwhile and I love you! To my devoted wife, Rebecca, you made it infinitely easier and I love you! To my kids, Justin and Nicholas, thank you for understanding the absences and I love you! To my friends that are always there for me, I love you! To my bandmates, you made it a dream come true and I love you!”
In a separate statement, Smallwood and the other band members said “Maiden always get their man and our already chosen new drummer will be announced very shortly.” They also thanked McBrain “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!
“Ever since Rock in Rio in 1985 we have had a special relationship with Brazil so to bow out of touring in front of 90,000 fans here in Sao Paulo over two nights is poetic and you are deserving of all the accolades I am sure these marvelous fans will give you on this last show. The band and I all have a thousand great memories of the past 42 years, great gigs, copious platinum and gold discs and awards, love from the fans and one beer too many on too many occasions! Such a bond is forever! And, as Steve Harris says, ‘Nicko is and will always be part of the Maiden family.’”
Maiden will be back on the road next year for the extensive Run for Your Lives world tour, which begins May 27 in Budapest and concludes Aug. 2 in Warsaw.