Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain sadly suffered a stroke back in January. In a statement on the band's website at the time, McBrain revealed it was a minor transient ischemic attack (TIA) that left part of his right side paralyzed. McBrain feared his career with Iron Maiden was over, though the band's past and future touring schedule obviously proves otherwise.
Despite saying he's almost back to full strength these days, McBrain told Metal Hammer in a new interview that he was originally afraid he'd never drum again.
"Well, it was very, very difficult. When it first happened, I thought, 'This is it. I'm not going to be able to play. I've got a tour coming up in three months' time.' I had a lot of time for reflection in the hospital. My wife was really my bastion of strength and encouragement and she was with me throughout. I did a lot of strength exercises, a lot of stretches with weird weights that they have and I got my stamina back."
McBrain added that everyone in Iron Maiden was extremely supportive of him throughout his recovery, none more than bassist Steve Harris.
"Through all this period of time I was in touch with Steve, obviously all the guys, and I'd have a bit of a chat with them on the phone and they were all very, very encouraging, and none more so than Steve. He said, 'Look, the most important thing is that you get well and work on getting yourself together.'"
Iron Maiden's 2024 plans for North and South America are as follows. Get your tickets here.
10/4 North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA
10/5 Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, NV
10/8 Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA
10/12 Aftershock Festival, Sacramento, CA
10/14 MODA Center, Portland, OR
10/16 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
10/18 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
10/19 Ball Arena, Denver, CO
10/22 Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, MN
10/24 Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
10/26 Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
10/27 Videotron Centre, Quebec, QC
10/30 Centre Bell, Montreal, QC
11/1 Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
11/2 Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
11/6 DCU Center, Worcester, MA
11/8 PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
11/9 Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
11/12 CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, MD
11/13 Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
11/16 Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX
11/17 Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
11/20 Foro Sol, Mexico City, MEXICO
11/24 El Campin Stadium, Bogota
11/27 Estadio Nacional, Santiago
