Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain will bring some metal to this year's Mountbatten Festival of Music (MFM) at the Royal Albert Hall alongside The Massed Bands of His Majesty's Royal Marines. McBrain and the band will hit the stage on March 8 and 9 for three shows to play some Iron Maiden classics plus a "few fantastic surprises."
"It is such an honour to be invited to perform with the Massed Bands of His Majesty's Royal Marines at the 2024 Mountbatten Festival of Music," said McBrain. "I feel so humbled to be a part of this fantastic event. I look forward to seeing you all at the Royal Albert Hall in March to enjoy rockin' out to some Maiden ditties along with a few fantastic surprises!"
Tickets are available here. As for McBrain, he's clearly doing very well in recovering from his stroke back in January 2022. 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.
Despite saying he's almost back to full strength these days, McBrain told Metal Hammer in a recent 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."
