The drummer Nicko McBrain (72), who recently announced tour dates with his band Titanium Tart, praised in an interview with Eddie Trunk (Transcribed by Blabbermouth) the new Iron Maiden drummer Simon Dawson. Iron Maiden is currently touring in Europe to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
Nicko McBrain praises the new Iron Maiden drummer
“Well, I’ve known Simon for a number of years. He actually was a British Drum Company endorsee for a bit. I got him his deal, actually, probably six, seven years back. When I first went with British Drum Company back in 2018, yeah, about six years ago I got Simon a deal. He left British Drum Company. He went with Natal. But I knew Simon. And we were hanging out. Now obviously Steve took British Lion on tour with him on ‘The Future Past Tour’, and we discussed the possibility of… When we started the North American tour, we were down in San Diego, then we came out to L.A. and I sat with Steve and that was basically when I decided that it was time to let him know that I was gonna retire.”
“And we had a chat about it, and he said, ‘Well, would you mind if we have a rehearsal with Simon?’ And I went, ‘Absolutely not. I mean, he’s been on tour with us since Asia and Australia.’ I said, ‘He’s bound to know the songs.’ I said, ‘Why not?’ So they had a rehearsal with him in Portland. And it went really well. And it wasn’t a question of, ‘Well, let’s replace you now, Nick.’ The understanding was I was gonna finish the tour and that he was gonna replace me… This was a decision that Steve made, and I thought, well, fine. He’s a great player… And so I had no issues with that whatsoever.”
“So, yeah, that was when I knew. We were in North America. I knew Simon was gonna rehearse with the band and that he was chosen one to replace me. So, yeah, I knew Simon. We had a relationship. We were sitting in Japan. We had a couple of nights together. We sat down, had a cup of tea, a couple of sandwiches in the clubhouse at the hotel… And he’s a great guy, and he’s doing a fantastic job. I mean, he’s not me. And they didn’t want somebody like me, like a Nicko clone or whatever. But he’s got his own fingerprint, which is great. And the one thing I’m really happy about is I’m still the best-looking bloke in Iron Maiden. (Laughs)”
Why he decided to retire from Maiden
“Primarily, I was fed up with touring in terms of the travel and not having days to recoup my body. As of December, prior to December last year, I was a granddad of the band. I was four years older than Harry (Steve Harris) and five years older than Dave (Murray and Adrian (Smith). Bruce is a baby at 66. (Laughs) He’s a baby at 66. (Laughs) Can you believe it?”
“I wasn’t so much slowing down, although we did play the songs that… I got told off at rehearsals last year because I was playing the songs too fast, ’cause I’d been playing with Titanium Tart before I went off and did the rehearsals in Australia with Maiden. And I actually got told off for playing too quick. So it wasn’t a question of not being able to drive the band. It was just not being able to drive the band with the drum fills that I’d been used to playing for 42 years. So the question mark was raised about the performance side. And that’s quite right…So that was part of the decision that I made,” he said.
Nicko McBrain’s Titanium Tart 2025 tour dates
The drummer Nicko McBrain announced four tour dates with his project Titanium Tart which performs Iron Maiden songs. The shows will happen next July in Florida. Besides him, are also part of the group Rob Stokes (Bass), Eldad Kira (Keyboards), Mike Rivera (Guitar), Mich Tanne (Guitar) and Paolo Velazquez (Vocals).
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