Two years ago, Nicko McBrain announced his retirement from touring with Iron Maiden due to the difficulties he faced after suffering a stroke that affected his ability to perform the songs as they were originally recorded. The band never made it clear whether he would still be involved in their studio work, but it seems there was never any discussion about that. Nicko once again said in an interview that he would like to play on their next album, at least on a few songs.
Speaking to Star FM, he said he had talked to Steve Harris about it earlier this year, but the band’s leader and bassist told him there were no plans to record anything new yet.
Nicko McBrain wants to play on Iron Maiden’s next album
“No. It’s a moot point right now. I spoke to Steve last week. I didn’t broach the fact of doing an album. He came to my restaurant (in Florida) in February or March earlier this year, and we sat and had a good chat. And I said to him, ‘You (will take) some time off (from touring) next year. Are you going to think about doing a new record?’ And he went, ‘No, I haven’t thought about it, Nick.’ So having said that, that doesn’t mean to say that there may not be an album. It’s just that he’s not prepared yet, as then, to think about doing a record. I know Bruce would like to do one.”
“But you gotta bear in mind, if they make an album, you gotta go out and tour it. So there’s another couple of years down the line to, first of all, you’ve gotta get the album made, get it made and distribute it and all that. And then that’s more time, more time. Then you’ve gotta go tour it. Not to say the fact that they don’t wanna go out and tour, but we’re all getting long in the tooth now. And these are high-energy shows.”
“I’m not saying that they’re gonna retire, but here’s the thing: if you do another record, you’re gonna have to go out and tour it. And that’s a world tour, over two years. That’s in my head. I’m thinking, well, is that what’s keeping them from doing an album? I don’t know. But at the minute, there’s no plan on doing a record. But if they do, I would love to do a couple of songs on it. Why not?” (Transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Nicko’s spoken word tour
The drummer recently announced his autobiography, “Hello Boys and Girls!” and revealed spoken-word tour dates to promote the book.
November
- 8 – Savoy Theatre, Helsinki, Finland
- 9 – Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway
- 11 – Gota Lejon, Stockholm, Sweden
- 13 – DR Studio 2, Copenhagen, Denmark
- 15 – Malta Metal Festival, St Julian’s, Malta
- 18 – Ambassador, Dublin, Ireland
- 23 – Glee Club, Birmingham, UK
- 26 – Bush Hall, London, UK
- 28 – The Gate, Cardiff, UK
- 30 – Komedia, Bath, UK
December
- 1 – Academy 2, Manchester, UK
- 3 – Oran Mor, Glasgow, UK