Nicko McBrain has discussed his frustration with how Bruce Dickinson handled his departure from Iron Maiden, saying the singer should have waited until the end of the tour to announce his exit. McBrain made the comments in an interview with Classic Album Review.
McBrain explained that Dickinson announced he was leaving the band midway through the Fear Of The Dark tour, rather than waiting until it ended. The drummer was troubled by the timing and what it meant for the band and their fans during that period.
“Oh, yeah, without a doubt. I was the most outspoken one of the guys, out a lot of them, about the way that all went down with Bruce,” McBrain said.
“And there was a lot of bad blood in as much as I thought, well, why didn’t he wait till the end of the ‘Fear Of The Dark’ tour [to announce that he was leaving]? Why did he have to say he wanted to leave halfway through it? And my take was, why do I wanna… And I’m gonna be a bit rude here. I mean, it’s well documented, but you’ve asked the question and I’ll answer it.”
“I felt, why do I wanna look at his sorry arse on stage every night and I know he doesn’t wanna be there? It was a very personal inward thing for me. Then I’m thinking, ‘Well, what about the fans? We’re not giving them a subpar performance,’ ’cause he didn’t wanna be there. And all this kind of stuff, this malarkey was going through me noggin.”
The two eventually reconciled when Dickinson returned to the band. McBrain described a conversation the pair had with guitarist Janick Gers after they drove back to London together.
“But when he came back, we had a meeting in Brighton. Janick [Gers, Maiden guitarist], Bruce and myself drove back to London for last orders at the local pub in Chiswick that Bruce and Janick used to go to. And we talked about it, and I said to him, ‘Bruce, I can’t take back what I said and how I felt about when you left the band five years ago, six years back,’ I said, ‘but I love you and I’m glad you’re back in the band.'”
“And he looked at me and he put his arm around me. He says, ‘I wouldn’t have it any other way, Nick. I love you too.’ And we’ve never spoken about it since. And that’s so good, because we put it to bed.”
The drummer reflected on how important it was for them to move past the tension that had existed between them. McBrain’s comments offer insight into the personal dynamics within Iron Maiden during one of the band’s most difficult periods.
Iron Maiden kicked off the Fear Of The Dark tour on June 3, 1992. After the first leg ended in November 1992, Dickinson flew to Los Angeles to work on a solo album and told manager Rod Smallwood he wanted to leave Iron Maiden. The band announced Dickinson’s departure at a press conference before the second tour began, aiming to give fans a chance to say goodbye. Dickinson played his last show of his original run with Iron Maiden on August 28, 1993 at Pinewood Studios near London.
Wolfsbane singer Blaze Bayley replaced Dickinson and officially joined the band in 1994. Bayley departed in 1999 when Maiden welcomed Dickinson back. Iron Maiden brought Bruce Dickinson back on February 10, 1999 after a six-year absence, alongside guitarist Adrian Smith after a decade away. The reunion tour sent Maiden back to the top of heavy metal, with sold-out arenas across the globe. The comeback album Brave New World arrived in May 2000 and returned Iron Maiden to its place at the leading edge of heavy metal.
McBrain revealed that he felt betrayed when Dickinson left in 1993. Before returning to the stage with the band, the drummer made a point of talking to the vocalist at a pub in Chiswick where Bruce and Janick used to go. McBrain told Dickinson he could not take back what he had said about his departure, but that he loved him and was glad he was back. That conversation remains the only time they have ever spoken about the issue.
