Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain discussed Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose’s reputation for being difficult and addressed his vocal issues as Rose continues to perform live with the band. McBrain also admitted that his attempt to make peace with the singer was unsuccessful.
Question: “You’ve had some interesting support bands over the years. I mean you toured with Guns N’ Roses. And what’s interesting about that is Axl Rose has got a reputation for being a difficult character. What was your impression of him?”
Nicko McBrain’s response: “Well, look, you know, he hasn’t aged well. I’ll be honest. His voice hasn’t really stood, you know, he’s got a very high range of voice and I don’t think his voice has stood the test of time.”
“I do believe, though, that having played with AC/DC when Brian had that little hiccup a few years back, he did well there. Axl stepped in and did a really good job. He did, and he behaved himself. So we know he can. I think that he’s learned his lessons.”
“I know that there’s been one or two difficult times with Slash and him going forward. I mean, they’re almost as old as a slot, you know, being around as long as ‘Welcome to the Jungle.’ Was that ’87, ’88? So, yeah, I think he’s kind of behaving himself more now, and I’m glad he is because he honestly wasn’t a particularly nice guy to get on with.”
“And, you know, I tried to make my peace with him and he didn’t want to know. No, I thought, ‘Okay, that’s fine. All right, you do your own thing.'”
McBrain’s comments reflect both Rose’s long-standing reputation for unpredictability and the more positive professional assessment that followed his work with AC/DC. That contrast has followed Rose across four decades of touring, and several well-documented episodes help explain why.
The clearest example of Rose winning over skeptics came in 2016, when he took over lead vocals for AC/DC after Brian Johnson was advised to stop touring immediately to avoid total hearing loss. Rose said he meant “no disrespect” to Johnson as he stepped in for the European leg of the Rock or Bust tour. His handling of that role is exactly what McBrain pointed to when he said the singer “behaved himself” and “did a really good job.”
The hesitation surrounding that announcement was rooted in Rose’s earlier touring record. Guns N’ Roses were “notorious for late starts” during the era of their massive early-1990s stadium run with Metallica, to the point that 1991 tickets listed the band as taking the stage “around 9 PM.” Delayed sets and unpredictable performances became the foundation of the difficult-character reputation McBrain described.
