Nicko McBrain has explained that physical limitations following his 2023 stroke made it impossible for him to perform the songs planned for Iron Maiden’s upcoming tour, a key factor in his decision to retire from touring, he told Star FM.
McBrain had adapted his drumming and completed two tours with the band after his stroke despite the restrictions. However, the demands of the new tour proved beyond what he could manage physically.
Asked by Star FM whether adapting his drumming would be a creative challenge or a limitation, McBrain said: “It’s a challenge because I had to do that for two years. From when I had the stroke in ’23, I went off and did two tours with the band. And I had to compromise some of the songs, like the intro to ‘The Trooper’. I couldn’t play that fill. My hand just wouldn’t allow me to do the speed of that drum fill. So I had to compromise.”
“I did more triplets, just taking a fill from in the song, in the verse song, I actually put that fill at the intro. But it wasn’t the big iconic, it wasn’t the classic Nicko drum fill for that particular song, and various other ones. So I had to compromise it, and I had to come up with a different part.”
“And the band were okay,” he continued. “They were very supportive of me, and they were, like, ‘No, we don’t really notice much difference, but you still sound good, Nick. You’re still rocking us.’ But this new tour [‘Run For Your Lives’ 2025 and 2026 world tour], I just wouldn’t have been able to play a lot of those songs. And that helped in my decision to actually take the retirement. ‘Cause I just couldn’t play those [songs]. I couldn’t do ‘Murders In The Rue Morgue’. And that was the opening song.”
McBrain made his retirement decision based on the specific demands of the Run For Your Lives world tour. His assessment of what he could and could not perform with his post-stroke condition proved decisive.
McBrain suffered a stroke in January 2023 that left him partially paralyzed on his right side. With support from his wife Rebecca, family, doctors, and his bandmates, he recovered to around 70 percent of his previous ability. Despite the severity of his condition, he completed the final shows of the Legacy of the Beast tour and then performed the entire Future Past Tour with Iron Maiden.
The stroke affected his ability to play fast single-stroke rolls and 16th and 32nd note patterns that require speed from both hands. Over the two tours he completed after his stroke, McBrain had to change drum fills on various songs to work within his new physical limits. Songs like “The Trooper” required adjustments to the original drum parts he had created.
The Run For Your Lives World Tour marks 50 years since Steve Harris formed the band in late 1975 and features a special setlist spanning the nine studio albums from Iron Maiden to Fear of the Dark, with many songs that have not been played in years. McBrain announced his retirement in December 2024, ending his decades-long role as the band’s drummer. British Lion member Simon Dawson replaced him as the touring drummer for this tour, marking the band’s first tour in more than four decades without McBrain on drums.
