Nicko McBrain Reveals Main Truth Behind Joining Iron Maiden: “Steve Harris Had Never Seen Anything Like That”
Nicko McBrain has revealed how he joined Iron Maiden.
Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain has recalled joining the heavy metal band Iron Maiden and revealed some rarely-known moments that might surprise you.
Although he had lived an embarrassing night with them, Nicko McBrain has been a drummer of the 1975-formed Iron Maiden since 1982. Having a huge career with the band, McBrain released fourteen studio albums in total. The drummer’s debut album with the band was their fourth studio album, titled Piece of Mind, which was released on May 16, 1983.
At the time, McBrain took Clive Burr‘s place in the band. Burr was a member of the fold from 1979 until McBrain joined the band, 1982. His joining was not the first time that he encountered the band. He had appeared alongside Iron Maiden as a member of the rock band Trust during their Killers tour.
However, in his recent interview with 97.9 GRD radio station, McBrain has recalled how he joined Iron Maiden after the departure of Clive Burr. He mentioned the band’s Killers tour and stated that it was the most amount of time he spent with them.
“Well, I did a tour with Maiden on the ‘Killers’ album,” he said. “When the ‘Killers’ album came out, Adrian had just joined the band, and Paul Di’Anno I was still singing.
“And I had a band called Trust back in ’79 or ’80, and we ended up doing a tour with Maiden, that was the most amount of time I spent with them. But, I met Iron Maiden in 1979 on their very first European gig.”
McBrain Reveals The Main Truth Behind His Joining Iron Maiden
Continuing to his words, McBrain has touched on the main truth behind his joining Iron Maiden. Opening up about the issue, McBrain recalled a show that was the time when he first met with the bassist of the band, Steve Harris. Later then, he mentioned a surprising moment that he did an improv solo when an amp blew up. According to him, it mesmerized Steve Harris, and it caused him to join the band.
“I was playing in a different band called McKitty – this was before Trust, we toured on the same bill,” McBrain reveals. “There was one gig and that was when I first met Steve Harris and the gang.
“It was a trio band, and the guitar player’s guitar amp blew up, so Charlie Tumahai – who was the bass player – and I did an improv solo, and Steve was standing on the side of the stage, and he said he’d never seen anything like it in his life.
“So he remembered that, and so when things went wrong with Clive, the fact that I had toured with them and made friends with them with the Trust tour, I was the first drummer that sprang to mind.
“Now, here’s a weird thing – I took over the store from Clive, and later that year, I think in ’83 or ’84, Clive ended up doing an album with Trust. Not a lot of people know that.”
