Nicko McBrain Admits He Struggles To Play Iron Maiden Songs After Stroke

When Iron Maiden's Nicko McBrain suffered a stroke last year, he thought he'd never play again . Thankfully, the drummer was able to persevere and will be performing with the band on their Future Past tour this fall; however, there are some songs he can't play the same way after the health scare.

McBrain spoke about the struggles he still faces on a recent visit to The Washington Tattoo Podcast . “I can’t do a 16-note roll going into 32nd-note rolls anymore,” he admitted, referring to Iron Maiden's 1983 hit "The Trooper." “I don’t play [that] fill anymore because I can’t get it… It’s the speed of it. I can do everything slow, but I’ve had to make sure that as long as I can keep the groove of the song, which is normally…,” he explained, giving reassurance that other than that he feel back to good strength.

“When it first happened, I thought, this is it, I’m not going to be able to play. I’ve got a tour coming up in three months’ time. I had a lot of time for reflection in the hospital. My wife was really my bastion of strength and encouragement and she was with me throughout,” McBrain continued before speaking about the support he received from his bandmate. “Throughout all this period of time, I was in touch with [Iron Maiden bassist] Steve [Harris]. Obviously, all the guys, and I’d have a bit of a chat with them on the phone and they were all very, very encouraging, and none more so than Steve.”

Listen to McBrain's full interview with The Washington Tattoo Podcast below.