This is one of the best Nicko McBrain interviews I've seen.
Very revealing interview... So far I got:
- Doesn't deny the existence of IM album #17
- He stopped drinking after May 25th 2015, just before that he celebrated Bruce getting healthy by drinking 4 days in a row
- He stopped smoking weed and cigarettes in 1985
- Last time he did the Colombian marching powder was 2008
- He doesn't have an addictive personality
- He thinks that USA, particulary Florida, has a painkiller problem
- If you want to get help, decide to to that and reach out to people
- He thinks that passing on knowledge and experiences and helping people through that is the most important thing
- He tells the Joe Morello on TV story again
- He got his first kit for Christmas (it's an important day in IM history, isn't it...)
- Turned semi-pro at 14
- Around 14-15 he fell in love with blues, before that he was a pop-funk drummer
- He thinks that he is among great rock drummers, but not among the overall greats of all times
- He prefers Ringo's over Charlie Watts's style
- He moulded his drumming style between Moon's kit antics and Bonham's heavy grove
- His dad understood his passion for drumming, but his mother wanted to finish his eduction
- At one point he thinks he had musical photographic memory
- He used to drink with Davey in the 70's at Marquee before even meeting the other bandmembers in 1979 in Belgium
- Steve was impressed with Nicko when he saw McKitty and Donovan McKitty's Marshall broke and Nicko improvised a drum solo, so they could change Donovan's amp
- He met Rod Smallwood in the 70's when he toured with Streetwalkers and got on with him instantly
- He met the queen, which is one of the things he thinks he was privileged with
- Jim Marshall was one of his closest friends
- His dad died at 62 in 1985
- He met his wife in 1983, they were both on a blind date
- His dad warned him about knives and step ladders, which is ironic since he fell of one recently
- He will do a Mars Cowling tribute this year with Pat Travers, his band and Tommy Aldrige
- He wants a celebration for his funeral, not a mourning
- He doesn't want to be cremated and has an idea that the coffin would be made out of his drumshells, however, he will leave some to his sons and auction some off for charity
- He wants to be remembered as THE drummer of Iron Maiden
- There is a lot of unreleased Maiden live stuff (AMLOAD live, there is hope...)
- Never did drugs or booze before a show
- Sometimes they had a beer or a glass of wine before before encores, but that's it
- He used to drink a now prohibited cough medicine with morphine with his friend in the early 70s
- He thinks that being humble is one of the most important things
- His wife became a Christian before him in the 90's
- He wants to have peace with everyone who he was fed up, or were fed up with him
- He wants no enemies when he dies
- He played in a church band in his early days
- He thinks that if anyone comes to him and doubts his Christianity, this might be an indicator that you are not a good Christian
blabbermouth.net
