Nicko McBrain retires

The_clairvoyant said:
It's like leaving an office job in a company. You give 100% for 42 years but you're forgotten the next day... without any consideration. Why announce the replacement so quickly? We all knew they would need a replacement for the next tour, it could have waited. Instead, I would have preferred a personal video from Nicko detailing his future with or without Iron Maiden. Very strange communication non-respect for him and us
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Terry1958 said:
I like that idea. A video with Nicko and Simon together when Simon would be announced for 2025, as good mates, Nicko funny as always.
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Yep I agree and like your ideas. Video from Nicko with Simon would have been awesome. I think they should have prepared one for this occasion..
 
Yes, I really wonder why they didn't do that. It would have had many advantages and it wasn't that difficult to come up with the idea, nor would it have been particularly expensive or work-intensive.
 
The_clairvoyant said:
It's like leaving an office job in a company. You give 100% for 42 years but you're forgotten the next day... without any consideration. Why announce the replacement so quickly? We all knew they would need a replacement for the next tour, it could have waited. Instead, I would have preferred a personal video from Nicko detailing his future with or without Iron Maiden. Very strange communication non-respect for him and us
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At first, I agreed with this, BUT imagine waiting six months to announce the drummer...every time any one sees a member of Maiden, they'd be asking about the replacement. Including Nicko. Imagine having to retire from your life's work and then have people asking you who's replacing you for months?

I think it is a bit odd, but probably a courtesy to all of the band members that they announced it so soon.
 
The_clairvoyant said:
It's like leaving an office job in a company. You give 100% for 42 years but you're forgotten the next day... without any consideration. Why announce the replacement so quickly? We all knew they would need a replacement for the next tour, it could have waited. Instead, I would have preferred a personal video from Nicko detailing his future with or without Iron Maiden. Very strange communication non-respect for him and us
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I agree 100%. It’s shitty of Nicko and the band to not run this by us first for our approval.
 
I've seen speculation that there was an altercation between Steve and Nicko because Steve didn't seem very emotional, but I don't know.
Maybe Steve just isn't the type for emotional reactions.
 
matic22 said:
Steve and Bruce don't allow themselves to be emotional. If you look closely, they were teary eyed and left the stage soon after the cheers.
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I'm glad that someone confirms this, because I was already thinking that maybe I just want to find the story of the falling-out improbable because I don't like it.
 
TaaviMaiden said:
I'm glad that someone confirms this, because I was already thinking that maybe I just want to find the story of the falling-out improbable because I don't like it.
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Nicko didn't improve since 2022 in his performances as much as he wanted, so he offered his resignation from Iron Maiden touring and persuaded others to continue. Simple as that.

It's not personal. It's Nicko's physical ability.
 
matic22 said:
Nicko didn't improve since 2022 in his performances as much as he wanted, so he offered his resignation from Iron Maiden touring and persuaded others to continue. Simple as that.

It's not personal. It's Nicko's physical ability.
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This is the sort of thing where a bunch of assumptions leads to people thinking they know more than they really do about what happened. We don't know when or why Nicko decided to step down. He could have been intending this to be his final tour ever since the stroke. Maybe he thought he could carry on into RFYL, maybe it was never something he was seriously considering. We'll probably never know.

Frankly, we don't even know for sure that Steve didn't ask Nicko to step down. I don't personally believe that's what happened, but whatever vague public statements Maiden puts out isn't going to provide clarity as to how this decision was made.
 
Mosh said:
This is the sort of thing where a bunch of assumptions leads to people thinking they know more than they really do about what happened. We don't know when or why Nicko decided to step down. He could have been intending this to be his final tour ever since the stroke. Maybe he thought he could carry on into RFYL, maybe it was never something he was seriously considering. We'll probably never know.

Frankly, we don't even know for sure that Steve didn't ask Nicko to step down. I don't personally believe that's what happened, but whatever vague public statements Maiden puts out isn't going to provide clarity as to how this decision was made.
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I'm basing this assumption on what Nicko has said in the past, what Steve and Bruce said in the past and on this year's performances, particulary the Titanium Tart ones from the summer.

Nicko has stated in the past that if he feels like his performances are not up to standard, he will step down and persuade the others to get a replacement with his blessing. Steve and Bruce have stated in the past that the January 1999 - December 2024 live lineup is the last one. One of those happened and the other didn't, which leads me to believe that Nicko resigned himself.

The Titanium Tart performances from the summer were significant, in my opinion, because they weren't good. It was obvious at that point that Nicko's drumming ability hasn't improved a lot since the end of 2023 and the playing inactivity made him even more rusty than in previous years. The extended break between 2023 and 2024 could also signify that the band wanted to give Nicko time for his health to improve.

The fact that Nicko toured in 2023 is incredible. The fact that he finished the whole tour is even more incredible.

So, in short, based on past statements and observation of the performances, I assume that Nicko resigned himself.

P.S. I believe that doing the Run For Your Lives tour was never an option for Nicko, as it was clear that he can't play the tour title track anymore when he played it with the Marines.
 
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matic22 said:
I'm basing this assumption on what Nicko has said in the past, what Steve and Bruce said in the past and on this year's performances, particulary the Titanium Tart ones from the summer.

Nicko has stated in the past that if he feels like his performances are not up to standard, he will step down and persuade the others to get a replacement with his blessing. Steve and Bruce have stated in the past that the January 1999 - December 2024 live lineup is the last one. One of those happened and the other didn't, which leads me to believe that Nicko resigned himself.

The Titanium Tart performances from the summer were significant, in my opinion, because they weren't good. It was obvious at that point that Nicko's drumming ability hasn't improved a lot since the end of 2022 and the playing inactivity made him even more rusty than in previous years. The extended break between 2022 and 2023 could also signify that the band wanted to give Nicko time for his health to improve.

The fact that Nicko toured in 2022 is incredible. The fact that he finished the whole tour is even more incredible.

So, in short, based on past statements and observation of the performances, I assume that Nicko resigned himself.

P.S. I believe that doing the Run For Your Lives tour was never an option for Nicko, as it was clear that he can't play the tour title track anymore when he played it with the Marines.
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This seems close to the mark, especially the nearly one year break in touring in the Future Past schedule between 2023 and 2024.

There's an interview filmed in Florida from last year in which Nicko says "if I can't drive this band anymore then I'll have to take a step back". So maximum respect to Nicko, he got the farewell tour he absolutely deserved and there's no sense of Maiden dumping him on the curb. I think the decision has been handled quite well by Maiden.

I can't say the same for the Simon Dawson announcement, but I'm sure they need to give it a few weeks before commenting in more detail on this part of the change.
 
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