Iron Maiden Drummer Nicko McBrain Reveals He Suffered a Stroke in Early 2023

Originally published by Consequence News

drummer Nicko McBrain has revealed that he suffered a stroke back in January. McBrain issued a written statement and posted a video message via Iron Maiden’s website, informing fans that he was temporarily paralyzed on his right side. He has mostly recovered but is still not at 100%, despite performing with Maiden on their summer European dates, which conclude with a Friday (August 4th) set at Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival. The drummer’s full statement reads as follows:

“I hope this message finds you all well!

The reason I’m writing to you all today is to let you know of a very serious health problem that I have been through. In January I had a stroke, thank the Lord it was a minor one referred to as a TIA. It left me paralyzed on my right side from my shoulder on down, of course I was very worried that my career was over but with the love and support from my wife, Rebecca and family, my doctors, especially Julie my OT (Occupational Therapist), and my Maiden family I was able to bounce back to somewhere near 70% recovered. After 10 weeks of intense therapy it was almost time to start rehearsals for our tour.

I feel it’s important to let you know about this now instead of earlier as I was mainly concerned with doing my job and concentrating on getting back to 100% fitness. I’m not there yet but by the grace of God I’m getting better and stronger as the weeks go by.

Thank you all for a most wonderful and magical tour so far, you have all been so amazing.

Well that’s it from me. God bless you all, stay safe and well and I look forward to seeing you all somewhere in time. 🙂 :-)”

Regarding McBrain’s stroke and subsequent recovery, Maiden manager Rod Smallwood said that the band wasn’t sure if its drummer would be physically able to learn the band’s “new and musically very complex set,” adding that “what Nicko has been able to achieve since his stroke shows incredible belief and willpower.” McBrain’s stroke came after he was diagnosed with stage 1 laryngeal cancer in 2020 (the cancer was surgically removed soon after and hasn’t returned). Said Smallwood: “Nicko being Nicko he did not want to make a fuss and cause any distraction to the tour at the time but, now that he is sure he will soon get there, he thought you fans should know straight from him rather than by any rumours!” Iron Maiden are one of the major acts on the bill for California’s inaugural Power Trip festival, where they will perform on the first day of the fest (Friday, October 6th). Before that, they will play a string of Canadian dates, with tickets available here. You can see McBrain’s video message below.