Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain reveals he suffered stroke that left him paralysed on one side

3 August, 2023

Nicko McBrain

Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain has said he had a stroke earlier this year, which left him paralysed on his right side and made him fear for his career.

McBrain suffered a TIA – commonly known as a mini-stroke – back in January, which left him paralysed on his right side from his shoulder 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,” he told fans in a video message.

After 10 weeks of “intensive therapy”, McBrain was ready to start rehearsals in May with the rest of Iron Maiden ahead of their recent ‘The Future Past’ tour.

McBrain said he wanted to focus on performing before he imparted any news on his health to fans.

“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,” he said. “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.”

Iron Maiden’s manager also shared a statement.

“The rest of the band and l think that what Nicko has been able to achieve since his stroke shows incredible belief and willpower and we are all very proud of him. With this new and musically very complex set to learn ahead of him, he just got his head down and concentrated on recovery,” he said. “We honestly did not know if he would be able to play a whole show until band rehearsals started in May and there was just so much support for him from the band and then genuine relief for all when we saw he was going to be able to do it!

“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!

“We are all of course delighted he battled through this so well and look forward to many more tours together starting with the three Western Canada shows and Power Trip in California coming up in a couple of months’ time. We can’t wait! This tour is that good!”

In late 2022, McBrain revealed he had laryngeal cancer in 2020 and encouraged fans to go to their doctor if they observed an unexplained change in the sound of their voice.

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