Nicko McBrain Interview in Greek Rock On Magazine
I have translated and typed it in a few hours, forgive any mistakesAn interview with Iron Maiden’s drummer is never just another interview. Nicko McBrain, with the opportunity of the release of their amazing new DVD entitled “The Early Days” and his visit in Greece with Anthenora to play a set of covers of his band, spoke to us for more than 40 minutes when we called him in thestudio where he now is recording with a new project. Delightful, revealing and above all religious, McBrain tells all.
Rock On (Greece), www.rock-on.net
Your new DVD is probably the best I’ve ever seen. It covers the beginning of your career from the times you were trying to play some gigs in London’s East End until “World Piece Tour”, five years later, in 1983. Probably one of the rarest visual documents of Iron Maiden is the home video, filmed by the band, when you were playing at the Ruskin Arms in London. Your management used to state that “we initially feared that this footage was lost”. How could you do something like that? How did Steve finally find it?
He had it at his place and he had kept it in a safe place where he could find it when the time came, but he searched everywhere to find it now that we needed it and now that we needed it he couldn’t!!! He finally found it and – to tell you the truth – I didn’t even know he had it. It is very rare footage and all of us have such things at home, which we show to each other, remembering the good old times. Dave has done a wonderful job, fitting all of the footage in two DVDs and were very happy with the result.
Which part of the DVD you find most enjoying?
To tell you the truth, I haven’t seen its final form, since that happened last week (the interview was held on the 18th of October). I traveled from the USA to England and just yesterday I found the DVD on my desk, so you realize I haven’t seen all the details yet. Of course, we’ve spent hours talking to our manager, Rod Smallwood and all the guys in the group so I feel that this DVD is exactly what our fans are dreaming of.
I pissed my pants when I saw the scenes from Steve’s diary where it says that you used to receive five pounds for each gig!!! Pretty much what you earn nowadays right? (both laugh). But where I really went crazy was with your appearance on TOTP where there was a trailer explaining that you had insisted on playing live, something which was –and is for this program - very rarely the case.
I remember what Steve told me, because I wasn’t in the band at that time, that they didn’t want to let them play “Running Free” and “Women In Uniform”. We had many problems with the show’s ways and Steve, in coordination with Rod- that they’d boycott the show if they didn’t let them have it their way. Since that incident they wouldn’t let us play on that show again. It must have been 12 years before we played there again… not to mention that a huge fight broke out between our company and the channel! Disaster! Anyhow, I love the diary notes as well, because Steve has a great sense of humor. I think it portrays the hard, early days of the band very vividly. You should see the next parts of the series to make the comparisons, to see how we faced the success that came. It truly is a great story.
Who would imagine when you were beginning that you’d become so successful… Who’s idea was it to make this DVD? It must have been particularly hard and time consuming to find all this “lost footage”.
To be totally honest with you, I don’t know who had the idea first. Nevertheless, it must have been Rod and Steve who sat down at some point after the tour and suggested this idea to the band and the company. They are very resourceful people. In all this time between the end of the tour in February and 3-4 months from now, when we’ll start the rehearsals for the next tour, we had to come up with something for our fans. So it was a great idea and all we had to do was to find rare footage. That Steve sure is a genius…
What period is the next part of the series going to cover? I have heard that it will cover the period of time from “Live After Death” and the 4 sold out shows of Long Beach Arena in 1984 to the “Somewhere In Time” tour.
It depends. I think the series will be completed in two more parts. If my calculations are correct and taking into account that Part 1 covers four albums, then our next DVD will cover 5 albums, so it will encompass the period up to “No Prayer For The Dying”, ten years that is. Logically speaking, we have to cover a period of 20 years in two DVDs. So we’ll probably break it into 2 decades. Steve is constantly working on this and will be caught up with the DVDs until April. He really likes paying great attention to the sound and video quality of Iron Maiden.
You will play at some summer festivals in 2005 and you will “bring your early days to life”. Since you will be returning to your roots as far as the feeling and the image is concerned, are you thinking of going onstage wearing tights and all the clothes you wore back then?
(Did I have to ask this? He started laughing for about a minute) Bless you, Sakis! You made me laugh out loud. To tell you the truth, if we suggest it to Bruce, he will have a hard time turning it down!!! (laughs) Great idea.
You can, in the bottom line, feel to old for that, so do it only for the encore!
You’re really plugging me!!! Ha ha! I’m not 24 like back then. I look back at the clothes I wore on the Piece Of Mind tour, which was my first tour with the band, and I can’t believe my eyes. It’s a good idea though, and as I told you, I believe Bruce could do it, because he likes things like that. He might even put a blonde wig on!!! (it goes without saying that he was laughing throughout all this) Now he’s a “proper” pilot for British Airways and he can’t have the long hair. I still remember him though how he was up and until the Somewhere in Time tour, when his hair was blonde, like was constantly under the sun. What laughter! God bless you my friend! I hadn’t laughed like this in a long time. Be sure that I will suggest your idea to the rest of the kids! I just hope they don’t beat me up if they don’t like the idea…
Which classic songs that you haven’t played live for a long time would you like to see included in the setlist of your summer tour?
There are so many! “Genghis Khan” comes right into my mind though! It would be great to play it again, because it has been a very long time since the last time we had it in our setlist. It could be “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and some others, but I’m not sure how they come out live. That is one of the reasons we don’t play them often, even though one of the criteria by which we put the songs on our albums is if they can be played live well…
Let’s change the subject to something else now: You’re coming to Greece alongside the Italian band Anthenora and you’re going to play cover versions of Iron Maiden songs.
Yes, we’re going to make a tribute of ourselves!!! (laughs) Ok, I mean my band! The guys from Anthenora are great guys. They have a passion for music, and album of which I like many songs and I believe that they have a real “metal” heart. I’ve known them for 3-4 years and we did some concerts together earlier, we had a great time and we agreed to go on a mini tour. Something similar is done by other musicians, like Ian Paste for example who is touring with a Deep Purple cover band. We had organized a gig in Italy, when the proposal to come to Greece was made to us. Naturally, I really liked the idea and I will tell you how the whole thing will take place: for one – one and a half hour I will talk to the fans about Iron Maiden, my drum playing and it’s generally going to be something like a drum clinic. Later, Anthenora are going to come up onstage and we’re gonna play 80 minutes of Iron Maiden songs.
Hadn’t you done something similar in the past with The Whole Population Of Hackney?
Yes!!! He had done it in 1988 because then was the longest period in which we hadn’t toured (7-8 months) and I wanted to do something to fill my time. Since joining the band in 1983 he have never sat still for so long. I arranged some rehearsals in my practice room – in which coincidently I am as we speak (!!!) and I met with some friends and we said we’d play together. That was how The Whole Population Of Hackney was created. We recorded some songs but at some point I had to return to the States and, to tell you the truth, the whole thing was left in the middle and practically, from that project A.S.A.P. were created, Adrian Smith’s solo project!
You got the group together for him that is. He didn’t have to look for musicians!
Exactly, isn’t it funny?
He had left the band in the meanwhile… strange…
Rod Smallwood was aware of everything. There’s no doubt about that. Anyway, we played a gig in the Marquee with that project and I think there’s bootleg of the gig, which – who knows – might be part of the second part of the DVD trilogy. “The Middle Years”!!! (laughs)
Have you been doing the same thing in America with McBrain Damage?
Exactly the same thing that we are doing with Anthenora in Europe, only that we deal with Iron Maiden covers and there’s no room for the drum clinic we’re doing now. Just one and a half hours of covers.
Tell me now please, what’s happening with the notorious project with the x-Anthrax guitarist, Dan Spitz and Dave Ellefson (x-Megadeth) not to mention that initial plans included well known rapper Vanilla Ice. I’m talking about Seven X Seventy.
Hmmm…. That project has caused a great deal of debates. We recorded 11 songs with Dan and I’d say that all of them were amazing. I really loved them. Unfortunately though, it leaked in the press too early that we’d create that project and that Ellefson would be the bass player, while we hadn’t confirmed absolutely anything with any other member except Dan and me. The result was that Ellefson got pissed off with the way things were handled and he informed stated that he couldn’t work with us after such awful handling of the matters, with which I completely agree. So, this project has been left aside. We may do something similar with McBrain Damage sometime later in the year, playing covers from Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and several other things. A this point though I am planning another project with friends of mine in England and in fact we’re entering the studio tomorrow (October 19th). It will be an official release and we hope for it to come out in mid 2005. The people I work with are excellent musicians but not as handsome as me!!! (laughs) You know, one of them, Phil Hillborn, just entered the room as we speak and I’m having a laugh with him.
If you continue to talk about them like that, I see this project failing to see the light of day as well!
Yes, I think I’ll stop talking about them like that… Hahaha! We have a great relationship with the boys and I’m curious as to what the final outcome will be. Unfortunately though, I can’t tell you anything ‘cause it might spread and I don’t want it to end like Seven X Seventy.
We know that as far as Seven X Seventy are concerned you met with Dave Spitz through your wives who used to go to church together and it had quite a religious content. I’d like you to tell me if it is true that from the moment that you became a Christian with Rebecca’s - your wife’s “blessings” you have become a member of the religious team in Spanish River Church in Florida.
Exactly
Have you been thinking of going to a preach school?
I have done so already. I went last year. My problem is that I’m still quite active with Iron Maiden, the drum shows, Anthenora that bring me to Greece, I have to travel all the time and in general I am very busy. I want to get much more involved with Christianity and to give myself to God. I will surely do it in the future.
How much has this relationship you have with God changed you since you became a Christian?
It changed my life completely. You just have to be a good Christian to understand how much that means. You learn to love with your body and your spirit. I don’t want to swear anymore and I don’t like hearing people swearing. I can communicate perfectly without the use of those words. I’d say that I see the world in a different way, through the eyes of Jesus and I feel like a little child, like I’ve been reborn.
Since I learned about this turn of yours I have been wanting to ask you how you can play songs like The Number Of The Beast live. Doesn’t it bother you?
Pay attention to my logic: you always come face to face with that which wants to force you into evil. Playing The Number Of The Beast live is a realization that Evil and Satan exist. This song is not a praise of Satan but exactly the opposite. A friendly pat on the shoulder so that people who hear the song understand that Satan is out there and he’s trying to make you his own wherever you go – like our song says: “Iron Maiden’s gonna get you, no matter how far”. People easily tell me that they don’t believe in God and that makes them vulnerable in the temptations of the Devil. If someone wants eternal life, he can accomplish it only through God. There is no other way. That which probably surprises people is that analyzing a song that refers to the Devil, we are talking about God. That is something great. Maybe that’s the reason that God chose to keep me in the wonderful band, to fight Evil. Be careful though: I am not sinless. Nobody is because only Jesus and His Father can say something like that. We all have to sin less. Trust me, the Devil tries to tempt me to do drugs and several other sins everyday but I refuse and resist. Christianity, therefore, has changed my life, my way of thinking and my relations with other people.
Lets change the subject, shall we? Where do you believe the rumors of you not playing drums on “Virtual XI”? It sounds ridiculous to my ears but why do you think someone would spread a rumor like that?
(he was laughing out loud during the question) My my! What did you remind me of!!! If you enter our site, you’ll see many strange things!!! It goes without saying that it’s a lie. I check our site very often and in fact I write the tour updates. They were saying several things about me and Blaze, that I was the reason he left the band and much more. It’s a pathetic situation my friend…
Are you planning on writing other songs for Iron Maiden like you did with New Frontier?
Certainly! I must. However, have the appropriate urge from somewhere. Gladly, I have great people around me and I feel as if The Holy Ghost is lighting my life. I have decided to write more songs and my feeling is that God has really lifted my psychology.
It is a generally accepted fact, and I see this myself now, that you’re a person with a great sense of humor. Your Listen With Nicko series was unbelievably funny, just like your appearance on the ghost track of the No More Lies EP. Do you have similar plans for something concerning the band’s 25th anniversary for example?
Bravo my friend!!! You have given me some great ideas today. Thank you very much! We could Do that. I haven’t talked to Rod about it. With this band you never know what to expect.
I have heard that Manu Da Silva, the manager of Eddie’s Bar, is facing great health problems. Do you have any news on this matter?
Yes, I’ve learned about it as well. He’s a very good fried and we all feel very sad about it. I spoke to him 2-3 months ago and he was going through chemotherapy. He seems to be improving. If he was getting worse, I’d have hardly heard about it from Steve. I pray to god to make him well quickly.
Do you have any plans for your new record with Iron Maiden?
We are thinking of doing something about it when the summer tour we’re planning ends.
Will you finally stop by Greece? We haven’t seen you in a long time, whereas we saw you very often some time ago.
We’re definitely thinking about coming. You all know very well that we really like Greece and we have a great time each time we visit. I am of course lucky to see you now as well…
Can you comment on the incident that happened last year when you were arrested and charged for assault when you voluntarily hit a parking lot worker with your black Jaguar before your show at Tommy Hilfiger in Jones Beach Theater in New York? At which point is this case now?
(You can’t imagine the cries of despair and disgust he makes) The case is now closed.
Did they put you in jail?
(laughs) We may be joking about it now but it seems that some people wanted to really bad. Thankly, God helped me out of this unpleasant situation. You know how the system is in America. Anyone can sew someone for whatever reason, at whatever moment, just to gain some publicity. Luckily, a month ago I was called to pay a small fine and I was dismissed of charges. The case, however, lasted more than one and a half year and it cost me a lot of money due to the constant traveling to solve the matter.
Playing drums is surely tiring and demanding. Even though you are still relatively young, what do you plan on doing? Are you going to rock ‘till you drop or will you retire sometime?
Thank you for the remark about me still being young. Can I use it at my discussions with the other boys in the band? Haha. As long as the good Lord gives me health I will continue to play the drums. As long as He wants me to be there, I will keep playing…
I think we have covered loads of subjects and time is really pressing on us. We’ll have a chance of meeting each other, thank you for your time!
I can’t wait, it would be an honor, God bless you!
3 Comments
Nice find Gor, thanks for going through the trouble of translating it 
Fantastic stuff, gor! Moved to Maiden news.
"...the bands 25th anniversary" ?! => isn't it 30th ?!