IRON MAIDEN's NICKO MCBRAIN announces autobiography 'Hello Boys And Girls!'
13-05-2026
Harper Nonfiction is set to publish the thrilling, hilarious and deeply personal autobiography of IRON MAIDEN‘s longtime drummer Nicko McBrain. “Hello Boys And Girls!” will be published into hardback, ebook and audio on October 22, 2026.
Nicko is the legendary drummer for IRON MAIDEN, joining the band in 1982, after stints with artists like STREETWALKERS, Pat Travers and TRUST and honing his craft from decades of session work among the highly competitive mean streets and studios of London’s Soho. Through his powerful, precise drumming and charismatic stage presence, the long-serving drummer became a metal icon, pivotal in shaping IRON MAIDEN‘s dynamic sound.
With trademark humor and heart, McBrain takes us behind the scenes of one of Britain’s biggest-ever bands. Experience the highs and lows of his illustrious career on the road, in the studio and being “Mr. Iron Maiden” to the worldwide legion of fans.
This is the story of what it feels like to remain not just relevant but more loved than ever after decades at the top, and to live a life transformed by music, brotherhood, and belief.
Packed with unforgettable moments, backstage stories, laugh-out-loud anecdotes, and raw honesty, “Hello Boys And Girls!” is more than a rock memoir, it’s a front-row seat to one of heavy metal’s greatest lives.
Nicko says: “I’m very excited and honoured to be working with the wonderful Harper Nonfiction team on my very own book full of lots of fun stories, anecdotes and of course my incredible experiences with some of the greatest musicians and performers from the ’70s, ’80s and beyond! I am blessed to be able to finally share my path to where I am today, in my own words, with the world.”
IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain has scheduled the following shows in Florida and Georgia with his TITANIUM TART project:
Aug. 29 – The Barn – Sanford, FL
Sep. 05 – Culture Room – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Sep. 11 – The Albatross – Jacksonville, FL
Sep. 13 – Center Stage Loft – Atlanta, GA
Sep. 19 – OCC Roadhouse – Clearwater, FL
TITANIUM TART comments: “We’re looking forward to seeing you soon! We’re venturing out to a few new places we haven’t played yet; Culture Room, The Albatross, and The Loft and revisiting our devoted venues, The OCC and The Barn. Going up to Jacksonville and Altanta is taking us out of our ‘comfort zone’ but you know we will still scorch the earth! Looking forward to seeing you out there!”
Joining Nicko in TITANIUM TART are Rob Stokes on bass, Eldad Kira on keyboards, Mike Rivera and Mitch Tanne on guitar, and Paolo Velazquez on vocals.
In an interview earlier this year with Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen & Shane McEachern, longtime IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain commented on the band’s nomination for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame‘s class of 2026.
While MAIDEN has been eligible to join the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame since 2004, McBrain and several other former and current members of the band have only been nominated three times: in 2021, 2023 and 2026.
After one of the interviewers noted that the Rock Hall has “gotta get it right this time” and finally induct MAIDEN, Nicko said: “Yeah. You just never know, do you? I mean, it has been a long road. Many nominations — I’m not sure how many this is; maybe the third or fourth one, perhaps.”
Referencing the fact that the 2026 nominees for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame include rap, metal, R&B, hip-hop, Britpop, blues rock and pop artists, Nicko continued: “Yeah, in the greater scheme of things, it’s not really a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame anymore, but it’s still a wonderful accolade to be given finally to hopefully — the guys may go, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna induct them.’ But at the end of the day, it’s really something that the whole of the band have talked about over the years, and it’s not something that’s voted for by your fans, although they do open it up to its fans to be voted in. At the end of the day, it’s the board that decide. And so that kind of puts a bit of a question mark about the authenticity of fans voting you in. But, yeah, it’s still, in my book, something that’s a great accolade to even be considered again.”
After one of the interviewers observed that many musicians are getting older and passing away before they get a chance to be inducted into the Rock Hall, Nicko concurred. “There is that,” he said. “I mean, mind you, if you think to yourself, there’s so many great bands out there that have not been inducted or even nominated over the years, and as you say, certain members are getting along in the tooth or passing away, and you look back and go, in retrospect, man, these guys should have been inducted and they weren’t. But, yeah, it’s something that there’s a lot of controversy over it, and there has been.”
Apparently addressing the fact that Jann Wenner, who co-founded Rolling Stone magazine and was a co-founder of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and who had long faced accusations of bias against metal, prog-rock and other genres, was removed from the Hall‘s board of directors in 2023 after making comments that were seen as denigrating black and female musicians, Nicko added: “And if somebody that was very controversial is no longer a part of the voting board as such, then who knows where it may go? As I said, for me personally, it’s a lovely accolade to have, but one that it’s steeped with controversy in terms of what the MAIDEN camp feel.”
In an interview last year with Jason Green of Waste Some Time With Jason Green, Nicko McBrain confirmed that he is still technically a member of IRON MAIDEN despite having retired from touring with the band nearly a year ago. He said: “I’m still a member of the band, but what does that mean exactly? Well, I’m still part of the family, so I do a lot of work with the fan club, and I’m going out and doing still IRON MAIDEN-related stuff at conventions like Son Of Monsterpalooza. And, yeah, it’s great.”
Regarding the possibility of playing on a new IRON MAIDEN album in the future, Nicko said: “First of all, there’s no plans to make a new album as yet. That could change. So if that that’s the case, maybe I’ll be asked to do a couple of songs.”
McBrain went on to say that his health issues, including the partial paralysis he experienced when he suffered a stroke nearly three years ago, contributed to his decision to stop touring with MAIDEN.
“I had a stroke in ’23, in January, January the 19th, to be exact,” he said. “And it left my right side paralyzed down to the waist and just slightly below. I couldn’t move my leg very well. Anyway, it left me with a handicap of not being able to play fast single-stroke rolls, 16th notes, 32nd notes, a tempo like that, and then on from there. You need two hands to do that kind of speed, and my right arm just didn’t work the same way anymore. So, we used to have to change the drum fills on various songs over the last two tours, the ‘Legacy Of The Beast’ tour part two, and then ‘Future Past’. But going forward, there were songs on this new set that I knew I would have difficulty playing, and we wouldn’t wanna change them, like the parts we changed, say, in ‘Trooper’, for instance; I didn’t play the big drum fills anymore. So, we agreed. I had a big conversation with Steve (Harris, MAIDEN bassist and founder) and I told him, ‘Look, I’m finding it very difficult with all the traveling and the recuperating time.’ We didn’t have days off, so to speak. And he said, ‘Okay, I get it. And maybe it’s best.’ And so it was more of 80 percent me, 20 percent in agreement with the rest of the guys to hang it up. And that’s why I retired.”
McBrain played the last of four 2025 shows in Florida with his TITANIUM TART project on July 26 at OCC Road House & Museum in Clearwater, Florida. Joining Nicko in TITANIUM TART are Rob Stokes on bass, Eldad Kira on keyboards, Mike Rivera and Mitch Tanne on guitar, and Paolo Velazquez on vocals.
The now-73-year-old British musician, whose real name is Michael Henry McBrain, announced his retirement on December 7, 2024 in a statement on MAIDEN‘s web site and social media. He also said that night’s concert at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil would mark his final show with the legendary rock band. He has since been replaced by Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris‘s longtime bandmate in BRITISH LION.
In January 2023, Nicko was at his home in Boca Raton when he suffered a stroke with partial paralysis.
When Nicko first went public with his stroke in August 2023, the drummer said in a statement that the episode left him “paralyzed” down one side of his body and “worried” that his career with the band was over.
Five years ago, McBrain was diagnosed with stage 1 laryngeal cancer and opened up about it in a single interview in 2021 but otherwise kept it mostly under wraps. The musician received his cancer diagnosis after undergoing an endoscopy at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University Of Miami Health System and the Miller School of Medicine. Within a week, McBrain‘s cancer was surgically removed and he now gets check-ups every few months to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned.
In September 2021 IRON MAIDEN released their last full album ‘Senjutsu’, for which the band currently is out on a world tour.
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