Nicko McBrain has given the most specific account yet of why he stopped touring with Iron Maiden, and it comes down to particular bars of particular songs.
Speaking to the Rockonteurs podcast, hosted by Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt, the 74 year old drummer named them. "I wasn't performing as well as I could have done or should have done, 'cause I couldn't play these parts, like 'The Trooper' intro and the middle of 'Somewhere In Time' and things like that, these wonderful drum fills that I've been playing for 42 years."
That is a harder thing to say than a general line about age. He also described what the band did about it, which was to carry him for two full touring cycles rather than move early. "To have all my brothers support me and give me two tours, it was the The Future Past tour, parts one and two, in 2023 and 2024, to stick behind me."
He named the office as well, with managers Rod Smallwood and Andy Taylor among those he said were entirely behind him, and summed the whole arrangement up as camaraderie. "It was a tough decision," he said of the end of it.
McBrain announced the retirement on 7 December 2024, with that night's concert at Allianz Parque his last with the band. Simon Dawson, who has played with Steve Harris in British Lion for years, took the seat.