Former Iron Maiden Drummer Nicko McBrain Publishes Memoir Ahead of Hall of Fame Induction
Nicko McBrain, the drummer who spent decades with Iron Maiden, is publishing a memoir just before the band's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The book, Hello Boys and Girls!, is published by HarperCollins and runs to 344 pages. The induction is on Saturday, November 14.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is the museum in Cleveland, Ohio, that honours rock acts and the people behind them. Iron Maiden's place in it lands in the same week as the book, according to Billboard.
McBrain joined Iron Maiden in 1982. Before that, he played sessions for the guitarist Gordon Giltrap and was a member of Streetwalkers, the band led by Pat Travers, and of the French group Trust. A drummer's career often runs through sessions and smaller bands before a single long-term job, and his did the same.
The memoir has a longer history than its publication date suggests. More than a dozen years ago, McBrain signed a publishing deal and wrote about 20 chapters. He then stopped, partly because of his commitments to Iron Maiden, and returned his advance. An advance is the payment a publisher makes up front, against the sales the book is expected to earn. The finished book was co-written with Benjamin Dirs.
His health and touring history also frame the release. McBrain suffered a stroke in 2023, and he retired from touring with Iron Maiden in December 2024.
For fans who know the band through its records and live shows, the book offers a first-person account of those years from behind the drum kit. It is a different view of the same story, told in his own words and with a co-writer's help.
