In a recent post on Iron Maiden’s social channels, drummer Nicko McBrain has revealed that he suffered a stroke back in January of 2023 that initially left him temporarily paralyzed on the right side of his body.
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McBrain says although the stroke he suffered was “minor,” he had been worried that the episode, referred to as a TIA (transient ischemic attack), could have been a career-ender. Luckily, he has since recovered enough to join Iron Maiden on their overseas Future Past tour which kicked off in May.
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"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," Nicko explains. "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."
"I unfortunately haven't been able to give you lot 100% of my performance," he adds, however, “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."
Watch Nicko's video and read his full message below.
Maiden is set to perform at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival on Friday, August 4, and will headline this year's Power Trip festival in the California desert on Friday, October 6.
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