Listen With Nicko! Part [Flight] 666: Exclusive Interview with Iron Maiden Drummer Nicko McBrain
experiences. This week, the Flight 666 documentary movie hits stores (and recurrent airplay on VH1 television). Through the film, we see these legends as men – jovial, emotional, and philosophical. But rarely, do we ever get the opportunity to interact with these fables of the flesh.Examiner was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with the jolliest of all these hallowed beings, drummer Nicko McBrain to discuss some of the background and internal nuances of the movie. Read on, as we talk with Nicko about Flight 666, the dangers of golf, pizza etiquette, and Anvil!
Was there an extensive group discussion about participating in this movie, or was it an executive decision from Rod Smallwood [manager] saying that you had to do it?
No, no, no, Lord almighty. There were many, many discussions. It kicked off one night after a show in Europe. We were talking amongst the band – we do talk to each other, contrary to popular belief. Bruce came up with the idea about getting our own jet airliner and touring around the world.
We discussed the places we’ve never been to, places we wanted to go to, how much money it costs to tour these places, and how cost-prohibitive these places were. And Bruce said, “Well, we’ll have our own magic carpet!” Then we started thinking that that might be a great idea; we could get a 747! And Bruce said that he was thinking more along the lines of a 757, because he wasn’t rated for the 747. Then we pitched it to Rod, and discussed the logistics of where we wanted to go. And originally, the idea for taking the 757 was so we could take all our gear, have Bruce pilot it, and bring all of our family along. Then someone said, “Well, we have to take all the journalists of the world with us, too, because this is an historic event!”
“Hhhhhmmmm,” said Rod, “why don’t we document this here bloody trip. It is historic, after all. Nobody’s ever done this before - customize a 757 and whatnot. Even better, we should have a documentary crew 24/7 for the duration of the tour!” Boy, that’s when it went down like a fountain in a 2-man submarine, believe me. There was a bit of rumbling, a bit of grumbling, some trepidation…my lord, trepidation! So yeah, it wasn’t a matter of “yeah, let’s all do it.”
There were a few of us who weren’t very happy with the idea of these people coming and living with us for two months, with access to us 24/7. There were a couple of meetings we had where we ended up convinced that it was the best thing to do, because it was so historic. And to be very honest with you, I’m glad we did it, because we came out with this wonderful Flight 666 movie.
And I have to take my hat off to Rod Smallwood, because he oversaw the running of how the film was presented, chronologically. He did a fantastic job editing that film with Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. But yeah, we had a bit of a problem with agreeing to give these guys access to us, but through the love-hate relationship, we came out with more love than hate. And I’m pleased to say that Scot and Sam and all the crew are now very much a part of the Iron Maiden family.
Obviously, there had to be a period of adjustment with these guys in your faces all the time. Were there any eruptions or rows that developed out of this, off camera?
Not really, no. There were moments where I’m sure they got some growling and grumblings on film somewhere; especially from me…’cause I told them to f*** off more than once. Me, moreso than anyone else in the band. Yeah, Janick used to tell them to just p*** off and whatever. The one thing I have to say is that they went above the call of duty when they were recording the concert footage for the movie. They would come up to me about an hour before the show, and Sam would say, “Hey Nick, we’d like to shoot you tonight from this side of the stage. Are you okay with that?” And I would go, “F*** yeah, of course you can!” It was always a ‘whatever you want’ kinda vibe, and they never stepped on anyone’s toes.
And that is one of the hardest things to do – film Iron Maiden live. If someone comes up to the front with a camera, and Bruce is there, he’ll put a boot in it. During Rock In Rio, I’m not sure if you can see it, but at one point, there was a camera pointed down at me, and he climbed up this ladder and ripped it right out - $30,000 worth of camera, just gone! But no, we didn’t really have any problems with them. If we weren’t happy about something, they wouldn’t tape or overstep the line.
Did anyone even have any apprehension about stepping on the plane to begin with? I mean, when the initial press release went out about the event, my first reaction was, “wow, if this plane goes down, anyone who has ANYTHING to do with Iron Maiden will be wiped off the map!”
If one goes, we all go! All for one and one for all; that’s Iron Maiden. We’ll take that to the grave with us, you know! It’s not really any different from when we’re flying home from a show in Europe or if we’re on a Virgin flight from New York to London. People concern themselves too much with “what if”. But no, no problems at all.
So who was more disturbed by all the cameras, Dickie Bell [production manager] or Bill Conte [stage manager]? Both came across as quite irate on film.
Oh, the pair of them, for crying out loud! You know those two old geezers from the Muppets, Statler and Waldorf? That’s what they’re like. They’re like two old ladies when they get together. One gets to moaning, and the other has to out-moan him. But, they’re absolutely precious to the Iron Maiden story and family. Dick Bell has been on the scene since 1975, and some people have known him a lot longer. He’s super-silly, sanctimonious old git. He always has been, and he always will be.
Bill Conte is learning how to be a sanctimonious old git better than him! But hey, we love them dearly, and Bill Conte is an absolutely fantastic and wonderful stage manager. He’s worked with us for many years. But Dickie Bell is just priceless. I think his comments at the end of the film are precious.
Yeah, he got the last word.
He certainly did, didn’t he? Hahahahaha!!
You didn’t look worried on film, but how concerned were you really when your wrist swelled up after getting hit by that golf ball?
When that happened to me, we were on the first hole, on the day of the show. As soon as it hit me, I thought, “well, that’s it. I’m done.” I can’t describe it. It was searing, hot agony, when that ball hit. I couldn’t move my hand for a couple minutes. Fortunately, I had a golf pro with me, and he went and got a big bag of ice, and I iced it about 4-5 minutes after the actual injury.
But I honestly thought there was trouble, not just how I was going to play that night, but how I was going to carry out the rest of the tour. I went to the hospital, got an x-ray, and thankfully nothing was broken. If it hit an inch lower, I would have hit my wrist bone, and I would have been going home with a broken wrist. But I kept it on ice, and went back to the hotel and elevated it, and it was one of the most memorable evenings. I played really well that night, and I was really surprised. It didn’t hurt when I was playing. It was only when I stopped…
Rod didn’t look too happy when that happened.
Yeah, he was livid. He said, “You’re not going to play anymore. You’re banned from playing golf from this day on!”
And I said, “You’re having a laugh, forget it!!!”
And he was dead serious. He said, “No, it’s bloody dangerous! It would happen to you, wouldn’t it??” He was not happy. It was the kind of reaction he had, you can’t really blame him.
As he said, “Here we are; we’ve been through this amazing period of getting this tour together, it’s finally up and running, and then what happens? The f***ing drummer goes and gets hit on the wrist (almost) by a bloody golf ball!!”
He was really upset about it, but there was no way I was going to stop playing golf. I mean, for f***s sake, Steve goes out and plays soccer every day. Give us a break! If any sport is more dangerous than golf, it’s bloody soccer, isn’t it? Especially for a bass player! I mean, what happens if he falls over and breaks a f***ing finger or something?
Another thing that struck me, that you don’t really see a lot of metal bands doing, was the press conference right outside of the hotel in Bogota. That was a very celebrity kind of thing.
Yeah, a little bit. When we got to the hotel, Rod said that we had a bunch of press waiting for us there, and he asked if I would do it. The rest of the guys said, “Aww, f*** off, we’re having a night off”. So I did it. They all gathered outside and security had a really problem with it. It was a mish-mosh of regular press people and a bunch of guys and girls with blog pages.
At first, we were going to bring everyone into the lobby, but then Rod and I decided to just go out and do it on the steps. We really work well off of each other, having a laugh with the fans and everything. It was actually better that way, so we can get everything done at once, rather than sitting in a room. We don’t often do it that way, but in that moment, it seemed appropriate. Those kinds of things usually only happen when we’re going somewhere for the first time.
What exactly was that ritual that you participated in at that cave in Mexico?
The guy who did that was actually a descendent of the original Aztecs. He was a priest of that religion, and we were given this guided tour of the pyramids and other excavated sites around there. Finally we went underneath the Sun Pyramid. And that is where the ceremony took place. It was all about good health, good medicine, and a blessing for everyone who was a part of it. It was very bizarre, because it wasn’t planned. It was myself, Janick, all of Lauren Harris’ band, Johnny McMurtrie, all sorts of people. And Sam was out with us with the camera.
So, it was one of those things that wasn’t choreographed, wasn’t set up. And when the priest was giving his little sermon, you can actually hear McMurtrie’s camera clicking in the background. And Scot and Sam were so angry with him saying that he ruined their moment. But it was really one of those kind of moments about them being there at the right time, and it just happened to be at the moment when I was holding the flame saying the blessing.
I guess rogue golf balls weren’t covered in that prayer?
No, they certainly weren’t! I probably should have put them in there, and maybe that wouldn’t have even happened!
So, being a Christian, how did you personally react to participating in that ceremony?
Well, it was quite different. I mean, you know me; my savior is the Lord Jesus Christ. But, this was almost a pagan ritual that dated back nearly 2000 years before Christianity. So, I had to be able to make it a more secular of a blessing rather than involve my faith, because it was not really about that. It didn’t bother me. It was a general blessing, and it moved me at the time. To be honest with you, I had no idea I was being filmed.
And what is with your penchant for nasty looking pizza?
Oh, no, no, no, no. Let’s get something right, here. I don’t order that stuff. That is just what they order in for me. And believe you me, there was that one friggin’ pizza – I don’t remember where we were – but it had this funny cheese on it. I looked at this pizza like, “What the f*** is that???”
Normally, I like a vegetarian pizza, no olives….I can’t stand f***in’ olives! Or, just a regular pizza with a Margherita sauce on it, or whatever. And they send all these exotic pizzas out thinking we’re going to like them. And there’s always a big row about it. But yeah, I was known for eating pizza and Gatorade. What can I say? They should have put some of those wars in there; that’s what should have been filmed! Pizzas flying at the band, and flying at Steve Gadd [tour manager]…hahahaha.
When I was watching Flight 666, it made me think about Anvil! The Story of Anvil, and how your movie is somewhat of the flipside to theirs. You both are bands that struggled very hard to make it in a genre that the general public did not understand, you never gave up. But where your hard work eventually clicked, theirs, for whatever reason never did. What are your feelings on that?
Yeah, you’re absolutely right. But, you know what I love about them? They’re true to form, true to what they love, true to what they do.
We were very fortunate to be at the right place at the right time, and knew who we knew. We’ve been blessed with two of the best managers in the business and have been for nearly 30 years.
And, it seems that the boys from Anvil didn’t really have that. The one thing you can rely on is that they remained true to their faith in what they do and what they believe in. they stood by their guns and never compromised.
The problem there is that they didn’t have anyone who believed in them as much as they believed in themselves. And I think that’s what Maiden what we are and how we’ve survived through today is class, panache, a good-looking frickin’ drummer, and good management.
For more info: check out my feature on Flight 666 here, and visit Iron Maiden at their official website!
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