Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain on Potential Tour with Judas Priest, Loss of Charlie Watts & Joey Jordison

Iron Maiden isn't scheduled to return to touring until the summer of 2022, but before the coronavirus pandemic derailed everything, there were rumors that Maiden and Judas Priest were going to embark on a co-headlining tour.

When asked about those rumors in an appearance on Talkin' Rock with Meltdown, drummer Nicko McBrain said, "I went to see the boys a couple of years ago. They played the Hard Rock in Fort Lauderdale. Just in passing, me, Ian [Hill] and Rob [Halford] were talking, and we just got 'round about to our tour schedules and how it was when we went on tour with Priest in '82. And I suggested, 'Why don't we go out the pair of us and do a proper Monsters of Rock tour?' They both went, 'Our management are talking about that.' So, I think the scene was already set."

He continued, "I'm not saying it was set by me, but it was certainly an idea which we all got excited about. You can never say never in this industry. You just never know, do you? I don't know if management have been speaking about it [recently], but wouldn't that be a great idea? I supposed you'd have to flip a coin to see who's going to close the night out."

McBrain is obviously an influential drummer in the rock/metal world, so the recent passing of Charlie Watts and former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison had an effect on him.

"Charlie was such a phenomenal timekeeper, a great player," said McBrain. "There's a saying I've said a couple times before: 'It's not about the notes; it's about the space in between.' That's what Charlie did. He had this incredible feel on the backside of a groove. When I started playing, it was literally Ringo [Starr] and Charlie who were the two influences that I learned from and based my style of playing at the time. And then, the wonderful Keith Moon came along and John Bonham. So, those four guys were my primary influences. But certainly, Charlie...it's a sad loss to the music world and the drumming fraternity across the table."

He continued, "And Joey, of course, you turn about eight chapters down the line and you've got this guy who's playing this incredible, beautiful bass drum technique. I'm a single bass drum player, but I can always really appreciate these guys bringing something else to the table. So, having lost a pair of them, you know, that's really a great loss to us all."

Iron Maiden is releasing Senjutsu, their first new studio album since 2015, on September 3 and is available for pre-order here.