Nicko McBrain opens up about using heroin – and how he kicked it

Nicko McBrain has revealed that he dabbled with heroin in the late 1970s.

The former Iron Maiden drummer, who has just released his autobiography, Hello Boys And Girls!, tells Classic Rock that he used the drug, but that he was “lucky” to never become addicted.

“This was a period where I was introduced to the higher echelons of people in the music industry and in other walks of life, shall we say,” he says. “I never put it in my arm, I just chased the dragon, as we used to call it – put it on silver paper and fire it up, then puff it up through a straw.”

While Nicko doesn’t specify a time period when he used the drug, he confirms that he had kicked heroin by the time he joined Iron Maiden in late 1982.

“Here’s the thing: God blessed me with this gene where I could just turn that tap off,” he tells Classic Rock. “Same with smoking, same with drinking. Anyone who’s struggling with substance issues, go get help – there’s people out there to help you. It’s not admitting defeat.

“But I was lucky enough to have this gene, so when I stopped, I didn’t go cold turkey – I got a bit antsy, and I got the cold sweats and the shivers, but I was very fortunate not to get really deep into the rabbit hole. I’d already knocked that on the head prior to getting the offer to come on board with Maiden in 1982.”

McBrain replaced former Maiden drummer Clive Burr, who was fired following the tour for 1982’s The Number Of The Beast album. In Hello Boys And Girls!, Nicko reveals that he was initially approached by Maiden’s co-manager Rod Smallwood while Burr was still in the band and put on retainer as “back-up” – something the latter was furious about when he found out.

“About a week had gone by when I got a phone call from Clive,” recalls McBrain. “‘You fucking arsehole!’ he screamed. ‘You motherfucking cunt! You’ve had my gig!”

Nicko pacified Burr and suggested he clean up his act in order to remain in the band, which he temporarily did. But by the end of 1982, Burr was out of the band for good.

While McBrain praises his predecessor – who died in 2013 – as an “amazing drummer” and acknowledges his part in Maiden’s success, he recalls a tense moment during a drum clinic in the mid-80s, attended by Burr

“After doing a solo, which I thought was pretty good, I got up and asked if anyone had any questions, and someone shouted, ‘How big’s your willy?’” he writes. “I thought, ‘What kind of question is that?’, and although I didn’t see who asked it, I swear blind it was Clive. It was definitely his voice, and it wasn’t said in a light-hearted way; it had a hint of aggression about it, as if the person was pissed off at me.”

McBrain adds: “When I asked Clive if it was him many years later, he changed the subject.”

Nicko’s autobiography, Hello Boys And Girls!, is out now. Read the full interview with him in an upcoming issue of Classic Rock.