Nicko McBrain

McBrain was born in Hackney, London, and first wanted to learn the drums at a young age after watching Joe Morello performing with The Dave Brubeck Quartet on television. Later Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts, Keith Moon, John Bonham and Brian Bennett became his major influences on the instrument. At the age of ten, he started to play drums with pots, pans and other kitchen utensils, before, to his parents' dismay, he began drumming on the gas cooker with a pair of knives and chipped off the paintwork. McBrain recalls that he was eleven or twelve before his father bought him his first drum kit, "which was basically one snare, one tom-tom, one cymbal, two drumsticks and a pair of brushes." He soon started playing Rolling Stones and Beatles covers with school bands, before he began regularly playing "pubs and weddings" by the age of 14. McBrain had his nose broken in a fight at school which left him with his trademark flat features; he never underwent surgery to repair his nose.

McBrain is married to Rebecca McBrain (née Dempsey) and has two sons from his first marriage, born 1983 and 1992. He lives in Boca Raton, Florida. McBrain converted to Christianity in 1999 after an experience in the Spanish River Church, near his Boca Raton home. His wife, Rebecca, had been asking him to attend with her, and upon entering the church, McBrain soon found himself crying as he experienced a "calling". Recounting the tale, he said "I just sat there thinking, 'I didn't drink last night... why can't I stand?' I had this love affair with Jesus going on in my heart." In 1988, McBrain appeared as a guest on The Sooty Show, in which he played drums with Sooty and Sweep. In reference to his appearance on the show, McBrain's drum kit has since been decorated with a Sooty puppet, which is often dressed accordingly with the band's corresponding tours. McBrain has a pilot's licence, for which he has a twin engine rating. In 2003, McBrain was arrested prior to an Iron Maiden show in Wantagh, New York. While pulling into the venue's VIP parking lot, an attendant asked for McBrain's credentials. Following a misunderstanding, McBrain threatened to drive into the attendant, and did so twice, injuring the attendant on the second attempt. McBrain was arrested and charged with third-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangerment. …