Bruce Dickinson explains why new Iron Maiden drummer Simon Dawson is “different” to Nicko McBrain
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson has opened up about the key differences between the new drummer, Simon Dawson, and the old drummer, Nicko McBrain.
Speaking on Talk Is Jericho, Dickinson discussed the European leg of the 2025 Run For Your Lives tour, which began on May 27th in Budapest and concluded in Warsaw on August 2nd.
During the tour, their new drummer, Simon Dawson, joined for the first time after replacing Nicko McBrain in December 2024. When Dickinson was asked what the change was like, he was quick to admit, “ Obviously, it was different, because Simon is not Nick.”
He continued, “He’s not a copy of Nick. His emphasis in terms of the way he drums, the sound of his drums is different. He’s a different type of drummer. But he does everything that a drummer should do, which is he keeps the time. And that’s it.”
He added of their characters, “Nick was like a human fireworks display every night in terms of his drumming, personality and everything else. And Simon’s not; he’s low key. He is not exactly the polar opposite to Nick, but he’s different. He’s more thoughtful. He’s very analytical.”
Musing on the musical differences, he continued, “He warms up for, like, two hours, and he’s just putting things together and refining and tweaking things and stuff like that. So he’s a different drummer, but the songs are the same. And he’s happy. Everybody in the band is perfectly happy. But they’re not the same. You can’t replace Nick with a clone.”
Elsewhere, Iron Maiden recently announced plans for a huge show at Knebworth Park next summer as a means to celebrate half a century together as a band. On July 11th, the heavy metal stalwarts will perform alongside The Darkness, The Hu, Airbourne, and The Almighty.
In more tragic news, at the end of July, Paul Mario Day, the original vocalist of heavy rock titans, passed away at 69.
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