Former Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain recently dropped his memoir, Hello Boys And Girls! The book recounts McBrain’s life, career, and experience with the legendary metal band. Interestingly, after the book was published, he said management feared one chapter in particular would upset bandmates.
In a November 2026 interview with Dave Kinchen and Shane McEachern for Rock Of Nations, McBrain was asked if he’d spoken to any of his bandmates about the contents of the book while he was writing it.
“No,” he confessed, then adding that he hasn’t even read Iron Maid Bruce vocalist Bruce Dickinson’s autobiography. “For the sole reason, McBrain explained, ” [that] I didn’t wanna get influenced by any of his stories or how he’s written it.
Nicko McBrain apparently had some stories that worried Iron Maiden’s manager
“I do have a copy,” the drumming icon added, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. “He signed a copy for me, and I will grab that and probably read that in the next couple of weeks. Now I’ve finished my book, I can delve into his. And I didn’t want any influences from any of the other guys in that respect.” He then said, with a laugh, that he “did start to read” Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith’s book, “but it’s more about fishing than anything else.”
“But, no, I didn’t approach any of the guys,” McBrain continued. “I wanted it to be my memories carte blanche and without any influences from anybody else. [Iron Maiden manager] Rod [Smallwood] mentioned a couple of things, and he got them wrong, actually.”
Finally, the heavy metal legend revealed how his conversation with Smallwood went when the manager encouraged him to make changes. “There was a couple of instances where he didn’t want me to write a particular chapter because it would upset the band,” McBrain recalled “And I said to him, ‘Rod, this is my story. It’s not yours. I appreciate what you’re saying.”
Smallwood said that McBrain was “still part of the family.” To which the drummer replied, “And I still will be, even though I’ve written this book. And you may not like it, but it’s going in. And if it upsets someone, they will tell me. They will tell me, and then I’ll deal with it. But it’s going in. It’s going in.”
Hello Boys And Girls! is out now; published by Harper Nonfiction on October 22, 2026.
Photo by Francesco Castaldo\Archivio Francesco Castaldo\Mondadori via Getty Images
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