Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain has been quietly battling stage 1 laryngeal cancer since his diagnosis in 2020.
In a singular interview published on the University Of Miami Health System's website in September 2021, missed by the media and picked up by Blabbermouth this morning, McBrain said he initially knew something was wrong in 2019 after he noticed a change in his voice.
"When you are lying down in a quiet room and you speak and hear your voice in your head and have a cold, you sound different," McBrain said. "This happened to me. I thought this is very reminiscent — this different sounding voice of mine — to when I finish a tour or after a show. I didn’t have a cold or any symptoms of illness at all. I started to feel that I was clearing my throat more when I was in conversations. So, I just took it on myself to call my doctor."
The article notes that McBrain's cancer was removed and is considered cancer free. As for his early diagnosis, MrBrain urges anyone who noticed anything different in their voice to consider getting checked out.
“I thoroughly recommend that anyone who may feel there is something different with their voice to go and get it checked out," McBrain said. "And don’t put it off. It was very good for me that I caught it in stage 1."
Iron Maiden placed just outside of Billboard's Top 25 highest grossing tours of 2022, and will hit the road for their Future Past Tour in June and July 2023. The tour will focus on the band's most recent album Senjutsu, as well as their 1986 record Somewhere In Time.
6/3 — Tampere, Finland @ Nokia Arena
6/7 — Bergen, Norway @ Koengen
6/13 — Krakow, Poland @ Tauron Arena
6/19 — Zurich, Switzerland @ Hallenstadion
6/24 — Dublin, Ireland @ 3 Arena
6/26 — Glasgow, Scotland @ Ovo Hydro
6/28 — Leeds, England @ First Direct Arena
6/30 — Manchester, England @ AO Arena
7/3 — Nottingham, England @ Motorpoint Arena
7/4 — Birmingham, England @ Utilita Arena
7/7 — London, England @ O2 Arena
7/11 — Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome
7/13 — Antwerp, Belgium @ Sportpaleis
7/15 — Milan, Italy — The Rreturn of the Gods Festival
7/18 — Barcelona, Spain @ Palau Sant Jordi
7/20 — Murcia, Spain @ Estadio Enrique Roca
7/22 — Bilbao, Spain @ Bizkaia Arena Bec!
