Other than being one of the best and most influential drummers in heavy metal, Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain is known for two additional things: His insistent refusal to use a double-bass setup, and his great love for storytelling.
During a special show hosted by comedian Al Murray in 2018, McBrain show-cased both his talent on the drum kit and his abilities to entertain an audience with a microphone in hand. He even shed light on the whole double-bass mystery!
“I was quoted years ago saying [using double-bass is] very undrummerish, it’s very unmusical. And I really spoke out of turn, because it’s not that,” admitted McBrain. “I just felt that I didn’t wanna use two, because I found one was hard enough. Why compound the issue with two?”
But it’s not like McBrain never tried to double-bass, according to his own admission: “I mean, I’ve sat at home and played with a double pedal, and believe me, once you get into it, it’s very hard to remove yourself from it, ’cause you start thinking, ‘Oh, that sounds really good.’”
“I have used a double-bass pedal on a song called ‘Face In The Sand’ off Dance Of Death,” he added later, confirming the claim common among Iron Maiden fans that the track is the only one to have McBrain use a double-bass setup on.
Watch the entire show here, courtesy of Drummerszone:
