Iron Maiden Drummer McBrain Says Blaze Bayley Era Was Necessary Step Before Dickinson’s Return

Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain thinks that the band's five-year stint with singer Blaze Bayley paved the way for Bruce Dickinson's comeback. McBrain discussed the 1994-1999 period in an interview with Kerrang! magazine.

Dickinson departed in 1993, allowing Bayley to take over. The two albums from that time, The X Factor and Virtual XI, sold fewer copies than earlier releases and became the lowest-charting titles in Britain since 1981's Killers.

"For Blaze to replace Bruce was very difficult," McBrain told Kerrang! "Bruce was more soprano than baritone, which is what I think Blaze was, so there was an issue with the fans accepting him, and we were playing the small theatres, and played some clubs in Florida." "We were still Maiden, we were just a different Maiden. The essence of the band hadn't changed in the slightest," McBrain added.

McBrain described his bond with Bayley. "With Blaze, I loved that guy. I was a father figure to him, I said, 'I'll take you under my wing when we go out.'" 

McBrain told Dickinson at their first reunion meeting in Brighton that he felt betrayed when the singer announced his exit halfway through the Fear Of The Dark tour. "He just turned around and said, 'I wouldn't have it any other way, Nicko, I love you too,'" McBrain recalled. The return produced "Brave New World." McBrain said this marked "the beginning of us going back into the mega stadium touring that put us back on the map."