Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain performed reimagined renditions of the band’s iconic songs alongside The Massed Bands of His Majesty’s Royal Marines on March 8 at the 52nd Mountbatten Festival of Music at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
McBrain played using his special drum kit, named Legacy of Royals, during a medley titled “The Maiden Legacy,” featuring “The Trooper,” “Wasted Years,” and “Run to the Hills.” A professionally filmed video of this remarkable performance can be watched below.
McBrain‘s participation in the festival was inspired by his attendance as a guest at the 50th anniversary of the Mountbatten Festival in 2020. Recalling that event, McBrain said, “Well, let’s see, 2020, the year that we don’t talk about, it was the 50th anniversary of the Mountbatten Festival, and I was in attendance as a guest… And it just came about that … the people that I met there at the event, they said, ‘Oh, it’d be nice to…’ ’cause it was The Prodigy, who did the halftime after the interval. And I was absolutely amazed at it. I thought, ‘There’s these guys playing The Prodigy. It’s brilliant.’ So that was where the idea came about. And they said, ‘Well, what would you like to do next year?’ And I was very honored and humbled, and I immediately agreed.”
During rehearsals at HMS Temeraire, McBrain expressed some initial anxiety, noting, “Rehearsals have been great. Sunday was a bit of a — how do I say it? Very nervous. Because of my circumstances, my right-hand doesn’t work very well, so I was very, super nervous about that. We got through the rehearsals really well, and then it was, of course, time to come in yesterday with the full orchestra. And my goodness, the north wind does blow right behind me. It blew me away. The power and the sound of these great musicians and a hundred-piece orchestra jamming Maiden was just a joy to behold. I wanted to actually stop and listen to ’em, but I can’t do that. It’s been wonderful.”
The British Drum Company specially designed McBrain‘s drum kit for these performances. Stu Warmington, international sales manager for BDC, described the kit: “For this kit, we’ve put different designs of Maiden‘s mascot Eddie as marines through history on each of the drums, from 1664 right up to the present day, so we’ve got the Yomper, at the battle of Trafalgar and so on. After the shows, it’s going to be put up for auction for the Royal Marines Charity.”
The Mountbatten Festival Of Music is a major source of fundraising for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines charities and the Young Lives vs Cancer charity and takes the audience on an exhilarating ride through the world of music, often premiering spectacular new arrangements and compositions, unique to this event. When combined with traditional military marches, music from the big screen, and superb solo items, all accompanied by spectacular lighting effects, the Mountbatten Festival Of Music has packed out the Royal Albert Hall annually for over 50 years.
Nicko‘s drumkit is being sold at auction to raise money for the Royal Marines Charity and the Grand Order of Water Rats Charity.
